I’ve just made yet another disappointing jackfruit curry. Any tips for making it more flavourful?
Sally, by email
“The trick with jackfruit is not to rush it,” says Eroshan Meewella, founder of Sri Lankan street-food joint Adoh! in central London. “It absorbs flavour brilliantly – spice, curry leaves, coconut milk, tamarind – so you just need to give it time.” Don’t be shy with those flavours, either, because, as Sally has discovered, jackfruit is something of a blank canvas. Sanjana Modha, author of Modern Masala, suggests treating it a bit as you would tofu: “You really have to build flavour around it. Think of jackfruit as a sponge that’s going to absorb your masala. And I cannot emphasise enough how you’ll need more onions than you think.” And she ain’t kidding: for a curry to feed four to six, Modha uses “at least” four large onions. “You must spend time caramelising them properly, so start by getting those onions really golden by frying them with a couple of cinnamon sticks, cloves and cardamom pods.” That will take a good 45 minutes. “Then add ginger, garlic and chillies – don’t be afraid to season generously with all your ground spices.” You’ll want some acidity, too: “Lemon, lime or tamarind towards the end to balance everything.”
On to the jackfruit itself, which Luke Larsson, head chef at Khao Bird in London, always uses fresh from an Asian supermarket: “It’s just a hundred times better [than tinned], and it’s such a delicious fruit when fresh.” Modha, meanwhile, tends to go for tinned young green jackfruit in brine: “Drain and rinse it really well, then pat it completely dry using kitchen towel.” She fries it first in neutral oil (rapeseed, sunflower), until golden and slightly caramelised: “This gives it much more flavour, then I marinate it in ground spices and a spoonful of mustard oil for a few hours, or even overnight, before adding it to my curry.”
Once the jackfruit is in the curry, Modha would be inclined to cook it in a pressure cooker: “That makes the jackfruit beautifully tender and gives all those flavours time to penetrate.” But make sure you let that curry “really reduce, rather than leaving it wet”, Meewella adds: “That’s when the spices and coconut get right into the jackfruit and you develop that deep, rich flavour.” For a final hit, Modha stirs in a dollop of hot mango pickle right at the end. A curry is all about “big flavours”, after all, she says.
As we head into autumn, chestnut mushrooms are good seasonal friends for jackfruit. “It feels really comforting as the weather starts to cool down, but it’s still bright and fresh,” Modha says. Start by frying the mushrooms and drained, dried jackfruit until golden, then marinate them in spices (cloves, cardamom, turmeric, fennel, say). “For the curry, I build a proper masala with onions, ginger, garlic, dried red chillies and ground spices, then add tomatoes, coconut milk, and the marinated jackfruit and mushrooms.” Again, get that in a pressure cooker and “the jackfruit becomes meltingly tender and takes on all the flavour of the masala”. Finish with a squeeze of lemon, some mango pickle and fresh coriander, and serve with rice, roti or paratha, of course.
-
Got a culinary dilemma? Email [email protected]
