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Sri Lankan Jackfruit Curry (Polos Curry)
This Sri Lankan jackfruit curry is packed with so much flavor, you won’t even realize it’s meatless! This curry is perfect for vegetarians, vegans, and gluten free diets, or anyone who loves an amazing curry for that matter!
What is jackfruit?
- Jackfruit is a unique fruit because of its meaty texture. In recent years it’s become VERY popular in western diets not only because of its nutritional content, but also because it’s an incredible faux meat substitute for dishes like BBQ pulled pork.
- In Sri Lanka (and many other Asian countries), jackfruit is a big part of the diet. The fruit is known for its amazing versatility. It’s edible at every stage of its life, and there are different sinhalese names for each stage of the fruit.
- The whole fruit is called “kos” (කොස්).
Unripe jackfruit (young jackfruit or green jackfruit) is treated as a vegetable. This is called “polos” (පොලොස්).
Ripe, sweet jackfruit is delicious and eaten raw as a fruit. This is called “varaka” (වරකා).
Expert tips to perfect this jackfruit curry
- In theory, you can dump ALL the ingredients into a pot, and then let them simmer. Really, it works (curries are very forgiving). BUT ideally, you want to get the MOST flavor out of all of these ingredients. So take your time and layer those spices and flavors.
- Use coconut oil if you can. It adds more flavor. If not, just use a type of cooking oil that you prefer.
- Soften the onions, and add the spices to the hot pan. The hot pan and oil will further toast the curry powder, deepening the flavor of the spices. Be careful not to burn the spices though!
Ingredients
- Young jackfruit – You can use canned or fresh young jackfruit for this curry recipe. These have very small seeds (or none at all), and very little fruit. It’s mostly the petals. Here I’m using my favorite brand of canned jackfruit.
- Sri Lankan curry powder – I use my own curry powder recipe for this. You can use store-bought Sri Lankan curry powder, or Madras curry powder for a fairly similar option. Honestly I’ve NEVER bought curry powder though, because to be perfectly frank, my homemade curry powder blows any store-bought curry powder out of the water. The homemade version simply tastes heaps better. My curry powder recipe is also quite flexible, so go ahead and check it out and make some for yourself too. Do avoid using garam masala for this recipe.
- Tamarind – This is an essential ingredient that adds a lovely fruity sourness to the curry. You can use fresh of course, but you can also buy tamarind paste and/or concentrate from most Asian stores too. So, I have provided amounts for both the paste and the concentrate in the recipe.
- Curry leaves – Curry leaves add a special flavor. You don’t have to add fresh leaves. You can use dried leaves instead. If you can’t find either, just leave them out, or use a bay leaf instead. Do NOT use BASIL, LIME ZEST OR LEMON BALM in their place. These add a different flavor altogether and taste weird not just in this jack fruit curry, but any curry.
- If you have Ceylon cinnamon (i.e. Sri Lankan cinnamon; widely known as “true” cinnamon), absolutely use that! It has a more delicate, floral sweetness than korintje cinnamon or saigon cinnamon. But if you only have regular cinnamon, you can use that in a pinch too (but maybe add a little less).
- Other spices and ingredients – Garlic and ginger, onion, black pepper, chili pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, and tamarind. The black pepper and chili pepper can and SHOULD be adjusted to your taste. My husband and I LOVE spicy curries, so we add a lot of a heat to our curry. But here I have reduced it to a level that I feel is at a medium heat spice level. But YOU know your preferences best – so be cautious when adding spices to this jackfruit curry.
- Coconut pieces – This is an optional ingredient. Growing up, my grandmother and my mother always added coconut pieces to this curry. It adds delicious milky, crunchy element. As a kid, I couldn’t get enough of it!
