The moment I
saw the baby Jack fruit, many memories came flooding down my spine, like the
trip to South India during my college days, when I bought a huge Jack Fruit
(because all friends were buying), too heavy to carry, brought it home and then
being scolded by my family for the strong aroma that dominated my house for
days. It brought back the memories of my school days, when every lunch break,
we sat under the shade of Jackfruit tree, (we had 7 such trees in the school
compound) and my boarded friends complained of being served the same jackfruit
dish too often for meals and how much they hated it. It brought the memories of
my mom, who loved this fruit so much that she invented various innovative dishes
to make it tasty, making us believe that we were having non-veg meals on
vegetarian days.
Succulent,
soft and sweet when ripe, the taste closer to banana and mango, it tastes best
in salads and desserts. Very nutritious, like so many tropical fruits, it is
rich in dietary minerals like calcium, potassium and iron. It is excellent
source of energy-giving carbohydrates, fiber and micronutrients making it a
perfect staple food.
During my recent
trip to Jaipur, (I was attending a wedding), Jackfruit made its special
appearance in the form of most spicy barbequed, fibrous dish. At a glance it
resembled roasted Chicken but the taste was unique, it still lingers and I plan
to replicate this dish soon.
But for now, I will make do with
Jackfruit curry.
Ingredients:
250gms Jack
Fruit
200gms curd
1tsp garlic
paste
1tsp ginger
paste
5green chilies
1tsp turmeric
powder
2tsp coriander
powder
1tsp cumin
powder
1tsp 5spice
powder
2tsp salt
2tbsp oil
2 medium size
onions
2 bay leaves
2 cardamoms
2 cloves
1inch cinnamon
stick
2 dried red
pepper
2 medium size
tomatoes
Method:
Here is the step-by-step method for cooking delicious Jackfruit curry. (You can adjust the quantity of salt, chilies and oil to suit your taste)
Step 1:
Chopping the
fruit is bit tricky. You need to oil your hands and the blade for smooth
cutting. The hard wooded center and the outer spiky skin need to be discarded.
The inner fibrous flesh is used for cooking
Step 2
The fruit has
to be cleaned thoroughly, and should be either deep-fried or boiled.
Step 3
I prefer
deep-fried because that gives a crunchy taste. But in this method, I have
boiled it.
Step 4
On the side,
prepare a curd masala by mixing garlic, ginger, chilies, turmeric, coriander
powder, cumin powder, 5 spice powder and 1tsp salt
Step 5
Mix the
boiled/fried jackfruit pieces to the curd masala
Step 6
Leave the
marinated fruit in the fridge for over 4 hours.
Step 7
In a separate
pan, heat oil. Add bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon and dried red
pepper. Add finely chopped onions and cook till light brown.
Step 8
Add the
marinated fruit, add chopped tomatoes and cook till it begins to stick to the
sides.
Step 9
Add 1cup water
and 1tsp salt, stir it well, cover and let it cook till oil floats on the top
Step 10
Serve with hot
buttered parathas or steamed rice.
