Halasina Kayi Palya (pan-fried vegetables made from unripe jackfruit) is an exciting dish from Karnataka in southern India. I am making this from a fresh jackfruit straight from the tree, but should work just as well with canned jackfruit!
Why is there chicken in this dish? That’s what I asked myself at a Hindu wedding of two very good friends of ours. It was supposed to be vegetarian – and it was! It was not chicken, but jackfruit. With it I lucked out, however, still clearly better than my other friend next to me. He had a big handful of green beans, which turned out to be green chilies. I have never seen such a red face ever again.
Jackfruit are a popular substitute for meat. At least in terms of taste and texture. The unripe (in English “raw”) jackfruit remind, as I said, of chicken. But please don’t forget that this is a vegetable (or fruit) and contains almost no protein! The important thing is: they must not be too ripe (mine was already a bit too ripe, so the seeds were tougher than I had hoped). And you have to achieve the right degree of cooking. Nothing beats trial and error. Especially if you use canned jackfruit, it will be a little different than mine.
With this dish you eat rice and rasam. Rasams are rather thin, South Indian soups. A recipe for a really great Udupi-style tomato rasam from Karnataka can be found here.
A South Indian vegan jackfruit dish – Halasina Kayi Palya
Ingredients
For the tadka
- 1 ½ Tbsp coconut oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds brown
- ½ tsp urad dal halved
- ~10 curry leaves
For the vegetable
- 400 g unripe jackfruit (peeled) equates to about 1 unripe jackfruit
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp jaggery alternatively brown sugar
- 1 tsp tamarind
For the coconut paste
- ½ cup coconut grated
- 1 tsp mustard seeds brown
- 3 red chilies
Instructions
- I am using a fresh, young (unripe) jackfruit straight from the tree to make this recipe.If you want to make the whole thing with canned jackfruit, you please skip the next steps (they also make a really big mess). But then please drain your jackfruit well, chop it similarly small and adjust the amount of salt if yours was pickled.
The preparation of the fresh jackfruit
- First of all, use a metal tray or something that you can easily clean. I wouldn't recommend a wooden board here, it makes too much of a mess. Also put a bowl for the waste of the jackfruit next to it.
- Rub your hands thoroughly with oil so the jackfruit doesn't stick to your hands. Your pad is also best cleaned with oil. Only then wash off the oil with soap!
- Now take a sharp chef's knife and peel the jackfruit from top to bottom.
- When it is peeled, cut the jackfruit little by little from top to bottom as follows:You'll score the jackfruit crosswise, about 1 inch deep. And then cut off that part. In this way, layer by layer, you remove the flesh in small bits.Be careful with your fingers, I cut myself, luckily not too bad.
- Now that you have cleaned up your mess and washed your hands thoroughly, you can continue cooking.
The cooking
- It is best to measure all the ingredients before cooking and place them next to the stove.
- If you are using dried tamarind, soak it in a little water.
The tadka
- In a medium large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and add 1 tsp of mustard seeds.
- As soon as they start to pop, quickly add the urad dal and curry leaves and put the lid on, otherwise the mustard seeds will make a huge mess.
The vegetable
- Once the mustard has popped, add your chopped jackfruit. Add the turmeric powder and a tiny bit of water, stir, and let it cook with the lid on for about 10 minutes. The jackfruit should be soft.
- Now add the salt, jaggery (or brown sugar) and the water from your soaked, squeezed tamarind. Continue cooking for a few minutes.
The coconut paste
- Meanwhile, put the coconut, ½ tsp mustard seeds and the red chilies (without seeds) in a blender and make a coarse mixture.
- Add this mixture to the pan and continue cooking it for a short while.
- Then your Halasina Kayi Palya is ready 🙂 .Eat it with rice and rasam – south Indian soups. I have linked a recipe for tomato rasam above in the text!Bon appetite!
Please rate my recipe before you leave 🙂:
My source of the recipe for this jackfruit vegetable: https://udupi-recipes.com/2019/04/halasina-kayi-palya-raw-jackfruit-palya-recipe.html
Cooked with lots of love ♥ on From zero to curry.
