Breadfruit curry

 

Breadfruit Curry

When I lived in Vatulele in Fiji there were breadfruit trees all over my neighbourhood. I used to watch the breadfruits mature on the trees, waiting for when they were perfectly ripe, but the night before I was ready to pick them, they would disappear. Obviously I was not the only one watching the fruit ripen. After a few months of constantly missing out, I decided to write my name on a ripening breadfruit that I had my eye on. It worked. When the day came for the fruit to be picked, the locals came and told me it was ready. Unfortunately, breadfruit is difficult to find in most Western countries. It is available frozen or tinned. The tinned version works well in this curry, which makes the most of the fruit’s creamy texture and flavour.
Course Main Course
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

Ingredients

  • 1 tspn ground coriander
  • 1 tspn ground cumin
  • 1 tspn vegetable curry powder
  • 1 breadfruit peeled and cut into 3 cm pieces
  • 100 g onion finely chopped
  • 100 g garlic chopped
  • 2 small green chillies halved lengthways
  • 1 sprig curry leaves leaves picked
  • 3 cm cinnamon stick
  • 4 cm pandan leaf roughly torn
  • 1/2 tspn ground turmeric
  • 1/2 tspn ground black pepper
  • 1 tspn brown mustard seeds finely ground
  • salt to taste
  • 500 ml coconut milk
  • 100 ml coconut cream
  • pinch dark roasted curry powder

Tempering

  • 100 ml vegetable oil
  • 1 tspn brown mustard seeds
  • 1 sprig curry leaves leaves picked
  • 1/2 red onion finely chopped

Instructions
 

  • Place the coriander, cumin and vegetable curry powder in a small heavy-based frying pan over low heat and roast until dark brown.
  • Place the toasted spices and the remaining ingredients, except the coconut cream and dark toasted curry powder, in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and simmer for 12 minutes or until the breadfruit is tender.
  • To make the tempering, heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium–high heat, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves and cook until the mustards seeds pop. Add the onion and cook until so and translucent.
  • Add the tempered mix to the breadfruit mixture and stir to combine.
  • While stirring constantly, add the coconut cream and cook for 4 minutes or until just below boiling point. Do not boil. The sauce should be thick and the breadfruit so and tender. Season with salt.
  • To serve, transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the dark toasted curry powder — do not stir it in.