Kadachakka (Sheemachakka) Poduthuval/Thoran - Indian Style Stir-fried Bread Fruit With Coconut
Breadfruit is cooked with the minimum of spices and finished off with the addition of crushed coconut with green chillies. The oil of choice as for most Kerala style dishes is coconut oil, and while this is what enhances the flavour of this dish, any other unflavoured cooking oil can also be used. This is usually served on the side with rice and any gravy preparation like Sambhar or Rasam.
Ingredients
- 1 breadfruit medium sized (kadachakka) (2 to 3 cups when chopped)
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 3 tbsp yogurt diluted in about 2 cups water)
- 1/3 cup coconut grated
- 2 green chillies
- 2 tsps coconut oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- to taste Salt
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
Instructions
- Cutting/ preparing Breadfruit requires a little care. If youu2019ve never cooked with breadfruit before do see this video on how to do so.
- All Breadfruit when cut, some more than others, will leak a bit of white sap which can be irritating to skin. So either use gloves, or go the traditional way and rub some oil into your palms and all over both your hands to form a protective coating against it.
- The other thing is that Breadfruit flesh tends to change colour and become dark when exposed to the air after it is cut open. So cut the Breadfruit into pieces and put them in a bowl of water to prevent this. We usually use slightly diluted buttermilk to prevent discolouration. I think that this also removes any remaining sap from the breadfruit.
- So cut the Breadfruit, remove the core, peel it and cut it up into into pieces which are about an inch and half long or so. Dilute the buttermilk (or yogurt) with water, and let the breadfruit pieces saty submerged in it as you cut them. Just before you start cooking, drain the diluted buttermilk out completely.
- Run the grated coconut and the green chillies a couple of times in the chutney jar (small jar) of your mixer grinder to crush them. Do not grind this fine or into a paste. Keep aside.
- Heat the coconut oil in a wok or pan and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter/ pop add the asafoetida powder and the curry leaves. Stir a couple of times and then add the drained Breadfruit pieces and the turmeric powder.
- Add about a 1/4 cup of water and salt to taste, and bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat and let the Breadfruit cook till soft but not mushy. Add a couple of tbsps more of water if necessary to cook the Breadfruit.
- Once it is cooked, turn off the heat. Add the crushed coconut mixture and mix well.
- Another way of cooking this is to steam cook the Breadfruit without adding any water until it cooked but not mushy. The heat the oil, and add all the other ingredients, and the steamed Breadfruit last to the wok or pan. Stir well and cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat and add the coconut and mix well. Whichever method you choose, this Poduthuval/ Thoran will taste more or less the same.
- Serve this hot on the side with Rice and a South Indian style lentil preparation.