Young Green Jackfruit

This is another favorite dish from my childhood days in India and I like it best when made as in this quick and easy recipe here.

I remember back in the days, jackfruit ("chakkai", as we called it at home) was available in loads during the season. Many prefer the ripe jackfruit. But, my mom used to incorporate young green jackfruit, as well as the large pit inside the jackfruit, into many different dishes. Also, she used to make a sort of jam with ripe jackfruit and jaggery which to this day makes my mouth water.

Young green jackfruit is available canned or sometimes fresh in season here at asian markets. I prefer the canned version as it saves a lot of cleaning and preparation time. I haven't found jackfruit pits in my local stores here in Portland so far.



Ingredients

2 cans young green jackfruit,usually packed in water and some salt and preservatives
1/2 cup dry grated coconut
3-4 green chilies (adjust depending on variety of chili)
salt to taste
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or canola oil)

tempering:
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds


Preparation

1. grind the grated coconut and green chilies into a fine powdery paste and set aside
2. drain the water from the canned green jackfruit, chop or crush the chunks coarsely to the texture you prefer - i like it sort of as in the picture above :-)
3. heat oil in a pan, add the tempering: chana dal first, when it starts to turn golden add the urad dal and when they turn brown add the mustard seeds and then the cumin seeds
4. when mustard seeds splutter and die down, add the coarsely chopped/crushed green jackfruit, some salt and stir well till it is coated with oil and tempering
5. add the coconut-chili paste from step 1 and stir till well incorporated; serve warm as a side with rasam or sambar and rice.