Jackfruit (kathal) with chana dal
Reviewed by Dr Namrata Bagaria, MBBS, MPH (Harvard)Last reviewed
Raw jackfruit, kathal, has become fashionable as a meat substitute, and it is worth being clear about what that means. The resemblance is texture. Jackfruit is a vegetable, mostly carbohydrate and fibre, with roughly two grams of protein per hundred. It is nothing like meat nutritionally.
That is not a criticism of it. It is a good vegetable, filling and satisfying. It simply needs a protein cooked with it, and chana dal does the job while suiting the flavours.
Ingredients
- 400 g raw jackfruit (kathal), cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup chana dal, soaked 2 hours
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- Salt to taste
- 3 tbsp oil
- Chopped coriander
Method
- 1
Oil your hands and the knife before cutting the jackfruit. The sap is sticky and does not come off easily otherwise.
- 2
Pressure cook the soaked chana dal with salt and turmeric for three whistles, until soft but still holding shape. Keep the water.
- 3
Boil or steam the jackfruit chunks for ten minutes until a knife goes in with slight resistance. Drain.
- 4
Heat the oil, add cumin, then the onion, and cook until well browned. Add the ginger garlic paste, tomato and dry spices, and cook until the oil separates.
- 5
Add the jackfruit and let it take colour for five minutes. Fold in the chana dal with a splash of its water, simmer ten minutes, and finish with garam masala and coriander.
Good to know
- Oiling your hands before cutting is not optional advice. The sap is genuinely difficult to remove.
- Tinned green jackfruit in brine saves a great deal of work. Rinse it well and skip the boiling.
- This is one of the better dishes for a small appetite: the fibre makes a modest portion satisfying.
- Do not count this as your protein for the day. The dal is doing that work, so keep it generous.