LEKAPĪ: Ka ʻAila Niu

Coconut Oil in Hawaiian is called ʻAila Niu. Most of the preparation for the ʻaila comes from first making coconut milk. We perform this step in the haupia recipe, but we’ll lay out the process again here, using a blender instead of grating the coconut meat by hand.

The recipe will be in Hawaiian, but there are English steps at the end.

Below is some vocabulary I looked up and learned along the way while writing this post. E aʻo pono!

ihi = To strip off, remove (outer skin)
ʻili = Skin, bark (of a tree), exterior, outer layer
Kaka = To rinse
Mahele = Portion, part
Pokepoke = To cut up, chop

ʻiʻo (niu) = (Coconut) meat
Hahao = To gather, put in (a container)
Mikini kāwili = Mixing machine / blender
ipu hao = Cooking pot

Cooking Vocab

[Marked with * throughout]

1. Ka hoʻomākaukau ʻana i ka wai niu

Pono e loaʻa kēia mau mea:

ka niu hou [ʻekolu]
A I ‘OLE
ka wai niu [ʻekolu kini]

Kīkē i nā niu i kekahi pōhaku a i ʻole ke pahi. Ua hoʻohana au i ka pōhaku ma koʻu pā hale!

Kīloi aku i ka wai o ka niu ma loko.

*ihi i ka *ʻili o ka niu. He mau mea niu a maʻalahi inā ʻōpio loa ʻole ka niu. *Kaka i nā *mahele.

*Pokepoke i ka *ʻiʻo niu. A laila, *hahao i loko o ka *mikini kāwili. Ukuhi i ka wela ʻano wela. Kāwili i nā mea apau. Ua hana pinepine au no ka mea nui nā mahele niu a liʻiliʻi kaʻu mikini.

Hao i ka niu waʻu i ka ʻānana ma luna o kekahi pola a peluluka. He wai niu kēia wai! Kāwili hou i nā mahele niu waʻu loa a ʻānana a peluluka hou. Hoʻokomo i loko o ka pahu hau no ka pō apau.

2. Ka hoʻomākaukau ʻana i ka ‘aila niu

Ma hope o ka pō apau, aia he mea mākū keʻokeʻo ma luna o ka wai. Hiki nō hoʻi ke hoʻohana i kēia mea mākū ma ke kini o ka wai niu.

Hahao i kēia mahele mākū i ka *ipu hao. Paila - e hele ana ā aniani. Noʻu, ua hele ā aniani ma hope o kanaiwa minuke.

Ukuhi iho i kēia ʻaila i loko o kekahi ʻānana ʻē aʻe, ma luna o ka ipu.

Eia ka ʻaila niu!

~~~

In English

You will need:

- Three coconuts

- Three cans of coconut milk

Directions:

1. If you’re using fresh coconut, you’ll need to first prepare the milk [if you’re using cans, skip to Step 2]. Do this by opening the coconuts (I used a rock, but you can carefully use a knife), draining the water inside, and putting the coconut meat into a bowl. Rinse the pieces off. Then, chop them into smaller pieces, placing them (plus water) into a blender. Blend well. Sift all of this through a cheesecloth into another bowl. Scoop handfuls of this blend into a cheesecloth and ring the milk out into a separate bowl. Once finished, sift as needed. Put this bowl into the refrigerator overnight. The milk will separate - we want the thickened layer on top for the oil.

2. Scoop the thickened white layer (from the coconut milk you made last night, or from the cans of coconut milk) into a saucepan and put on low-medium heat, stirring frequently, until it turns clear. This took me about 90 minutes. Sift this oil until pristine and pour into desired container. Remember that after a little while the oil will solidify. Just reheat when you’d like to use it!

~ Ka Manoʻi ~

Manoʻi (or “monoi” in Tahitian) is a fragrance that is common today in French Polynesia. To make it, coconut oil is infused with the buds of tiaré flowers for days, weeks, even as long as a month to create a sweet perfume.

Although the tiaré is the traditional flower in Tahiti, any potent-smelling flower will do, like the gardenia! Or, in Hawaiʻi, the pua melia (plumeria) and the pīkake (jasmine).

In addition to the original applications of coconut oil, manoʻi can also be used as a massage or body oil and as a perfume!

Tiaré, Gardenia, Pua melia, Pīkake