Kosha kanthaal – Curried jackfruit

Kanthal = Kathal in Hindi and Jackfruit in English, is considered vegetarian meat 😀 Interesting, isn’t it ? 😉

Because once cooked, it tastes like mutton curry. Bengalis term it as ‘Gaanch patha’, translation – Tree Goat. It is a delicacy in our traditional Bengali cuisine.

There are many recipes related to this vegetable/ fruit, ranging from traditional ‘dalna’ to ‘cutlets’. What I have cooked, lies somewhere in between 😉

Cooking Jackfruit, the entire procedure of cleaning, dicing and ultimately cooking, needs lots of patience and finesse. End result will be par excellence !!

Here in local farmers market, the vendor will clean and dice the fruit for the customer. Therefore, I was saved from one tedious task.

 

Here’s what I did………….

INGREDIENTS

250 grams – Jackfruit / kanthaal

100 grams – curd

1 tbsp – finely chopped onion

2 tbsp – onion paste

1 tsp – ginger paste

1/2 tsp – garlic paste

1 tsp – green chili paste (optional)

1 1/2 tsp – cumin powder

1/2 tsp – tumeric powder

1/2 tsp – red chili powder ( optional, if you are to use green chili paste)

1 tsp – garam masala

1 tsp – clarified butter

1″ stick – cinnamon

2 nos – bay leaf

1/2 tsp – cumin seeds

1/2 tsp – sugar

1/4 cup – mustard oil

1 1/2 cups – water

salt to taste

METHOD

Wash the diced jackfruit. In a bowl mix together curd, cumin powder, tumeric and red chili powder (optional). Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the jackfruit with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp sugar . Drain on an absorbent paper.

Temper the remaining oil with bay leaves, cinnamon stick and cumin seeds. Add the chopped onion and fry till translucent.

Add the onion paste and fry further till the translucent stage. Add the ginger, garlic and green chili (optional) paste and fry till fragrance is released. Tip in the curd mixture and the fried jackfruit. Lower the heat, adjust the salt and cover. Cook for 10 -12 mins, stirring occasionally.

Add water, cover and cook till the jackfruit is tender. In case if there is remaining moisture, increase the flame and allow it to dry up.

Heat the clarified butter separately, add the garam masala and immediately take it off the fire.

Once the moisture dries up to your desired consistency, add the prepared clarified butter and garam masala. Give it one last good stir and take it off fire.

Serve hot with chapati, paranthas or rice.

 

Happy cooking !! 🙂

Cheers !! 😀

 

 

 

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