Make this Indian Coconut Rice with three types of coconut: shredded coconut, coconut oil, and coconut water. Serve with your favorite curry.
do you like curry I love curries of all kinds, served with long grain basmati rice of course. We usually pay more attention to the curry than to the rice. But the rice can be a star in itself.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with coconut rice, not the sweet dessert rice that goes with mango slices, but the savory kind, more like a pilaf, cooked with shredded coconut and aromatic spices like cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. If you like coconut (hello dad!) this is for you. I keep eating rice and finding excuses to make more.
Flexible coconut rice recipe
I’ve made several versions of this coconut rice recipe – with clarified butter, with butter, with coconut oil. My favorite is clarified butter, but the version with coconut oil is really good too! Ghee would work well too.
If you don’t have coconut water, you can make your own by simmering 1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut with 4 cups of water. Once the water is boiling, cover and remove from the heat, let sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then strain.
Looking for even more flavor? Add some herbs, such as cilantro, basil or mint, to the coconut water and rice.
This recipe is loosely adapted from a recipe in a 1960’s cookbook called A Taste of India by Mary Atwood.
What to serve with coconut rice
- Chana Masala
- Chicken Korma
- Lambcurry
- Instant Pot Saag Tofu
- Tandoor chicken
Savory Coconut Rice
You can use either coconut oil, ghee, or clarified butter for this recipe. Clarified butter or ghee add a wonderful buttery flavor to the rice if you use it and are more traditional for this Indian style rice. Use coconut oil for the vegan option.
To make clarified butter, take 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and melt it in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Skim off the foam. Strain through cheesecloth into a bowl and strain out the solids. (If you’re pressed for time, you can skip the sieving step for this recipe and just skim off the foam.)
If you don’t have access to packaged coconut water, add 1 cup grated coconut to 4 cups water, bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat, let sit 15 to 20 minutes and strain then. Use plain water instead of coconut water for this recipe.
ingredients
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3 tablespoons coconut oil (for the vegan option), ghee or clarified butter
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1 cup finely chopped onion
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1 garlic clove, chopped (1 teaspoon)
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1 teaspoon of salt
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1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
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2 cups basmati long grain rice
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1/2 cup grated unsweetened coconut
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2 cups unsweetened coconut water (see recipe note)
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1 3/4 cups plain water
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3 cardamom pods
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5 whole cloves
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1 stick of cinnamon
method
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Boil chopped onions, add garlic, cayenne pepper, salt:
In a medium skillet (with lid) melt coconut oil, ghee, or clarified butter over medium-high heat. Add the finely chopped onion and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown. Add garlic, cayenne pepper and salt and cook a minute longer.
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Add rice:
Stir the rice into the onion mixture to brush with oil or butter and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Add coconut, coconut water, water, spices, let simmer and cover:
Add the shredded coconut to the rice and onion mixture and stir in the coconut water and the water.
Stir in cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon. Increase heat to bring rice mixture to a simmer.
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
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Remove from the heat and steam the rice covered for another 10 minutes in the residual heat.
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Remove lid and discard cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon. Fluff up with a fork.
