By Jehan Yusoof  |  Updated October 29, 2026  | ★ 4.4 (9 reviews) | 16 comments

Polos curry (polos ambula) is a traditional Sri Lankan slow-cooked baby jackfruit curry. Green jackfruit picked before its seeds form, simmered in coconut milk with dark roasted curry powder and a sour note of tamarind or goraka.
If you visit the island, this is one Sri Lankan vegan, vegetarian curry you don’t want to miss trying. A unique Sri Lankan recipe that you’ll fall in love with.

If you try this, I’d love to know how it turned out. Just tap the stars★ in the recipe card; it helps other cooks find this recipe.

A Taste of Home: Sri Lankan traditional polos curry

If you ask me what are some of the best foods to try in Sri Lanka, I’ll point you to this slow-cooked baby jackfruit curry, especially if you are a vegan or vegetarian. You’ll probably get the same answer from any Sri Lankan if you ask them to list their favourite food or what they miss most.

A polos curry is made with jackfruit that has not matured or ripened. At this stage, the fruit is often referred to as baby jackfruit or green jackfruit.

It’s a curry reminiscent of home and Mama’s meals. But there’s more than home-cooked food that makes this baby jackfruit curry (polos) so popular in Sri Lanka. Part of the reason is that when cooked with all the right spices and coconut milk, it is one of those curries that is an absolute joy to eat with a bowl of warm rice.

Tucking into a polos curry will also give you an idea of what Sri Lankan food is: spicy, a bit sour around the edges, loads of spices. It makes you think of home and family, and just brings a smile to your face.

What is polos? Young Jackfruit vs Mature Jackfruit

Sri Lankans cook jackfruit at almost every stage, and each stage has its own dish.

• Polos (young jackfruit, green jackfruit, baby jackfruit): small, green, and firm, picked before the seeds form. Mild and meaty once cooked. This is the jackfruit for polos curry.
• Mature jackfruit (kos): fully grown but not ripe; the seeds have formed, and the pods are pale and firm. It goes into my creamy Sri Lankan jackfruit curry (kiri kos).
• Ripe jackfruit: sweet, orange, and fragrant. It is eaten as fruit, not cooked into curry.

Cooked polos doesn’t taste like a regular vegetable. Its texture is close to pulled meat, which is why it’s a favourite with vegans and vegetarians, and why ripe, sweet jackfruit won’t work here

Ingredients for polos curry

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

• Young green jackfruit: the curry’s base, fresh or canned in brine.
  • Canned jackfruit works well, and it’s how most readers outside Sri Lanka will make this. Buy young green jackfruit in brine or water. Never use jackfruit in syrup: that is ripe, sweet fruit.
  • Drain and rinse the jackfruit well to wash off the briny taste, and cut out any hard core pieces. Drained weights vary by brand, so check the label.
  • Canned jackfruit is already soft. Use the same method, but check it at the halfway point.
• Sri Lankan roasted curry powder: a dark, toasted blend that gives polos its colour and depth. It isn’t the yellow curry powder sold in US supermarkets; look for a Sri Lankan brand.
• Red chilli powder, turmeric, and black pepper powder
• Tamarind juice: the sour note. Goraka is the traditional choice; tamarind concentrate works too, but it is stronger, so use less.
• Salt: seasons the jackfruit as it marinates; taste again at the end.
• Onion, garlic and ginger: the aromatic base of the tempering.
• Green chillies: fresh heat, fried with the tempering.
• Pandan leaf and curry leaves: dried pandan works if fresh is hard to find.
• Cinnamon, cardamom and mustard seeds: whole spices that flavour the oil.
• Oil: coconut oil for the tempering; it becomes part of the gravy.
• Thin and thick coconut milk: thin milk softens the jackfruit, thick milk makes the creamy gravy. Canned coconut milk or coconut milk powder both work.

How to Clean a Whole Young Jackfruit

The white sap is very sticky, so set up before you cut.

• What you will need
  • Place a few newspapers or an old baking tray, as I’ve used, but I suggest newspaper because cleaning the tray is going to take you days once the white sap gets into it. 
  • Have the waste bin or your wastebasket ready on the side.
  • Use your oldest and sharpest knife. Oil the blade.
  • Have some tissues ready to clean off the sap as it oozes
  • Disposable gloves, or lightly oiled hands
  • A large bowl or pan filled with water with half a teaspoon of turmeric powder, to stop the cut jackfruit discolouring

Cut, Peel and Cube the Jackfruit

Cut the raw jackfruit in 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.
See what I mean; it took a few oiling and repeated washing to get rid of the sticky sap. You can also use disposable gloves.

