6 Jackfruit Recipes: Exotic Fruits You Need to Try This Summer 2022

The largest tree fruit in the world, the pre-historic looking jackfruit is believed to be indigenous to the Southwestern rain forests of India. It is widely cultivated in the tropical regions of Indian subcontinent, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brazil for its fruit, seeds, and wood. Jackfruit is a huge tree that grows to as high as 30 meters.

Young jackfruit has a mild flavor and distinctive poultry-like texture. The cuisines of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam use cooked young jackfruit for curries and stir frys. Ripe jackfruit is naturally sweet with a smell and flavor similar to juicyfruit gum. It can be eaten as a sweet snack or a variety or used to make sweet dishes.

Jackfruit is rich in dietary fiber, which makes it a good bulk laxative. It is one of the rare fruits that is rich in B-complex group of vitamins. The fruit is made of soft, easily digestible flesh (bulbs) with simple sugars like fructose and sucrose that when eaten replenishes energy and revitalizes the body instantly.

Seeds from ripe fruits are edible and have a milky, sweet taste. In general, the seeds are gathered from the ripe fruit, sun-dried and stored for use in rainy season. The nutritious seeds are very rich in protein and have a potato like taste and texture when cooked.

Fresh jackfruit can be found at Asian food markets. Buy fresh jackfruit that emits mild yet rich flavor and just yields to thumb pressure. Thorn like projections becomes soft in the ripened fruit.

Outside of countries where it is grown, jackfruit can be obtained year-round both canned or dried. It is available canned in sugar syrup, or frozen. Dried jackfruit chips are also available.

Source: www.wikipedia.org, www.nutrition-and-you.com

Image by Balaram Mahalder available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Kujje Payasa (Jackfruit Dessert)

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) can jackfruit
1 (14 ounce) can light or homemade coconut milk
4 tablespoons jaggery or agave syrup
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground cardamom

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 40 mins
Total Time: 50 mins

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the coconut milk.
2. The jackfruit I buy comes in 8oz DRAINED weight, and 20oz net weight. Drain, rinse and dice the jackfruit if using canned.
3. Now add the diced jackfruit and jaggery to the coconut milk.
4. Cook on medium low flame, stirring often until jackfruit is tender (about 40 minutes).
5. In the last five minutes of cooking, stir in the cardamom.
6. Serve either warm or chilled.
7. NOTE: If you’re able to find it, there’s nothing like fresh juicy ripe jackfruit. For this dish, use firm fruit not the floppy one. Don’t throw away the seeds – they can be roasted and taste somewhat like roasted chestnuts.

Servings: 4

Jackfruit Vegan Smoothie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dinced canned jackfruit
2 cups soy vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup soymilk
maple syrup or agave nectar , as needed
ice cube

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 0 mins
Total Time: 5 mins

Directions:
1. Place jackfruit, soy yogurt, soy milk, and maple syrup or agave nectar in immersion blender container or blender and blend until smooth.
2. Serve over ice and enjoy.

Servings: 2

Vietnamese Jackfruit Salad

Ingredients:
120 ml lime juice
4 red chilli padi
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
500 g jackfruit , seeded & cut into 1 cm thick strips
100 g shallots , sliced thinly
2 tablespoons coriander leaves , chopped
2 tablespoons mint leaves , chopped
1 tablespoon sesame seed , pan-toasted
1 tablespoon peanuts , toasted & coarsely chopped

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 10 mins

Directions:
1. Blend lime juice, chili padi, fish sauce & agave syrup with sesame oil; set aside.
2. Place the jackfruit strips, shallots, coriander & mint leaves in a bowl.
3. Pour the blended dressing over & toss well.
4. Serve with the toasted sesame seeds & peanuts sprinkled over the salad.

Servings: 4

Raw Jackfruit Palya (Mangalorean Dry Side Dish)

Ingredients:
2 cups jackfruit (raw, green, diced 1-inch)
5 dried red chilies
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 cup coconut (fresh or frozen, grated)
3/4 teaspoon jaggery
1/4 teaspoon tamarind paste
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/16 teaspoon asafetida powder (a pinch)
6 -8 curry leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 15 mins

Directions:
1. I used one 20 oz can of Chaokoh young green jackfruit. If using canned jackfruit, drain the water out of the can the previous day and soak the pieces in fresh water overnight to get rid of the saltiness of the brine. Squeeze the jackfruit pieces to drain the extra water in them before dicing them.
2. In a skillet, heat 1/4 tsp of oil and saute the red chilies, coriander and fenugreek seeds for couple minutes.
3. Grind them with coconut, jaggery and tamarind to as fine a paste as you can (Like me, if you have trouble grinding the ingredients without water in your blender go ahead and add 4-5 tbsp of water. Just go easy on the water in the last step).
4. Heat remaining oil in the skillet and add the mustard seeds and a pinch of asafetida. When the seeds pop, add curry leaves, turmeric powder and jackfruit. Saute for 4-5 minutes.
5. Add the ground paste, salt to taste and 1/2-1 cup water. Cover and cook on low heat for 15-20 mins or until the jackfruit is tender stirring occasionally.

Servings: 2-3

BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches

Ingredients:
2 (20 ounce) cans jackfruit, in brine (or fresh jackfruit if available)
1 cup white wine
1 (20 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce
1 small onion , chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 6 hrs
Total Time: 6 hrs 30 mins

Directions:
1. Drain and rinse jackfruit to remove salt and brine. Break up with fingers or a fork into strips.
2. Caramelize onions in olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add to crockpot with jackfruit, wine,and barbecue sauce.
4. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
5. Serve on toasted buns.

Servings: 6