Coconut recipe collection

Loaded carrot cake packed with crushed pineapple, coconut, walnuts, and cinnamon, topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting. A moist, oil-based cake baked in two loaf pans.

Pitlai is a South Indian lentil stew with bitter gourd (karela), chickpeas, tamarind, and a ground coconut-spice paste. A tangy, complex vegetarian curry with toor dal and jaggery.

Poke is a Pacific Islands banana and arrowroot pudding baked in squares and soaked in fresh coconut milk. Naturally gluten-free, lightly sweet, with a chewy-silky texture.

Polynesian pineapple spread with cream cheese, crushed pineapple, dates, and a touch of coconut. A tropical no-cook spread for crackers or celery sticks.

Poppy seed bundt cake using yellow cake mix and instant pudding for extra moisture. A dump-and-stir cake with tender crumb and crunchy poppy seeds, dusted with powdered sugar.

Poppy seed snack bread is a shortcut quick bread built on white cake mix and coconut instant pudding, studded with poppy seeds. Two loaves in one bowl, mixed in under 5 minutes.

Coconut prawn curry with turmeric-rubbed shrimp simmered in a thick, spiced coconut gravy with cumin, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes.

Prawns in spice-laden coconut sauce: a South Indian-style prawn curry in a rich coconut sauce built from a freshly ground chile-and-spice paste, cooked until the oil separates. Fragrant, creamy, and warming.

Prune coconut bars with a soft prune-orange filling between a crunchy oat, whole wheat, and coconut crust. No refined sugar, no eggs, and naturally sweet.

Pumpkin macaroons made with ground pecans, coconut, pumpkin puree, and maple syrup. Light and chewy egg white cookies sweetened naturally without refined sugar. Baked low and slow.

Purple thumbs stuff plump steamed prunes with creamy peanut butter for a no-bake two-ingredient snack. Kid-friendly, naturally sweet, fiber-loaded, and ready in 20 minutes.

Quick chocolate zucchini picnic cake: devil's food cake mix supercharged with shredded zucchini, chocolate pudding mix, walnuts, and coconut. One bowl, no frosting, travels like a champ. Garden abundance meets chocolate cake in the best way.

This simple and tasty curry dish made with shrimp and pineapple tidbits is the perfect exotic dinner for two.

No-bake fudge cookies with cocoa, oats, and shredded coconut. Boil, stir, drop, and done in minutes with no oven required. The coconut adds chewy texture to every fudgy bite.

Three-ingredient coconut macaroons with shredded coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. Chewy, golden, and ready in under 25 minutes.

In a Cretan zacharoplasteion (sweet shop), we were so intrigued by these coconut pastries (among the newer breed) that I tried them at home. You can expect the potato pastry to be a bit difficult to manipulate, and you can also anticipate compliments on the results. Attractive and tasty, not excessively sweet.