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 below.
Notice the hard stem in the middle of the wedges?
Cut these off (see the image below).
Once you remove the stem, cut the remaining fruit into cubes as shown below.

Transfer the cleaned jackfruit cubes to a bowl of water with a pinch of turmeric. Wash the jackfruit.
Drain the turmeric water and place the cut jackfruit cubes in a large bowl.

How to make Polos curry

Marinate the jackfruit

Have all the necessary ingredients ready to cook the jackfruit curry (polos).
Add turmeric powder, roasted curry powder, red chilli powder, pepper powder, tamarind juice (substitute with goraka), and salt to season.
Combine all the ingredients. Mix well and set aside while you make the tempering.

Temper the spices

Heat the oil in a medium pan or clay pot over low–medium heat.
Add curry leaves, pandan, onion, and ginger-garlic.
Cook the ingredients over low heat until they release their aroma. 3 to 5 minutes.

Add cinnamon and cardamom and continue to cook until the onions turn slightly brown.
Finally, add the mustard seeds to the pan and cook for a few minutes (2 to 3 minutes).

Once the tempered ingredients are ready, add them to the polos that have been marinating in spices.
Combine while cooking over low heat for 5 minutes.

Simmer in coconut milk

Add the thin milk, cover halfway with a lid, and slow simmer over medium heat until the thin milk evaporates and the jackfruit is halfway tender. 20 to 30 minutes.

Once the thin milk evaporates, add thick milk and continue to slow simmer for a further 30 minutes or until the jackfruit pieces are soft and the gravy is coating it. You will also notice the oil separating from the gravy.

Check and season with salt if necessary.
While the jackfruit curry is cooking, you can also add another 1/2 teaspoon of roasted curry powder for more flavour and colour.

Cook until the coconut milk has completely reduced, leaving just enough to coat the jackfruit.

How to Get a Darker Polos Curry

• The deep brown polos you may remember from home come from cooking it for a longer time. After adding the thin milk and thick coconut milk, keep the curry on the lowest heat for 1–2 hours or more, adding a splash of water if it starts to catch.

Polos curry FAQ

• What Is Polos Curry in English?
  • Polos curry is Sri Lankan young (baby) green jackfruit curry. “Polos” is the Sinhala word for young jackfruit, and polos ambula and ambul polos are other names for the same curry.
• Is Polos Curry Vegan?
  • Yes. This recipe is vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free. Some families add Maldive fish flakes, which makes it non-vegan; this recipe doesn’t.
• What does Sri Lankan jackfruit curry taste like?
  • Once cooked, the jackfruit curry doesn’t taste like a regular vegetable at all, and this is because of its meat-like texture.
• Can I Use Canned Jackfruit?
  • Yes. Use young green jackfruit in brine or water, not in syrup, and drain and rinse it. The cooking method stays the same.
• Why Use Tamarind Instead of Goraka?
  • Goraka is the traditional souring agent, and you can add a piece if you have it. I find tamarind juice gives enough sourness and is easier to buy outside Sri Lanka.
  • Tamarind is also easier to find in asian grocery stores than goraka.
• Can I Use Ripe Jackfruit?
  • No. Ripe jackfruit is sweet and soft and falls apart in a curry. Use young green jackfruit.

What to serve with polos curry

• Rice dishes
• Plain white rice
• Sri Lankan yellow rice (rice recipe)

• Other vegetarian dishes to serve with polos ambula
  • Bitter gourd fry (Sri Lankan karawila sambol)
  • Spicy green bean stir-fry (bonchi thel dala)
  • Pol sambol (Sri Lankan Coconut Sambol)
  • Gotu kola (pennywort salad)sambol
  • Sri Lankan beetroot curry
• Some fried curd chillies, poppadams, and a few cleaned shallots can be added to the rice and curry meal.

More Sri Lankan Jackfruit recipes

Jackfruit-coconut sambol (kos mallum)
Jackfruit curry (Sri Lankan kiri kos)

Watch more Sri Lankan recipes on my YouTube channel

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 way my family taught me, just written down clearly enough that you can follow.
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.