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JACKFRUIT CURRY(Sri Lankan polos curry)

Jackfruit curry is also known as polos curry in Sinhalese.

Make this delicious pot of vegan/vegetarian curry using the correct curry powders and spices to compliment this polos curry.

Lightly marinated with spices and slow-simmered until the jack(polos)curry is soft.

All you need now is a bowl of rice and a few complimentary side dishes to serve a real authentic Sri Lankan meal.

The final touch in completing the vegan Jackfruit curry is the tempered ingredient. 

Sri Lankan jackfruit curry(polos curry)with curry leaves, onions, garlic tempered and cooked with coconut milk.

Most of the ingredients you need to make this vegan Jackfruit recipe can be found in your usual grocery or supermarket.

Where to find Jackfruit to make the polos(green Jackfruit)curry.

Jackfruit is the main ingredient and depending on where you live, fresh Jack might be difficult to find.

Check the Indian, Asian or even Sri Lankan stores and even the vegan food section, you’ll have a chance of finding jackfruit in these aisles.

You can either find them as a whole fruit, packaged and even canned.

And yes, you can easily make this Sri Lankan recipe using canned Jackfruit.

Jackfruit curry(Sri Lankan polos curry)with coconut milk gravy.
  • Chopping board/knife
  • Medium-sized cooking pan.
  • Small frying pan to do the tempering.

Green Jackfruit curry(kiri kos)

Jackfruit-coconut sambol(kos mallum).

Young green Jackfruit(Polos) curry.

  • Gather all ingredients needed.
  • Clean and cut the Jackfruit if you are using whole young green Jackfruit.
  • Make thin and thick coconut milk(instructions given below).
  • Marinate the Young green Jack with the spices and curry powders.
  • Add coconut milk and slow cook.
  • Temper onions and add them to the Jackfruit curry.
How to cook Sri Lankan jackfruit curry with coconut milk.

The difficulty of making the Jackfruit curry comes due to cleaning the Jackfruit and finding certain ingredients in your area.

The ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.

500g of Jackfruit(use canned or prepacked Jackfruit or clean and cut the jackfruit with the instructions given below)

1 large Onion sliced fine

3 cloves of garlic sliced fine

1 teaspoon of fenugreek

A sprig of curry leaves

4 cardamom pods slightly bruised

2-inch piece of Pandan leaf

1 teaspoon of  cumin seeds

1-inch piece of Cinnamon

2 pieces of goraka(substitute with 1 teaspoon of tamarind pulp or 1/4 cup tamarind juice from soaked tamarind pods).

1 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1 tablespoon of red chilli powder(add 1 teaspoon more )

1 teaspoon of crushed black pepper

1 tablespoon coriander powder

Salt to season

1 cup of thin coconut milk

1 cup of thick coconut milk(write how to make with coconut powder)

3 tablespoons of oil

1 medium sliced onion sliced fine

1-inch Pandan lead

A sprig of curry leaves

1 teaspoon of red chilli flakes(you can also use whole dried red chillies)

1-2 teaspoons of mustard seeds

  • have the garbage bin or your wastebasket ready on the side. 
  • Place a few newspapers or an old baking tray as I’ve used. I suggest using a newspaper because cleaning the tray is going to take you days once the white sap gets into it. 
  • Have some tissues ready to clean off the sap as it oozes and oil the knife(not the handle)well, I would also suggest using your oldest but sharpest knife. 
  • have a large pan filled with water with half a teaspoon of turmeric to keep the cut and cleaned Jackfruit from discolouring.
whole jackfruit placed in a black tray.

Cut the raw Jackfruit in two.

how to clean jack fruit. jackfruit split into two.

As you cut, be prepared to wipe off the sap, try to do this as quickly as you can as every cut you make to the fruit will produce this troublesome sticky sap.

Once you’ve cut the fruit in two, start cutting the green outer skin of the baby Jackfruit(the spiky textured outer layer).

Again make sure to have tissues handy to catch any sap.

Once you’ve cut the skin, cut them into wedges as shown above.

Notice the hard stem in the middle of the wedges?

jackfruit cut into pieces to make the jackfruit curry.

Cut these off(see the above image). once you get rid of the stem, cut the remaining fruit into cubes as shown below.

cut the jackfruit into cubes to make the jackfruit curry.

Transfer the cut raw Jackfruit cubes to the turmeric water and have it ready for cooking.

Packed liquid coconut milk is always preferable.
For thin milk just add 1/2 cup of the thick milk from the package to 2 and 1/2 cup of water.

For thick milk, use the coconut milk from the package without diluting it with water.

To make thin milk, add 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of coconut powder to 3 cups of water.

To make thick milk add 4 tablespoons of coconut powder per cup water.

Please make sure to read the recipe at least once to avoid mistakes.

Have all the ingredients necessary to make Jackfruit curry ready.

Ingredients for Jackfruit(polos)curry.

To your cooking pan, add the unripe Jackfruit chunks(500g), onions(1 large), garlic(3 cloves), fenugreek(1 tsp), curry leaves(a sprig), cardamom(4), pandan leaves(2-inch piece), cumin seeds(1 tsp), cinnamon(1-inch), goraka(substitute ingredient tamarind). 

adding the fenugreek seeds and other condiments to the jackfruit(polos)curry.

