Traditional Sri Lankan coconut milk extraction: grating fresh kernels and warm water kneading?

Extracting authentic coconut milk (Pol Kiri) relies on mechanical cell disruption and oil-in-water emulsion chemistry. Mature coconut kernels are hand-grated using a traditional seated coconut scraper (Hena Bera / Hiramanaya) to produce fine, uniform flakes. Warm water (45-50°C) is added to the grated pulp; boiling water must be avoided as excessive heat denatures natural coconut globulin proteins, causing the emulsion to break and separate into oily curds. The pulp is kneaded vigorously by hand and squeezed through a clean cloth to extract rich, creamy first-press milk (Mee Kiri), followed by a second warm-water wash for thin milk (Diyakiri).