Whenever in India, if you get thurtsy on the road, if you feel de-hydrated from the scorching sun, the safest, fastest and yummiest fix would be a green coconut!
You will see them being sold all over the place. It will also work if, while running around in the city, you have forgotten to eat. As under its shell, the coconut is a real nutritious bomb (at a recent consultation with a nutritionist, she was speechless when I told her I drink the water of one coconut every morning. It was news to me, but it seems it has plenty of calories!)
Consider this:
- Due to its sterility, pH, mineral, and sugar content, coconut water had been successfully used as liquid in intravenous therapy in emergency situations (Wikipedia)
- It is also marketed as a sports drink, because of its high potassium and mineral content, which helps the body recover from rigorous exercise
- During the Pacific War (1941-45) it was used for emergency plasma transfusions to wounded soldiers (http://www.knowledgebase-script.com/)
- It has the same level of electrolytic balance as our blood
- Ayurveda considers it an aphrodisiac (!!!)
- It is supposed to improve mental concentration
- Indian traditional medecine uses it in the case of jaundice, urinary stones, skin infections, measles, sun burn, diabetes, and even cancer
- It's a tasty, healthy cocktail in a completely biodegradable 'cup'
- The shell keeps the liquid always cool
The first ever time I had a coconut on the roadside was after one of my many exhausting expeditions to the Foreigner's Registration Office (they drove me mad before making me an honest and legal inhabitant of India!!!). I had asked a friend to accompany me to 'scare' them a bit - Somit Sen, the then crime reporter of The Times Of India. I was so unnerved and exhausted by the visit, that he took me to a coconut vendor for a refreshment. At first, I flinched, as I was still in my "nothing from the roadside!" phase. He noticed, and said: "If there is anything you can have anywhere in the world without a doubt in your mind, it is the water of a freshly pierced coconut." Being the perfect gentleman, he pushed some onlookers on the side, asked the vendor to wipe his knife and pierce the coconut in front of us. Then he pulled out a clean straw from a packet lying on the side. I was so thursty that I didn't need much convincing. I gulped down the fresh, cool liquid, and within the next few minutes I felt lighter, literally rejuvenated! Thus started my love affair with coconuts!
When I was working at Leo Burnett (the office was at Kemps Corner at that time), there was a coconutwalla always standing outside. Daily, the first thing I saw when walking towards the door, was his smiling face. In the morning, he was the only outsider allowed freely beyond the electronic door. He used to come inside with his huge basked and quench our morning thirst. He knew the preferences of each and every one of us - who liked the malai (the meaty part inside the coconut - if you wanted it, he would skillfully scrape it for you and add a small plastic spoon to the order), who didn't, who liked a small coconut, who had a very big 'capacity'. Service at your desk! He would later discreetly come and collect the shell. All that for 12 rupees!
Nowadays, our cook brings fresh coconuts home every morning. I drink it plain, Gurtaj, with a squeeze of lemon juice. After the first few sips, I know there's a wonderful day ahead!
Green coconuts, Rs 15, everywhere around Bombay
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