Do you know how to prepare Coconut rice in a very special way? We will teach you how to go about it. This is Chefssbase and everything you need to know about food in general is discussed here.

Coconut rice is very easy to make and tastes even better when prepared with fresh coconut milk. Nigerians have different recipes for making coconut rice, but no matter the recipe used, the flavour of the coconut milk should always stand out in your dish.

You could also add diced vegetables if you so desire, but we prefer to keep my coconut rice simple. Read further for a detailed explanation.

How to Prepare Coconut Rice

Process fresh coconut to extract the milk. Use about 2 cups of water (Don’t throw away the trash).

Wash rice, place it in a pot, and add enough water to cover the rice by about 1 inch. Boil until halfway done. Drain the rice in a sieve, rinse under cold water to cool it down and stop further cooking.

Keep it aside in the sieve. Slice onions and tomatoes, and chop peppers. Set aside. Place a clean dry pot over medium-high heat, add vegetable oil and fry onions.

When it is soft, add chopped pepper and fry for 30 seconds. Pour in coconut milk, stock and water to make up to 4 cups of liquid or just enough liquid to cover the rice.

Add sliced tomatoes, crayfish, thyme, crushed seasoning cubes and any other optional spice you decide to use. Stir and cover. Bring to a boil, taste and add salt.

Pour in the parboiled rice and scent leaf or curry leaf (Partminger), stir and cover. Cook until the rice is almost dry, stir gently and turn down the heat to a very gentle simmer.

Cook until all liquid has been absorbed. If the rice is still hard, sprinkle some water over it, cover and keep steaming until the texture is right.

Take off the heat and leave to rest before serving. Serve with a glass of mango lassi with Yaji spiced goat meat, fried plantains or mango salsa and fried goat meat.

The amount of liquid added to the coconut milk depends on how far or how well you parboiled your rice. If the parboiled rice is almost soft, you will need to add less water but if it is still hard, you will need more water. It is better to use less and add more liquid later.

Resting helps absorb the last vestiges of liquid on the body of the rice, so it won’t have a wet feeling in the mouth or go soggy.
The resulting chaff can be used for coconut candy or Indian coconut ladoo.

You will also enjoy my Vegetable coconut rice, Nigerian fried rice, Basic Chinese fried rice and Nigerian Jollof spaghetti. Do you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below.

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