Coconuts

Sheba's parents told us on the phone - they have over 200 coconuts outside their house in the small village of Tungalam, outside Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

To think of so many of this king of fruit hanging in clusters from just two trees - and those too one in the front of the house and one in the tiny space at the back.

So many that Amma and Appa just do not know what to do with them. How many coconuts can they eat? I personally love coconut chicken curry - but how many times can that be eaten - esp. by our parents who need to keep an eye on their cholesterol.

The coconut can be used in so many ways: the flesh is used for cakes and curries, chutneys and all manner of food down south. The oil is used in cooking and hair. The husk and the bark for making coir. The wood has it uses too.

But what about drinking tender coconuts? As something for sick people and something for quenching a thirst on a hot day, what can beat a freshly opened tender coconut?