My wife is a big user of fresh coconut in all our South Indian cooking. In fact, her mother had shared a proverb with me long back: "With Coconut and Asafotida in the kitchen even a monkey can cook!" I am also a big believer in coconut dishes, especially coconut chutney and Avial. So you can well imagine that we grate a lot of coconut, almost on a daily basis.
Let me correct that last sentence. I grate coconut a lot, as a token of my help in kitchen and to ensure we never have shortages. And that brings me to the technical theme of this post.
You see, we are still looking for the perfect coconut grater. Looking at strong coffee-colored, muscular Kerala men and women, I think their well-being is as much owed to coconut tree climbing as to grating coconuts. I have seen in coffee table books and fancy cookery titles enticing pictures of ancient royal, coconut graters. My wife, an M. Tech engineer, has a clear idea of how the ideal coconut grater should be designed. But we are nowhere near perfect with what we have.
When the last one, an old reliable, died out meekly, I set out to buy a great grater. After much searching all over, I bought one (see picture) at an enterprising Marwari store in Thippasandra. When I told the owner that I might bring it back for refund or replacement if rejected by GHQ, he told me that I should tell my lady to make do with what she got. I told him he didn't seem to understand either coconut-graters or women like I do.
Anyway, whereas this grater is doing quite well, thank you, my wife has continued her search for the perfect design, inspired by what she saw in someone's house. When we went to the said shop in Gandhi Bazar, the shopkeeper showed us items much deficient in quality and engineering, and looked totally disinterested in selling a grater. He reminded me of my neighbour who has lost all interest in coconuts since his doctor told him coconut kernel is rich in cholesterol. (science bit: coconut, being a vegetable, has zero cholesterol which is an enzyme produced by animals).
Anyways. In order to stabilize my coconut grater situation, I decided to replace the poor quality horizontal holding bolt and nut (see the picture) that held the blade with much wobble. The wobble contributes to acute dissatisfaction in the grater (here I mean myself) and constant cribbing in the kitchen. So last Sunday, I set out in search of a bolt and nut of quality.
My discovery was shocking. Tens of hardware shops, and none sold nuts and bolts! They sold fancy bathroom fittings and paints etc., but no nuts and bolts. Some small shops that resembled scrap dealers showed some rusty pieces, but nothing of engineering excellence. Someone told me to travel all the way downtown, an unlikely prospect since I was already squirming at the auto fare to Thippasandra.
Then I had a lateral thought. Such a lateral thought resembles freshly grated, soft, sweet and succulent coconut. The thought was: Why not try an auto parts dealer?!? I moved at once, at the speed of light, to the nearest dingy Auto Parts shop where a very knowledgeable salesman attended to me in five seconds with the right item.
So in the picture you see the long bolt with three washers and two nuts, doing a wonderful job of the "Open and Shut Grater Blade" task. No wobble, no pain.
Ever since, I am a happy man with faith restored in mankind. No wonder they call the coconut tree as Kalpavriksha, the wish-fulfilling tree.
Total expense: two trips to Gandhi Bazar market taxi fare Rs. 800/ PLUS auto fare for Thippasandra trip Rs 60/-. Cost of bolt and two nuts and three washers Rs.3/-.
To be on the safe side I also bought a matching JK spanner, an original duplicate that cost me Rs 30/-.
