There are many great recipes of Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry. All family has one that they like. I have always had my own way of making Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry that was inspired by my own family. It was quite surprising to see how differently it was written and published in Sri Lanka daily news, some time back. These recipes were collected and first edited as a book by Hilda Deustrom and came out in the early nineteen hundreds.
Although Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry has changed over the time and now a much spicier and the milder version exists side by side in families, I still love the techniques and how the ingredients are described in the book.
Cooking of Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry in historical Sri Lankan kitchen.
I am fascinated by older cookbooks. The history of recipes, evolution of flavors, and cooking methods interest me so much that I end up reading, researching old recipes, and cultural aspects of cooking so much. Every time I visit Sri Lanka, I go hunting for old cookbooks and buy them. My style Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry has been shaped by such historical cooking ways.
As far as I can tell, when the older version of Jackfruit curry, blends along with acidity and flavor from Malabar tamarind, and also coconut toddy vinegary aroma was the prominent flavor in early 1900 Sri Lankan kitchens. I am confident on how the flavors would have worked well with earthy flavors of young Jackfruit. It is similar to mustard Jackfruit stir fry that is quite popular even today in parts of southern India and Sri Lanka.
The nineteenth century Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry today is like tender Jackfruit mallum. I hope to add a printable recipe of Jackfruit mallum in coming days and get notified when I do by subscribing to my blog.
All Jackfruit curries are cooked by simmering it in spicy sauces is are essentially slow cooked. It is true for many meat and fish curries like Sri Lankan dark tuna curry or red pork curry, because they are cooked low and slow on clay pots. When I first saw the slow cooked version of Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry in one of the fellow bloggers, Hungry Lankan it made me so happy. Roshini is Some one I frequently draw inspiration from and, refer to when I am writing down my own recipes.
My family’s Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry addiction is a spicy one
My Family’s way of making Jackfruit curry is spicy and savory. My mother is law’s recipe packs even more heat and flavor. It is the spiciest Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry I have encountered. Chilies, and Malabar tamarind along with other roasted spices from red curry blend ,complement and help bring out a meat like umami flavor to the curry. Serving a Sri Lankan young Jackfruit made from scratch is considered quite a gourmet rice and curry dinner experience, in Sri Lanka.
When planning on making a Sri Lankan Young Jackfruit curry , it tastes far better if you can start from the fresh picked raw Jackfruit. Every step of the cooking process starting from carving, cleaning and precooking Jackfruit pieces in salty broth, to adding spices, tempering and slowly simmering the curry to ultimate perfection, add layers of flavors to it. Jackfruit is one of those curries, the longer you simmer it more flavorful it becomes because Jackfruit pieces becomes more tender and absorb the spices even more.
A quick version of Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry uses canned or frozen version of Jackfruit pieces that are cooked in salty broth and I use it constantly at my home in USA, when I cannot find fresh Jackfruit. I am writing today’s tender Jackfruit curry to make with canned Jackfruit.
In case If you are starting with fresh tender Jackfruit, cube the fruit and boil the cubes in water with salt, turmeric and Malabar tamarind, as the first step. Peel the exterior tougher and green parts and hard rind in the middle. After that, cube the Jackfruit in to smaller chunks and follow, my recipe to make an authentic Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry. Click the link below to read more about the spices that I use in the recipe.
Thanks for visiting and reading ThePerfectCurry and I hope you enjoy this recipe that came from my family’s heritage.
Sri Lankan Young Jackfruit curry
How to cook spicy meaty Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry under 30 minutes
- 2 cans young Jackfruit polos
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 sprig of curry leaves
- 1 tomato
- 1 medium red onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 1 small piece of lemongrass root
- 2 pieces of dry pandan leaves
- 3 tbsp red curry powder
- 2 tbsp black curry powder
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1.5 tbsp crushed red chili optional
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 cup coconut milk
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Drain and rinse the Jackfruit pieces. Place them in a bowl and mix with salt, curry powders, and set aside for few minutes.
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Finely dice tomatoes, onions and thinly slice curry leaves, ginger, garlic.
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Heat up coconut oil in a heavy bottomed pan or a clay cooking pot. Add a stick of cinnamon, fenugreek seeds, crushed lemongrass, mustard seeds and crushed red pepper. Fry a couple seconds. tossing frequently to prevent fenugreek and chilies from burning.
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Immediately add curry leaves, onions, ginger, and garlic to the pan. Let them fry in oil for about 30 seconds, until soft and aromatic.
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Add marinated jackfruit pieces and mix the cubes well with pan sauce.
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Add 1 cup of water or light coconut milk then add a few dry pandan leaves and Malabar tamarind.
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Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for 20 minutes, under low flame on stove. Jackfruit cubes will absorb flavors and will become pull apart tender.
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Give the curry a taste and adjust seasoning and curry powder to your liking. Finally add a tablespoon or two thick coconut milk and allow it to boil to thicken the sauce.
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Follow serving tips on the post.
How to Serve Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry
My favorite rice and curry combinations with young Jackfruit are to pair with steamed basmati, red lentil/ creamy potato /mild fish curry with mallum or a cooking salad.
Another way to serve young Jackfruit curry is as a side to Sri Lankan string hoppers ( rice noodles), Roti with spicy coconut Sambol. Sri Lankan young Jackfruit curry is also perfect to make vegan kottu, burgers or subs because its meaty delicious flavor.
