This young jackfruit curry is easy to make, requires only a handful of ingredients but is so flavourful! I learnt to make this jackfruit curry from my mom, who learnt it from a friend who belongs to the GSB community of Mangaluru. In Konkani, this young jackfruit curry is called kadgi ghashi(Kadgi means young, tender,’raw’ jackfruit. Ghashi is a thick curry).

Jackfruit is not just a vegetable in Havyaka community and South Canara in general. It is a delicacy and it is an emotion.

Around January/February tender jackfruits appear on the trees and the Jackfruit fever begins, ‘gouji’ as we call it. Extended family, the ones who are lucky enough to have jackfruit trees start dropping by, bringing with them jackfruits to last for days! I wouldn’t be wrong if I said food is the expression of love and care in India.

Jackfruits take a couple of months to grow and ripen. At every stage of it’s development, the taste and textures differ, so much so that it is called by different names at different stages. ‘Gujje’ is baby jackfruit, when it grows a little more and the future seeds start developing, it is called ‘bele-chekke’. Biting into those tender seeds is heaven. Many a fights have been fought over dinner tables for those seeds! When they grow further and petals form, it means they are quite mature and will soon ripen. This stage is called ‘halasinakai’ and then it finally ripens and it’s called ‘Halasina hannu’.

In the tender stage, stir frys and currys are prepared. After the petals form, but before ripening, dosa(Indian crepe), happala(sun dried papad/fryums) , sliced jackfruit chips are prepared along with currys and stir frys. At this stage, some of it is preserved in salt to be used when jackfruits are not in season. Once the fruit ripens, comes the time to prepare sweet dishes using the fruit and the seeds too! The ripened fruit is also preserved and stored away in the depths of the freezer for future use. Well, now you know I wasn’t lying about our jackfruit obsession!

I sure miss fresh unripe jackfruit here in the USA but we do have the next best alternative which is frozen and they also come canned in brine. So, we have a year-round supply to make our favorite dishes.

The young jackfruit curry that I have here today is very easy to prepare. Black chana (black chickpeas, kappu kadle) is soaked and pressure cooked with salt. It is a good idea to add salt when cooking beans so that they get well seasoned. The jackfruit is cooked along with some turmeric and salt. Meanwhile make the coconut curry paste by blending grated coconut, roasted chillies and some water. Coconuts are a staple in Mangalorean cuisine and is used as a thickening agent in most of the curries. Add the curry paste to the cooked vegetable+chickpeas and bring it to a boil. The gravy is given a hot oil treatment (tadka, oggarane) with loads of garlic which takes it to the next level! Enjoy the curry with steamed rice. Goes well with neer dose too.

What makes this young jackfruit curry special

• is vegan
• Needs minimal ingredients
• Easy
• has chickpeas that lend plant-protein
• is high in fiber
• Tastes wonderful

Questions that you may have about young jackfruit curry.

What kind of jackfruit to use?

This recipe uses young/tender jackfruit, which is jackfruit at it’s baby stage. Ripe jackfruit cannot be used in this recipe. In North America, young/tender jackfruit is available canned and frozen.

Canned – Young jackfruit in water, young jackfruit in brine, both work in this curry.

Frozen – Found in Indian stores.

Can I use canned chickpeas?

Yes, absolutely. Add them in when the jackfruit is done cooking.

Can I use white chickpeas?

Yes, no problem!

Can I use dry dessicated coconut?

Yes, you can but the flavor would slightly differ.

Should I soak my chickpeas?

I always soak my dry beans as it makes them easier to digest. It also reduces the cooking time. You can also soak them in warm water if you are short on time.

Things to know if you are new to cooking with coconut

• Have the coconut at room temperature before blending. If using frozen, defrost it in the microwave. The fat separates if blended when cold. If your kitchen is cold, you can also use warm water to blend.
• Once curry paste is added to the cooked vegetables, gently get it to a boil. It has the tendency to separate if it boils rapidly. It is still edible, would only look non-homogenous.

Check out these other Mangalore recipes

• Mangalore Havyaka Palya/sauteed vegetables
• Majjige huli/Coconut-yogurt curry
• Mavina hannu sasive/Mango in a coconut mustard gravy
• Tondekai huli menasina kodilu/Ivy gourd coconut curry

Young jackfruit curry recipe

Raw jackfruit curry | Young jackfruit curry | gujje gasi

Shwetha

This vegan, coconutty jackfruit+chickpea curry tastes great over rice!

4.91 from 10 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Chickpea soak and cook time 9 hours hrs

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Servings 3 people

Equipment

• pressure cooker
• blender/mixer-grinder

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup dry black chickpeas, black chana canned can be used too
• 2 cups Tender/young jackfruit chopped 250 gms
• 1/8 tsp Turmeric
• salt to taste
• water as needed

To blend

• ¾ – 1 cup fresh grated/frozen coconut dry dessicated can be used but taste would differ
• 5-6 dry red chillies (roasted in a few drops of oil) preferably byadgi variety
• tamarind a tiny piece

For hot oil tempering/tadka/oggarane

• 2 tsp oil preferably coconut oil
• 5-6 big cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 dry red chilli broken in half
• a few Curry leaves

Instructions

 

Prepare the chickpeas

• Soak the chickpeas in water overnight. Soaking can be speeded up using warm water.
• Cook the chickpeas with a teaspoon of salt in a pressure cooker. I cook them in an instant pot for 15 minutes.

Prepare curry

• Cook the jackfruit in a pot. Do not add a lot of water as we don’t want our gravy to be too thin. Add enough water to barely cover the pieces of jackfruit, add some salt and cook until tender. The frozen and canned ones cook quick in 5-10 minutes.
  
• Roast the dry red chillies in a few drops of oil until fragrant.
• Defrost the coconut in microwave if using frozen. The coconut should not be cold or it separates on blending.
• Transfer the coconut, roasted chillies and tamarind with just enough water to help the blender do it’s thing. Blend it into a smooth paste.
  
• Transfer the coconut gravy into the pot with cooked jackfruit and turn the heat back on.
• Bring the curry to a boil on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil gently for two minutes and turn off the heat.

Hot oil seasoning/tadka/oggarane

• Heat oil in a small heavy bottomed pan.
• Add chopped garlic and a broken dry red chilli.
• When garlic browns, add black mustard seeds.
• When mustard splutters, add in the curry leaves.
• Pour oil with the seasonings over the curry and cover.

Notes

• Use fresh, frozen or canned unripe jackfruit.
• White chickpeas can be used in place of black chickpeas.
• Canned chickpeas can be used too.

Keyword easy, jackfruit, vegan

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