Followed by Turmeric(1 tsp), red chilli powder(1 tbs), black pepper(1 tsp), coriander powder(1 tbs), salt to season.

adding the spice powders to the jackfruit cubes.

Combine all ingredients well, cover for 5 minutes and set aside.

mixing all the spices with the jackfruit cubes.

Place the cooking pan containing the marinating Jackfruit over low medium fire, add the thin(1 cup) and thick coconut milk(1 cup) into the pan, combine, and season the coconut milk with salt if needed.

Cook over a low-medium fire.

adding coconut milk to the jackfruit spices.

Slow-simmer the white Jackfruit curry until it turns soft and the coconut milk thickens to a thick curry gravy. this would take about 30-40 minutes. 

Once the cooking time is over and you find that the Jackfruit is not tender enough, add 1/2 cup of water and slow-cook the curry for the Jackfruit to soften more. 15-20 minutes.

Check for seasoning and set aside for the final addition of tempered ingredients.

cooked jackfruit with thick coconut milk.
ingredients like sliced onions, curry leaves, pandan leaves, chilli powder, mustard in oil.

To a small frying pan, add oil, pandan leaves(1-inch piece), onions(medium-sized), chilli powder(1/2 tsp), red chilli flakes(1/2 tsp), mustard seeds(1 tsp) and cook over low-medium heat.

Over low medium fire, temper the ingredients until the onions turn golden brown and the mustard seeds pop.5-7 minutes.

tempering onions, curry leaves, mustard seeds and sliced garlic to cook jackfruit curry.

Add the fried onions and mustard seeds. add the tempered ingredients to the white Jackfruit curry and mix well. season if necessary.

jackfruit beef curry(polos curry)cooked with coconut milk and tempered with mustard seeds and onions, curry leaves,mustard seeds.
Jackfruit curry(Sri Lankan polos curry)with coconut milk gravy.

Jackfruit curry(Sri Lankan polos curry)with coconut milk gravy.

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Additional Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Jackfruit curry(Sri Lankan polos curry)with coconut milk gravy.

Make a delicious pot vegan/vegetarian Jackfruit using the correct curry powders and spices to compliment this coconut milk curry dish and you’ll know why this Sri Lankan dish is popular

Ingredients

  • Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoon.
  • 500g of Jackfruit(use canned or prepacked Jackfruit or clean and cut the jackfruit with the instructions given below).
  • 1 large Onion sliced fine
  • 3 cloves of garlic sliced fine
  • 1 teaspoon of fenugreek
  • A sprig of curry leaves
  • 4 cardamom pods slightly bruised
  • 2-inch piece Pandan leaf
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
  • 1-inch piece of Cinnamon
  • 2 pieces of goraka(substitute with 1 teaspoon of tamarind pulp or 1/4 cup tamarind juice from soaked tamarind pods).
  • 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
  • 1 tablespoon of red chilli powder(add 1 teaspoon more )
  • 1 teaspoon of crushed black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon coriander powder
  • Salt to season
  • 1 cup of thin coconut milk
  • 1 cup of thick coconut milk(write how to make with coconut powder)
  • Tempering ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons of oil
  • 1 medium sliced onion sliced fine
  • 1
  • A sprig of curry leaves
  • 1 teaspoon of red chilli flakes(you can also use whole dried red chillies).
  • 1-2 teaspoon of mustard seeds

Instructions

    1. If you are using the whole jackfruit clean and cut as mentioned above. have the thin and thick coconut milk prepared as mentioned above on the post.
    2. If using canned jackfruit, drain the brine and use it as needed.
    3. Have all the ingredients necessary to make Jackfruit curry ready.
    4. To your cooking pan, add the unripe Jackfruit chunks(500g),onions(1 large),garlic(3 cloves), fenugreek(1 tsp),curry leaves(a sprig), cardamom(4), pandan leaves(2-inch piece), cumin seeds(1 tsp), cinnamon(1-inch), goraka(substitute ingredient tamarind). 
    5. Followed by Turmeric(1 tsp), red chilli powder(1 tbs), black pepper(1 tsp), coriander powder(1 tbs), salt to season.
    6. Combine all ingredients well, cover for 5 minutes and set aside.
    7. Place the cooking pan containing the marinating Jackfruit over low medium fire, add the thin(1 cup) and thick coconut milk(1 cup) into the pan, combine, season the coconut milk with salt if needed.
    8. Cook over a low-medium fire.
    9. Slow-simmer the white Jackfruit curry until they turn soft while the coconut milk thickens to a thick curry gravy. this would take about 30-40 minutes. 
    10. Once the cooking time is over and you find that the Jackfruit is not tender enough, add 1/2 cup of water and slow cook the curry for the Jackfruit to soften more. 15-20 minutes.
    11. Check for seasoning and set aside for the final addition of tempered ingredients.

    Tempering for the Jackfruit curry.

    1. To a small frying pan, add oil, pandan leaves(1-inch piece), onions(medium-sized), chilli powder(1/2 tsp), red chilli flakes(1/2 tsp), mustard seeds(1 tsp) and cook over low-medium heat.
    2. Over low medium fire, temper the ingredients until the onions turn golden brown and the mustard seeds pop. 5-7 minutes.
    3. Add the fried onions and mustard seed, tempering ingredients to the white Jackfruit curry and mix well. season with if necessary.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 490Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 192mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 5gSugar: 27gProtein: 7g

Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.

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