Jackfruit seeds curry/ Panasa ginjala kura

We love jackfruit, finally a food that the husband and i both love. The ripe fruit in its golden yellow colour, and delicious smell beckons to me, every time i open the fridge. We eat little else for snacking any time of the day when there is jackfruit at home. And the jackfruit season is one time i feel lucky to be living in India (that's compared to the times when i can't get fresh rosemary or blueberries or leeks or fennel or basil or.. you get the point, things like that at reasonable prices) lucky to be able to buy a whole big fruit at the farmer's market, to be able to get the vendor to do the messy job of cutting it open and picking the juicy, fleshy, yellow, eatable bits out. All fresh, possibly organic and at totally affordable prices. You gotta love it.

As long as you have jackfruit in your fridge, it will smell of the fruit the whole time. And even for a while longer after you have eaten the last bit, reminding you to get some more. I guess i can go on and on about it, and you are probably already tired of my rant. So i will get to the point. When you finish eating the yellow fleshy bits of the ripe jackfruit, don't discard the seeds. Today, i will show you how to make the seeds into a curry, and during the process you can snack on a few boiled seeds too. Such a healthy snack.

The jackfruit seeds will have a gray coat once the fleshy fruit is eaten off it. You will have to let the seeds dry for a day uncovered at room temperature. This will make it easier to get the gray outer coat off and will reveal a maroon-brown seed. The one we are ready to cook with. Now shall we get to the recipe?

Ingredients

• 15-20 jackfruit seeds
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 green chili, chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• pinch of turmeric
• salt to taste
• red chili powder to taste
• fresh chopped coriander to garnish

Method

Cook the maroon jackfruit seeds in a pressure cooker with half a cup of water. Discard the water and cut each seed in half. Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Add the mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds stop spluttering, add the cumin, green chili and fry for a minute. Add the onion and fry till golden brown. 

Add the turmeric, curry leaves and chopped tomato. Give it a quick stir and leave for a minute with lid closed. Add the cooked jackfruit seeds and cook for a minute stirring once in between. 

Now add 3/4 cup of water, and stir to mix all ingredients. Season with salt and extra red chili powder based on your taste test. Maybe even a dash of garam masala if you are the spice junkie that is me. Allow to cook on low heat for about 10 minutes until the flavours blend and the curry reaches a thicker consistency. Remove to a serving bowl and garnish with fresh chopped coriander if you like.

Mom's tip: When i told my mother i made this curry, she told me that i could blend a few cooked seeds into a paste and add it into the curry along with the jackfruit seeds. This will give a thicker consistency to the curry, as well as give a more pronounced jackfruit seed flavour to the final product. I am going to try this next time.