Coconut, grated In Bali, fresh coconut is always the starting point for recipes featuring coconut – whether it is grated or in the form of coconut milk. A coconut is split open and the flesh is priced out from the shell. The pieces are either left raw or roasted over a flame before being grated to add to salads or to use to make coconut milk. Away from the tropics, frozen pre-grated coconut is acceptable in recipes that call for grated coconut and can be found at Asian grocers. However, in recipes calling for fresh coconut to be roasted, it is best to seek out the real thing. Coconut milk Making coconut milk from grated coconut is a simple process that involves mixing the coconut with water and wringing it out to produce milk.… Read More

So here it is! Casa Luna’s signature dish, which was inspired by – you guessed it – a trip to
Spain. I devoured paella nearly every day when I visited in 1991, and in Madrid in the
midst of probably my tenth version, I had an epiphany, or rather one of those ‘what’s all
the fuss about this dish’ moments, and realised I could create a superb Balinese paella
adding a little mystique of the spice islands.

Our paella is an elegant celebration of seafood as well as a meeting of Bali and the
Mediterranean – the flash of the flamenco is introduced to the shimmer of the legong,
Bali’s famous traditional dance.… Read More

On the table before me lies my favourite Balinese meal: nasi campur, a serve of freshly
steamed rice topped with small helpings of delicious things. There is braised tempeh,
gently spiced smoked sardines, wok-fried water spinach with a scattering of sliced chillies,
amber-tinged chicken, warm sprouts and green amaranth tossed in peanut sauce, plus
fried sambal – which I simply can’t live without. Just a spoonful of each alongside the rice
is enough to satisfy the stomach and enliven the tastebuds.

Nasi campur is in fact nothing out of the ordinary, but simply the nourishing daily fare
that is prepared in every home, food stall and market in every Balinese village.… Read More