Halasina kayi palya | Unripe jackfruit recipe

Halasina kayi palya is an easy, vegan South Indian unripe jackfruit recipe.

Unripe jackfruit (halasina kayi) is a delicacy in my hometown of Mangalore. I grew up eating jackfruit and after a few years of living in the USA, when I finally found a pack of frozen unripe jackfruit at my local Indian store, I was THE happiest girl in the world! I always, ALWAYS have a pack of frozen jackfruit in the refrigerator to make my favourite halasina kayi palya!

Jackfruit takes months to grow and the fruit has different tastes and textures at different stages of it’s growth. To elaborate, young jackfruit has a mild taste and has a shreddable texture when cooked. Unripe mature jackfruit is hardly like young jackfruit, it has the pods formed and has a stronger taste and aroma compared to young jackfruit. Well, give a Mangalorean a jackfruit at any stage of it’s growth and we will remain unfazed as we already have many age old traditional recipes, to put the giant fruit to use! Sooo, rest assured that yours truly definitely knows a thing or two about jackfruit 🙂

So you buy a fresh jackfruit from the store and when you cut in, its unripe? Make halasina kayi palya or halasina kayi dosa( jackfruit rice crepes) Once you try them, you may, like me, start looking specifically for unripe jackfruit!

Ingredients

For hot oil seasoning/oggarane/tadka

Oil infused with spices forms the base for any Indian cooking. In South Indian cooking a combination of spices and lentils are infused with oil and this is the #1 flavour contributor in palya. Here is a list of ingredients used in ‘oggarane’ for this traditional Havyaka style halasina kayi palya

• Coconut oil or any other oil of your choice.
• Black mustard seeds
• Split black gram/urad dal/uddina bele
• Dry red chilli
• Cumin seeds
• Curry leaves

Other ingredients

• Turmeric powder
• Indian red chilli powder
• Fresh grated coconut, also available frozen at Indian groceries.

Jackfruit

Use unripe jackfruit in this recipe. I have used ‘matured’ unripe jackfruit, not young or ripe jackfruit. It is available frozen at Indian grocery stores. When jackfruits are in season, you may also be able to find fresh ‘unripe’ jackfruit in Asian grocery stores.

Serving suggestion

Palya is traditionally served with rice as a part of lunch/dinner. It can be eaten with rice mixed with ghee or rice mixed with yogurt/Indian buttermilk.

Generally an everyday Mangalorean meal consists of a gravy to be poured over rice and a dry side dish called palya. Halasina kayi palya goes well with a mild coconut gravy like majjige huli.

More jackfruit recipes!

• Young jackfruit curry
• Steamed rice cakes using fresh jackfruit (Kadubu, gatti)
• Rice dumplings with ripe jackfruit (genasale, patholi)
• Vegan pozole verde with young jackfruit

Halasina kayi palya | Unripe jackfruit recipe

Shwetha

Easy south Indian unripe jackfruit recipe. Vegan and gluten free.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Havyaka, Indian, Karnataka, mangalore

Servings 4

Equipment

• Heavy bottomed pan

Ingredients

  

• 4 cups Chopped unripe jackfruit 400 grams
• 1¼ cup Water
• ⅓ cup fresh/frozen grated coconut not dry desiccated
• ¼ tsp Turmeric powder
• ¾ tsp Indian red chilli powder or to taste
• Salt to taste

Hot oil seasoning/tadka/oggarane

• 1 tbsp Coconut oil
• ½ tsp Black mustard seeds rai/saasive
• 2 tsp Urad dal/Split black gram uddina bele
• ¼ tsp Cumin seeds jeera/jeerige
• 1 Dry red chilli
• 1 sprig Curry leaves

Instructions

 

• If using frozen jackfruit, one way to thaw it is by moving it from freezer to refrigerator the day before cooking. Another quicker way is to remove the pack from the freezer and soak the contents in water for a few minutes until thawed.
• Chop unripe jackfruit into small pieces.
• In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil on medium heat and add mustard seeds, urad dal and dry red chilli. When mustard splutters and urad dal turns golden add the cumin seeds. Next add the curry leaves.
• Add in the chopped unripe jackfruit, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and water. Cover and cook on medium heat.
• When jackfruit is cooked, add in the fresh coconut and mix well. Cover and cook for two more minutes.

  Note: You may add more water if needed. Some like to add more water and cook jackfruit until it gets mushy.
• Serve with rice and a Mangalorean gravy to make a traditional meal.

Video

Notes

• Jackfruit can be thawed by moving the frozen pack from freezer to refrigerator the day before cooking. However, I use it directly from the freezer. To thaw, I soak the frozen jackfruit in water for a few minutes. 
• Be sure to use mature ‘unripe jackfruit’ in this recipe, not ripe jackfruit or young jackfruit. 
• Fresh coconut is available both fresh and frozen at Indian grocery stores.
• As palya can be made with both fresh and frozen jackfruit, ‘Prep time’ listed, does not include the time required to clean and prep a fresh jackfruit.

Keyword halasina kayi palya, unripe jackfruit recipe