So this is how they make the stuff you buy in packets!

I had nasta (snack) with Momu's parents the other day after work (I'm loving having Buddhist neighbours during Ramadan!).  Momu's mother, Shagorika, made a sweet noodle dish which had a milky sauce and delicious shredded coconut in it.  When I asked what the ingredients were, Shagorika showed me a big jar with some coconut she'd prepared which was absolutely delicious!  I asked her if she could show me how to do it, if I bought a coconut.  They love this sort of stuff, so of course she was more than happy to teach me.

A few days later, I organised a coconut and went over for my lesson.  She was amazing the way she used a huge murderous-looking knife to cut open the coconut into perfect halves by making little cuts all the way around.  She then showed me how to use a utensil that looked like a citrus zester, but with bigger holes.  A coconut shredder.

She was insistent that she'd shred the whole coconut, cos I had a bit of a go and was pretty slow being the first time I'd done it and all.  I asked the cook, Moriam, if she had another shredder I could use at the same time to have a go at the other half.  She looked at Shagorika's implement with interest, then went off and got her own version, which was set up like the floor knives they use here but with a circular saw-type blade horizontally on the end.  Shagorika had no idea what this thing was, so Moriam quickly showed her.  It cut the coconut into smaller flakes.  A coconut desiccator!  You know - to make desiccated coconut.  Shagorika was a bit skeptical of this, saying that it produced "less beautiful" coconut for what we were making.

Anyway, so we finished making our preserved coconut (with shitloads of oil and sugar - in typical Bangladeshi style, they are wizards at making healthy foods unhealthy) which was GREAT and I've been enjoying with my porridge in the morning, along with some dates which are available everywhere at the moment cos they are a traditional Iftar (breaking of the fast during Ramadan) food.

I might think too deeply about insignificant things such as this, but I was quite chuffed that I'd learnt the difference between how shredded and desiccated coconut are made by hand.  I'd never thought about it before when using these straight from the packet!  And having done it myself since, I'll have a renewed appreciation (or possibly scorn) for the supermarket variety when I get back to Oz.  It's really not as nice when you don't do it by hand from a fresh-off-the-tree coconut.