Kalu Pol Maluwa (Jackfruit Seed Curry)

My family teases me for my love for jackfruits and even my colleagues who live in the countryside never miss to bring back jackfruit from their farms when returning to Chennai. I remember our trip to Thekkadi and how I kept gasping at every jackfruit tree on the road and hoping I had the monkey skills to reach to them. Josh is an elite eater! He prefers easy to handle food, that is presented and served in an appealing manner and the idea of a whole jackfruit sends him creeps. So, I’m the one at loss here, and he never lets me get a whole fruit, but lets me pick these fancy jackfruit boxes (peeled and cleaned – box of 6 or 10 pieces). This is literally like peanuts to me, and I never have enough. So this season, I insisted, in fact pulled a couple of long faces and made him buy a full jackfruit. I woke up everyday to look at the beauty and couldn’t wait to get my hands dirty. So moral of the story, ate to my hearts content and was left out with a whole bag of jackfruit seeds to try all the lovely recipes I had in mind.

This recipe is a crowd-pleaser in Srilanka and has a very meaty flavor to it. It is cooked with strong spices, freshly ground and almost tastes like a good old countryside lamb curry. We usually serve it with rice and some sambol and can also be paired with Indian breads.

Spicy and fresh jackfruit seed curry!

Ingredients

• Jackfruit seeds – 300 gm

• Onion – 1 large, finely sliced

• Tomato – 1 large diced

• Curry leaves – 1 sprig

• Sesame Oil – 3 tbsp

• Garlic – one whole pod

• Ginger – 2 inch long

• Salt – To taste

• Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

For the masala

• Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp

• Cinnamon – 1 inch long

• Cloves - 4

• Cardamom – 3

• Fennel seeds/Saunf - 1 tsp

• Peppercorns – 2 tsp

• Dry red chillies - 2

• Coriander seeds – 1 tsp

• Coconut – 1 cup

Method

1. Peel, clean and pressure cook the seeds until cooked and soft.

2. For the masala: Dry roast all the ingredients, except coconut. They turn aromatic while cooked on low flame. Allow it to cool and transfer to a mixer. Grind to fine powder.

3. To the same pan, add one teaspoon of oil (I have used sesame oil in this recipe, you can use any oil of your choice) and fry the coconut until golden brown. Blend along with the powdered spices to form a thick fine paste.

4. To a pan, add oil and let it heat.

5. Add onions, curry leaves and crushed ginger and garlic. Let it cook.

6. Add salt, tomato, and cook until they turn a little mushy.

7. Add turmeric, boiled seeds and the curry paste. Adjust water consistency and allow it to boil for 5 mins on medium heat.

8. Serve with rice or breads of your choice.

Note*

The ginger and garlic are very important as the jackfruit seeds could cause gastric issues. Crushed tastes better than paste. However, you could still use GG paste if you wish to.

Adjust the pepper and chilli quantities to suit your liking.

The same recipe can be used for raw jackfruit.