Raw jackfruit is called kadgi in Konkani. This is as popular as the ripe jackfruit. This is used as a vegetable in many dishes. Some people can give anything to eat this vegetable. Though I absolutely loved the ripe jackfruit, I never liked the raw one. Whenever aayi cooked something with it, I would refuse to eat it. But now that I am here in US and it is hard to find it, I wanted to eat it. I searched every possible place for at least frozen version of this with no luck. But last week when I went to Indian store, I saw this and picked one. I didn’t know how much it costed till the time came to pay. Well, my husband was not at all happy with the amount I was paying for this vegetable. When I came home and tried cutting it, all my excitement was gone for toss. It was very hard and after some time I gave up on it and asked my husband to help me cut it. He was not at all happy with the amount of money and effort we were putting into this jackfruit, he strictly ordered me not to buy this again. So I had to cook something absolutely yummy with this to avoid further comments. I chose this randayi-side dish with coconut sauce. One bite into this dish and he forgot all his anger :).
Back at my native, we have many jackfruit trees in our yard. During season, these trees had loads of jackfruits which were treat to the eyes. Aayi prepares many dishes with it, but this one is everybody’s favorite (as I said, I never liked it while growing up). She used to make this very often but somehow I never developed a taste for it. But when I found the jackfruit here, suddenly I started missing this dish. This time, I loved it too much.
Cutting jackfruit is a big task. I am posting a picture for the newbies. Make sure to use a very sharp knife. Better yet, use a addoli or advali or mettugathi to cut it. Use a bowl of water to put the pieces in after cutting. Preferably cut them on a paper to avoid the gum dropping on the floor and making a mess. Before touching it, apply some oil to hands to avoid sticking.
Cut the hard inside part and discard. Cut the thick skin. If the seeds are grown and are too hard, peel them and then use. Make small pieces.
Ingredients:
2 cups jackfruit pieces
3/4 cup fresh/frozen coconut
4-5 red chilies
3-4 teppal/sichuan pepper
2-3 pieces kokum
1/2 cup toor dal
A pinch turmeric
Salt
Method:
Cook dal and jackfruit with a turmeric. (Preferably use two cooker vessels. In one, put jackfruit and in the other, put dal).
Grind coconut and red chilies to a very smooth paste. When done, put the teppal in same masala and slightly crush it(grind for a second. Make sure not to grind the teppal for long, it creates a very bad if it becomes paste).
Take the dal, jackfruit and masala in a pan and cook. Add salt, kokum, mix well and cook for 7-8mins. Serve hot with rice.
Serves : 4-5
Preparation time : 30mins
Shilpa,
Tks for posting this yummy recipe. I shall surely try and let u know…also wd make kadgi chakko.amma used to make this and in Karkala i hv eaten this several times!
tku again.
Shilpa: Thanks Purnima. I have kadgi chakko recipe on the site. Have a look if you are interested :).
Shilpa,
raw jackfruit is so easily available frozen or canned in most asian stores..why did u spend so much time and effort on this one?
A
Shipa: I can’t stand canned vegetable/fruits. I had checked in Asian store and frozen or fresh jackfruit was not available. So I had to spend time and effort.
hehe those fresh jackfruits are expensive here… i bought some last month too, it was so bad, I had to take the seeds and throw the rest away 🙁 this curry looks yummy! anything will taste great with coconut gravy and kokum… so this must have been amazing with jackfruit!
Shilpa,you got the real fresh raw JF! Looks so good there.I get just canned ones.
Palya looks great.I will try with canned ones.Thanks:)
Hi Shilpa,
Ya same here,I never used to like it when my aayi made it but I like to eat it now……here we get frozen ones in Indian stores,I know its a hard task to cut fresh one.
Try the can of Chaokoh Green Jackfruit, cheap and easy, may not give you the pleasure of chopping and eating fresh, but life is surely easy with that one.
Just remmeber to rinse well and soak the jackfruit in fresh water overnight as the brine makes it a tad salty
Shilpa,
I remember having this raw jackfruit konkani curry back in M’lore. My neighbors there were konkani’s and we used to exchange our dishes most of the times. Aunty used to add channa along with jackfruit and they tasted out of the world. Thanks for the recipe girl. Now I can make it.
Shilpa,
Trick in cutting the raw or ripe jack fruit is apply oil to knife or mettukatti and to your hands liberally. Coconut oil is the preferrable one but any oil will work. Growing up we kids did the dirty job of cleaning jackfruit and grown-ups did the cooking.
Shilpa…I have seen the raw jackfruit many times in Indian stores, but neither ripe nor raw, so never pur it. Didnt like the canned ones at all. Well Sandeepa thanks for the overnight soaking tip, will try it surely, as i have bought the Chaokoh brand before, but directly used it.
Seema adding channa along with Jackfruit is Chane Ghashi with kadgi. Teppal and kokum are not added it that. This recipe of Shilpa has a different taste and aroma.
Give me kadgi any day – be it chakko, ghasshi or phodyo – both my husband & I just love it !!
But, no fresh ones for me…I prefer the tinned ones and here we get lots of tinned raw jacfruit in the Chinese and West India stores (try Chaokoh Green Jackfruit or Arroyo brand or evn Mr. Goudas!!) They are all wonderful.
Cooked with brown chana, it is just yuuumm!!
Shilpa,
Even I am not a big fan of canned fruits. But I did buy canned green JF. Though it dint smell pleasant as soon as I opened the can, after cooking, the JF had absorbed all the spices and the canned taste was gone for good. You might wanna give that a try.
Shilpa, great recipe, I love green jackfruit. have a few cans at home. will try this!
For canned items, it is recommended to drain the water in which they are preserved and the items should be ‘washed’ or soaked in warm water in a bowl before using them.
Hi Shilpa,
I remember my mom used to put some oil on the knife too before cutting jackfruit. Looks like a yummy recipe.
Cheers
-Amit
Raw Jackfruit, cut up into pieces “Daily Delight” brand from Kattayam, Kerala, is available in California Indian stores(specially if owner is from South India). I saw it today in freezer section as I was buying frozen Suran with same brand name.
KB
Shilpa, please fix my website link, as the link was showing error. Period between konkaniboy and blogspot was missing.May be it was my mistake originally. Thanx.
KB
Hi..
Kadgi randai looks nice.. even i used 2 hate 2 eat dis recipe wen my mom used 2 prepare.. But now as i’m in US, i feel like having it..
Thanks you..
Hey, can u tel me were ru from..? ru konkana..? just for knowlegede..
i’m from mangalore.. so ususally keep watching konkani words.. or tulu and kananada words used in ur recipes..!!
ur site just rocks..
Shilpa: Archu, I am from North Kanara. Yes I am also a Konkani.
Hey Shilpa, I just noticed this recipe for the first time now. This looks delicious! I am now a big fan of green kadgi/JF, so I will try this- already bookmarked!
Will be trying this tomorrow, thanks for posting the recipe….ur site seems to have the answer for my stomach 😉
How youg should the jackfruit be? I have a tree, but have only harvested it ripe.
Use it at the stage where the seeds have not become very hard. They should still be tender.