We drank our first fresh coconuts when we were visiting the Five Rathas at Mahabalipuram, it was very refreshing in the heat. Today on our drive from Mysuru to Wellington, Vaishakh pulled over at a coconut stall by the side of the road to try another one. He assured us they would taste different here, he was right. They were sweeter and there seemed to me much more coconut water than the first one we’d drunk. It’s strange seeing the coconuts here as they are large and round, shaped and looking more like a melon. They’re not at all like the dry hairy brown ones we used to see at fair ground shys. Of course that is just a dried version of the same fruit, missing the fleshy outer layer. The way that the coconut stall man cuts the coconut is an art (and slightly terrifying – I did count to check he still had all his fingers and thumbs!). After you’ve drunk the coconut water, you hand it back to him, he cracks it in two with a huge knife, then shapes a spoon from one half and scrapes out the flesh into the coconut half for you to eat. The flesh is very wet, chewy and mild – not the strong coconut flavour you get from dried coconut. It’s refreshing but perhaps an acquired taste, the texture isn’t really to my liking – but the coconut water is delicious.

Don’t try this at home!