By Jehan Yusoof  |  Updated September 11, 2026  | ★ 4.8 (12 reviews) | 3 comments

Sri Lankan breadfruit curry is cubed breadfruit simmered with curry powder, turmeric and fenugreek, finished in thick coconut milk and topped with a crackling tempering of curry leaves, onion, dried chillies and mustard seeds.
Also known as del curry in Sinhalese, every spoonful of this curry takes you on a nostalgic journey, evoking memories of your family and friends enjoying this dish in the comfort of your island home.

★★★★★
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What is breadfruit or del?

Breadfruit is a starchy, slightly oval-shaped fruit. It has firm green skin with small raised bumps and a hard core running through the middle.
There are a few ways to prepare this fruit.
The most popular way of eating the breadfruit is to make it into a curry or turn it into chips.

Breadfruit vs Jackfruit

They follow the same cooking method if you are making them into a curry.
They both have that starchy quality and can be cooked when they are still green(raw).
Taste-wise, there’s a difference.
Subtle but different, the only way to find out is to cook them.
I promise the only difficulty is cleaning up the fruit to be cooked.
And I will be adding a step-by-step guide on how to cut breadfruit to this recipe as well.

What does breadfruit taste like?

I’m sure most Sri Lankans are familiar with the taste of breadfruit, but for the readers who are not familiar with the fruit, this is for you.
On its own, breadfruit is starchy and gentle. Simmered in curry powder, fenugreek and coconut milk, it turns creamy and rich, and the tempering poured over at the end adds crunch, a little heat and that fried curry leaf smell that brings everything together.

Ingredients for Breadfruit Curry

You’ll find exact quantities in the recipe card below.

• For the breadfruit curry
  • Breadfruit: peeled, cored and cut into 1½ inch (4 cm) cubes.
  • Water as needed.
  • Unroasted Sri Lankan curry powder: it is lighter than the roasted kind used for meat curries. Substitute with a regular curry powder.
  • Spices: turmeric powder, red chilli powder, black pepper and fenugreek seeds, salt to season.
  • Other ingredients: sliced or minced garlic, a large onion and a sprig of curry leaves (substitute with a bay leaf)
  • Salt
  • Thick coconut milk
• For the tempering:
  • Coconut oil, curry leaves, a large onion, whole dried red chillies (or chilli flakes), mustard seeds and a piece of pandan leaf (optional).

What you will need in the kitchen

• To prepare the breadfruit for cooking.
  • You will need a cutting board, a sharp knife, some paper towels to wipe off the sap and easy access to a wastebasket.
• To cook and temper the breadfruit.
  • You will need a medium-sized cooking pot and a small frying pan(thaachi)to temper the final ingredients.

How to make Sri Lankan breadfruit curry

Photo tutorial

Cut the breadfruit

1. Slice off the stem end and the base, as you would a cucumber.
2. Stand the fruit up and cut the green skin away in strips until only white flesh shows.
3. Wipe off the sap as it beads.
4. Cut the fruit in half from top to bottom, then into quarters.
5. Cut out the firm core from each quarter.
6. Cut the flesh into 1½ inch (4 cm) cubes.

Cooking the breadfruit

Add the breadfruit cubes to a medium pot.
Pour in the water, just enough to cover the breadfruit.
To the same pan, add curry leaves, fenugreek, minced garlic, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, black pepper powder, sliced onions and salt to season.
Use a spoon to combine all the ingredients and switch on the stove to medium heat.

Let the breadfruit curry cook for 15 to 25 minutes or until the breadfruit becomes tender (use a fork to check how soft it has turned).
Stop when it is just tender; breadfruit turns mushy fast.

Add the coconut milk

Once the chunks are tender, pour in the coconut milk; depending on how much gravy you need, it will be 1 cup or another half a cup.

Cook on low fire with the lid on for 10 minutes, until the gravy thickens (maintain low heat while the lid is on, or the gravy might spill over).
Slowly simmer the breadfruit curry until the gravy thickens, and check if there is adequate salt while the curry cooks.
Once the breadfruit reaches a thick consistency, switch off the stove and prepare the tempering as mentioned below.

Make the tempering

In a small thaachi (a type of small frying pan; use your usual small frying pan for this purpose). Place the pan over a low fire.
Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of coconut oil, followed by curry leaves, pandan leaves, and sliced onion.
Cook until they turn translucent and slightly golden, followed by whole red dry chillies and black mustard (add the tempering ingredients in the order given).
Temper until all ingredients turn slightly golden without burning them, less than 3 minutes.

Once the tempering is done, pour the tempering over the breadfruit curry and mix.
Serve warm with rice and curry.

Frequently asked questions about breadfruit curry

• Can I Use Tinned Breadfruit?
  • Yes. Drain and rinse it and follow the tinned notes in the fresh, tinned or frozen section above.
• Why Did My Breadfruit Turn Mushy?
  • It cooked too long before the coconut milk went in. Start checking at 15 minutes and stop when a fork slides in with a little resistance.

