Jackfruit (kathal) curry

Jackfruit is the spiky green “exotic fruit” growing in the tropical climates.  Although it is called fruit it is generally cooked like a vegetable.   The ripe jackfruit is eaten like a fruit and raw ones can be cooked as vegetable curry, chips and pickle.  This spiky vegetable has lot of nutrients which are essential for us.  Jackfruit has vitamin C in plenty which helps colds and infections.  It is rich in nutrients like magnesium and copper which prevents bone loss and keeps thyroid health.  One cup of jackfruit contains half of the potassium found in bananas and potassium helps in lowering the blood pressure.  Jackfruit is rich in Vitamin A and just like carrots is good for our eyes.  Eating this exotic fruit can help add the iron supply in the body to prevent the anemia.

This jackfruit curry is very exotically delicious and it makes a very good vegetarian  or vegan dish.  Once jackfruit is peeled and cut, it is very similar to chicken in consistency and is often referred as “vegetable meat” in some parts of  Asia.

Ingredients:
2 cups of peeled and chopped jackfruit (raw), ¾ cup of cooking rice soaked in ½ cup of water overnight, 1 big onion finely chopped, 1 tsp ginger minced, 1 tsp minced garlic, 2 green chilies chopped finely, 3 medium tomatoes chopped and pureed, ¼ tsp cumin seeds, 2 bay leaves, ¼ tsp whole black pepper, 3 or 4 cloves, 1 tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of garam massala or curry powder, ½ tsp of turmeric powder, ¼ tsp of red pepper or paprika (optional), salt to taste, oil for frying and cooking the curry, 1 cup of water.

Method:
Boil the cut pieces of jackfruit if they are fresh.  If you have chosen the frozen or canned jackfruit, there is no need to boil it.  Once boiled drain all the water. Make sure jackfruit does not turn too soft.
In the meanwhile, grind the soaked rice into a paste.  Add ¼ tsp of salt, coriander powder and curry powder to make this into a  batter.   Now dip every piece of drained jackfruit into this batter and deep fry till light brown in color.
Take a pan, heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil.  Add black pepper, cloves and bay leaves. After 10 seconds, add cumin seeds.  When they stop spluttering, add ginger, onion and garlic in that order.
When onion turn golden brown, add turmeric and salt to taste.  Keep in mind that fried pieces of jackfruit also have light salt in it.
Add pureed tomato and coriander powder to it and cook the curry till a boil.  Now add red pepper and a cup of water.  After 15 seconds add the fried jackfruit pieces to the curry.  Let it simmer for  10 minutes.  Sprinkle the garam massala or curry powder and cover it till ready to serve.
Enjoy with any Indian bread or rice.