Shrimp Stuffed Coconut

This is a fantastic starter, which can go with any mood you are in. I am pretty sure once you serve it to your guests they will be so delighted that they will do anything to get the recipe. Well, I bribed my grandma (from Bengal) for it by picking some herbal leaves for her in hot sweaty afternoons for a month in Bengal. She oneday gave away the recipe suddenly while chatting about her village when I gave up hope. I am glad she did as none of my sisters or even my mom knows the recipe in full till now. So reader should feel lucky too.

Ingredients:

1. Shrimps about 1 kilo in weight, washed, cleaned and not boiled.
2. Shallots: about 3, finely chopped in wedges.
3. Coriander leaves about a handful.
4. Lime juice about 1/3 of a tea cup or as you prefer.
5. Salt to taste
6. Finely shredded fresh 1 lime leaves
7. Mustard paste about 2 tea spoons
8. 4 table spoons of mustard oil
9. 2/3 green fresh Indian chillies, finely chopped deseeded if you want to avoid heat. Do not forget to wash your hand after handling chillies, or simply use rubber gloves if you want.
10. One coconut whole, water taken out from the tiny eyes from it by piercing with sharp knife.

Preparation

Mix entire ingredient in a bowl and gently stuff them through eye of the coconut leaving no free space. Once it is fully stuffed, you can seal the eye  with some butter paper and then a bit of very soft flour dough which will act as glue.

My grandma used to throw the coconut inside her clay stove, which uses fire wood while there is no fire, but the coals are very hot after cooking is finish. She used to keep it there until she was ready to serve.

I use my barbecue grill. After I finish barbecue, I lift the hot grill and keep the coconut covered by hot coals and ashes until I want to serve the dish. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to cook all the shrimps inside. As it is sealed there is no chance that any flavour will be lost. In fact, all will be there inside, gently amalgamating with one another creating a mouth watering starter with bit of smoky flavour. When you want to serve it take out the coconut from coals and wash it with hot water so ashes from it surface are cleaned. You do not need to clean it thoroughly.  Now keep a clean steel tray underneath to collect any shrimps from coconut which will drop, hold the coco nut at the top of the tray and gently but hit it medium hard with a knife at the dia of the coconut until it crack open. The moment it opens up you will feel a rush of flavours hitting your nose, serve your shrimps as you like on a dish. I usually serve the two halves of the coconut filled with shrimps on banana leave covered tray.

This starter we Bengali serve with white rice, usually during lunch time. This and similar kind of starters are served as appetiser as small quantity to make your guest more hungry for the next course.

variation of this recipe is: if you find it hard to use coconut then wrap the mix in double aluminum foil, mix some shredded coconut or coconut powder and wrap tightly keeping a bit of space for steam accommodate. bake for 20 minutes and serve.