What to serve with coconut milk

• Breadfruit curry can be served with a bowl of white rice or red rice for a village-style rice and curry menu.
• You can never go wrong with pairing this delicious del curry with a
  • Slow-cooked beef curry
  • Kalupol-Sri Lankan chicken curry (spicy black chicken curry)
  • Sri Lankan chicken curry
  • Sri Lankan red chilli fish curry(Thalapath malu mirisata)
• A pol sambol or a gotukola sambol with some pappodam on the side and curd chillies.
• For breakfast, boiled breadfruit with fresh coconut and lunumiris sambol.

More Sri Lankan recipes

• Fried breadfruit two ways (Sweet and spicy)
• Jackfruit curry (Sri Lankan polos curry)
• Polos curry (Sri Lankan baby jackfruit curry)
• How to cook a soya meat curry (Sri Lankan)
• Butternut squash curry

Storing and Reheating the breadfruit curry

• Fridge: cool, cover and consume within 2 days. Reheat gently on the stove over low heat with a splash of water.
• Avoid freezing.

Watch more Sri Lankan recipes on my YouTube channel

Continue to Content

Sri Lankan Breadfruit Curry (Del Curry)

Yield: 5

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Creamy breadfruit simmered with Sri Lankan spices and coconut milk, finished with a curry leaf and mustard seed tempering.

4.8 Stars (12 Reviews)

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Ingredients

• Ingredients to cook breadfruit curry
• 1 breadfruit (cleaned and cut as per instruction given below)
• 2½ cups (600 ml) water
• 2 teaspoons of curry powder (unroasted)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• ½ teaspoon pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 to 4 cloves)
• A sprig of curry leaves( 5 to 8 leaves, substitute with a bay leaf)
• 1 large onion sliced
• 1 cup (240 ml) thick coconut milk, plus ½ cup (120 ml) for more gravy
• For the tempering
• 4 to 5 curry leaves
• A piece of pandan leaf(optional)
• 1 large onion sliced
• 3 whole red dried chillies (you can substitute red chilli flakes)
• 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

Instructions

How to cut breadfruit(del)

1. Cut off the top and base, peel away the green skin and wipe off the sap.

2. Quarter lengthwise, remove the core and cut into 1½ inch (4 cm) cubes.

Cooking the breadfruit curry

1. Put the breadfruit in a pot with the water.
2. Add curry leaves, fenugreek, minced garlic, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, pepper powder, sliced onions and salt to season.
3. Use a spoon to combine all the ingredients and switch on the stove to medium heat.
4. Let the breadfruit curry cook for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the breadfruit becomes tender (use a fork to check how soft it has turned).
5. Once the chunks are tender, pour in the coconut milk; depending on how much gravy you need, it will be 1 cup, with another extra ½ cup for more gravy.
6. Once the breadfruit reaches a thick consistency, switch off the stove and prepare the tempering as mentioned below.

Tempering

1. Place a small thaachi(a type of small frying pan; use your usual small frying pan for this purpose) over a low fire.
2. Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of coconut oil, followed by curry leaves, pandan leaf, and sliced onion.
3. Cook until they turn translucent and slightly golden, followed by whole red dry chillies and black mustard seeds (add the tempering ingredients in the order given).
4. Temper until all ingredients turn slightly golden without burning them, less than 3 minutes.
5. Once the tempering is done, pour the tempering over the breadfruit curry and mix.
6. Serve warm with rice and curry.

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  OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Wooden Spoon Set
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  Bamboo Cutting Board Set with Juice Groove (3 Pieces) - Wood Cutting Boards for Kitchen, Wood Cutting Board Set, Kitchen Chopping Board for Meat (Butcher Block) Cheese and Vegetables
• 
  Aroy-d Coconut Milk 100% Original Net 8.5 Oz.(pack of 12)
• 
  Pandanus Leaves, Dried | Aromatic and Delicious Blade-like Leaf | Popular Ingredient in Southeast Asian and South Asian Delicacies 0.5 oz.
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  Fresh Curry Leaves - 1.0 oz (With Stems)
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  Organic Turmeric Powder - 1LB Jar - 100% Raw w/Curcumin From India - by Jiva Organics
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  McCormick Curry Powder, 1 lb

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 240Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 12gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 24mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 10gSugar: 9gProtein: 4g

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

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JEHAN
Recipe creator. Food Blogger. Video creator
I’ve been cooking and sharing Sri Lankan recipes, along with other dishes I love making at home on Island Smile since 2015. I’ve tested every recipe on this site more than once in my own kitchen before it goes on the blog.
I grew up eating this food, and I still cook it the same way my family taught me, just written down clearly enough that you can follow it too.
If a recipe doesn’t work the way I say it will, tell me in the comments; I read every one, and I’ll help you fix it.