Kadachakka Thoran - Breadfruit with coconut

 I get overjoyed when I see fruits and vegetables from my childhood in the market in Melbourne. The breadfruit tree, common all over Kerala is tall and always laden with fruit. The fruit is fragrant, texture is similar to that of potato, and it can be roasted, boiled, fried, stewed or braised.

The tree can grow very tall - up to 26 metres and the wood is used for building structures and it is resistant to termites. In the rainforests it is a canopy tree of significance. It produces over 150 kilos of  fruit in a year.  Did you know that it is originally from New Guinea and was brought to Hawaii somewhere between 250 AD - 450 AD by Polynesians? Now of course you can find it all over South East Asia where it is part of the staple diet. 

There is a lot of history about the breadfruit and it is one of the original superfoods. It is gluten free and highly nutritious.  Check out the Breadfruit Mutiny when you have time in Google.

Every time I think of the breadfruit tree, I think of my boarding school and the massive tree that used to be in that compound.  I can still picture Sister Thomas, one of our scary nuns walking around that tree with her rosary beads and her cane. She was scary because she used to beat us with a long thin bamboo stick that she had. She had Parkinson's disease and though she held the cane tightly in her hand, it was always shaking making it look like she was ready to strike at a moment's notice. 

All of us were afraid of her and stayed out of her sight most of the time.  Today, though, I am reminiscing the good times in the school boarding and all the breadfruit curry I had when I was young. 

This dish is typically Keralan - and goes with all the usual Kerala mains.

Ingredients:

1/2 a breadfruit - about 300 grams

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

salt to taste

1 small red onion, coarsely chopped ( or a handful of shallots)

3-4 cloves garlic

3 - 4 green chillies (use less if you do not want it to be hot)

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1 tablespoon oil (coconut oil is used in Kerala, but you can use your cooking oil) 

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 dry red chilli (optional)

2 sprig curry leaves

Method:

Wash and pat dry dry the breadfruit.  Fresh breadfruit is bright green with all the hexagon patterns visible and pretty.  This one has been on the shelf for a while, but this was all that was available and I was not going to go past it without buying a piece!

Peel the outer green skin and remove the stalk and the seeds inside. Then chop the flesh into 1 inch cubes.

Add turmeric , salt , 1 sprig curry leaves and half a cup of water.  Cook in a saucepan with the lid closed for about 15 minutes - and make sure the water does not dry up and the breadfruit does not burn at the bottom.

While the breadfruit is cooking, make a coarse paste with the coconut, cumin, chillies, garlic and onion.

When the breadfruit is cooked, add the coconut paste to it and stir it in well and cook again for another 4 to 5 minutes.

To finish off,  in a small saucepan, add oil.  When the oil heats up, add mustard seeds and when they crackle add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and the dry red chilli.  Turn off the flame and pour the hot spiced oil on top of your cooked breadfruit.  Give it a stir.

Your dish is ready. Serve hot with rice /parottas /chappaties / kanji and fish curry.