Kathal curry, a delicious, flavorful, lightly spiced curry. Wherein unripe, young jackfruit chunks are cooked in an onion-tomato based gravy.
Kathal is the Hindi name of jackfruit. It is also called as Palakai (Tamil), Inchada (Odia), Echor (Bengali).
Jackfruit is an Asian tropical plant originated in India and the largest tree-borne fruit on earth. It is a fruit-cum-vegetable usually available in summer.
The raw variant is often considered as vegetarian meat. Because of its shredded and meaty texture. Ripe jackfruit is sweet but the raw one has a savory taste. Other than the thorny outer skin and the core, both the fleshy part and the seeds of this fruit are edible.
Jackfruits are in season now. In our backyard, we have a few jackfruit trees. I am very fond of jackfruits. Especially the raw one.
The jackfruit I have used here is from our backyard. I have also shared a few pictures from those. It is always fun to make curry out of your own garden produce. Isn't it?
Cutting open the jackfruit is a task. Because of its large size, thick thorny outer layer and the white sticky substance inside it. Hence here are a few tips to make the cutting process hassle-free and smooth
- Grease a little oil on your hands, knife, and the chopping board before start cutting the jackfruit.
- After cutting into halves immediately soak them in water and chop them further into quarters and again submerged them in water. It will help to get rid of the sticky sap and also protect them to get discolored.
If buying from outside, ask the vegetable vendor to peel and chop the jackfruit for you. They also do it. Use tinned jackfruits if you don't find the fresh one.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this jackfruit curry with plain rice, basmati rice, jeera rice or even roti or paratha.
- Dhaba Style Chicken Curry
- Coriander Rice
- Simple Chicken Curry
- Bihari Style Chicken Curry
- Chingari Malai Curry
Recipe
Kathal Curry | Jackfruit Curry
Ingredients
For boiling the jackfruits
- 2 cup raw jackfruits cut into medium size chunks
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup warm water
For garam masala powder
- 2 green cardamoms
- 1 clove
- 1 cinnamon stick approx 1 inch
- 2 petals of mace/javitri
- a pinch of nutmeg
For kathal curry
- 4 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 grated onion, large size
- ⅓ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1 grated tomato, large size
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon crushed kasuri methi
- salt to taste
- ⅓ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 2-3 tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
Instructions
Preparing the Jackfruit Chunks
- Pressure cook the jackfruit cubes combining with water, salt and turmeric.
- Cook for 1 whistle over a medium flame and let it releases the pressure on its own.
- Once done, discard the water and transfer the cooked jackfruit cubes into a bowl.
- Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a pan and fry the cooked jackfruits until golden brown in color and transfer to the bowl.
Making the garam masala powder
- Make a powder by crushing the cardamom pods, clove, cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg in a mortar and pestle.
Making Kathal Curry
- Heat remaining oil in the same pan. Add sugar.
- Once the sugar starts caramelizing, add bay leaf, and grated onion. Saute the onion until it turns slightly golden.
- Add turmeric and red chili powder and stir to mix.
- Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2-3 minutes. If needed sprinkle a few drops of water.
- Add grated tomato followed by salt and saute and cook for 6-8 minutes or until oil separates.
- Add cumin powder and coriander powder, Stir to mix.
- Add the fried jackfruits and saute for 2- 3 minutes.
- Add warm water and mix. Simmer the flame. Cover and cook until the curry reached the required consistency.
- Finally add garam masala powder, crushed Kasuri methi, and chopped coriander leaves. Stir to mix and turn off the flame.
- Cover the lid and let it rest for 5 minutes to combine all the flavors.
- Kathal curry is ready to serve. Serve hot.
Notes
- The addition of sugar in the oil adds a lovely color to the curry and enhances the flavor.
- Use canned jackfruit, if you don't find the fresh ones.
- The freshly made garam masala lends a beautiful aroma to the dish. However any garam masala caould be used as well.
Stine Mari
I was first introduced to jackfruit when I visited Cambodia a few years ago. I think the fruit tastes delicious on its own, but adding it in a curry is taking it to the next level!
Karyl Henry
I've expanded my adventurous nature with food, but haven't quite gotten it as far as jackfruit...but my parents are vegetarian and I know they both eat it. They both also love curry, so I'll share this recipe with them
Jacqueline Debono
I have never tried jackfruit but would like to. Many people say it's delicious. I love curry and I can imagine this to be a fabulous vegetarian curry!
Danielle Wolter
i love all kinds of curry. if it is curry i want to eat it! this sounds delicious. i've never had jackfruit, but really want to try it.
Kelly Anthony
I've never had jackfruit but our local grocery store is offering a large discount so now I have an excuse to buy one. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Jenni LeBaron
I've never cooked with or even tried jackfruit before, but I am intrigued by it because it looks like such a versatile and interesting fruit! I love the other flavors that went into this curry too!
Kacie Morgan
I went to a food trends event earlier this year and they told us jackfruit would be big in 2019 - they weren't lying! This looks amazing, just pinned your recipe.
Sam Harbison
This looks delicious! Thank you for going into so much detail about jackfruit! I’ve wanted to learn how to make it for my vegan friends, but I was sort of intimidated by it because I’ve never used it before.
Amanda
I've never had jackfruit in a curry, and I'm so glad I came across this recipe! The flavors are delicious, and it's such a great way to use jackfruit. Thanks for sharing!
April
Fantastic curry recipe with some incredible colors, too. It sounds like it is a perfect choice of spices and ingredients, too!
Mimi
It's been a while since I cooked with jackfruit. Definitely something I look forward to know. Delicious curry that will be a great addition to my menu.
Maman de sara
I tried jackfruit once but I never cooked it. This dish looks Flavorful.
Nicole Hood
This looks rich and delicious. I have tried jackfruit but never thought to use it in a curry!
Zoe
Hi, can I use jackfruit form a can for this recipe?
Geetanjali
Yeah, definitely you can. Go ahead and use that. Thanks for connecting! 🙂