Kadachakka Puzhukku- Kerala Style Mashed Breadfruit with Coconut and Spices

Breadfruit/Kadachakka Puzhukku

Kadachakka Puzhukku is cooked and mashed breadfruit with coconut and spices. It is a simple everyday meal that you can find in rural villages of South India. Puzhukku is a mildly spiced mashed vegetable with coconut paste, common are mashed tapioca, mashed jack fruit, and mashed breadfruit. This recipe is very similar to the kappa/tapioca puzhukku. For an authentic taste of Kerala, try puzhukku with red spicy, tangy Kerala fish curry. It is a super delicious combo and a filling meal- hearty and comforting. Mildly spiced mashed breadfruit and the bold fish curry with spicy chilly, coconut, and tamarind strikes the right balance of heat, sourness, and flavor. Today's recipe is something that all fish lovers should try!

Back home in Kerala, breadfruit is a staple, referred to as Kadachakka or Sheemachakka. Just like jack fruit, breadfruit is grown in almost everyone's backyard. Not everyone shares my enthusiasm about breadfruit at home. It is the most valuable and versatile, and there are so many ways you can use breadfruit. It looks like small jackfruit, but the taste and flavor are very different. The raw breadfruit is like a vegetable with a mild flavor, and the starchy texture can be perfectly paired, with bold and spicy curries.

What is breadfruit?
Breadfruit is a tropical fruit grown abundantly in Kerala. In Kerala, it is known as Sheema chakka, meaning a foreign fruit. So it might not have been a native and might have been brought and cultivated. Similar is the story of another Kerala staple, tapioca. Breadfruit is the staple food of South East Asia and is also found in the South Pacific, Caribbean, and South America. Did you know there were wars and botanical expeditions to transport breadfruit trees from French Polynesia to the Caribbean? Read the fascinating story of The Mutiny on the Bounty to understand more about these expeditions.

Breadfruit looks similar to a very small jack fruit but belongs to the mulberry family. It may be roasted, baked, candied, pickled, crispy fried, or dried and ground into flour. Breadfruit is a starch-rich vegetable and tastes similar to potatoes. When it is ripe, it turns sweeter and tastes good in puddings, fruit custard, and sweet beverages. Like jack fruit, it yields a lot of fruit. A large breadfruit tree can yield from around 150-200 fruits per year. Breadfruit is highly nutritious and a good source of antioxidants, calcium, dietary fiber, iron, vitamin A and vitamin C. It tastes delicious mashed, stir-fried, in stews or spicy curries. Have you ever tasted breadfruit chips or crispy baked breadfruit with a touch of spice? Breadfruit flour is a gluten-free flour alternative.

Kadachakka Puzhukku- Kerala Style Mashed Breadfruit with Coconut and Spices

Ingredients
Bread fruit/kadachakka- 1/2 kg
Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
Shallot-2
Grated coconut- 1 cup
Cumin- 1/2 tsp
Garlic-2 pods
Green Chilly- 4-5
Curry leaves-  3-4
Salt to taste

For Tempering
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Whole red chilly- 1
Curry leaves- a few
Coconut oil- 2 tsp

Wash and pat dry ripe breadfruit, cut in half vertically through the stem. Cut in quarters using a sharp knife. Cut out the core of the breadfruit and discard, peel the skin, and cut the flesh into small cubes.
Transfer this into a heavy bottom vessel. Add salt, turmeric powder, and two cups of water. Cook till it is soft and mash with the back of a spoon.
Make a coarse paste of coconut and cumin. Crush chilly, garlic, shallot, and curry leaves and mixes to the paste. Add this coconut mixture into the cooked mashed jackfruit and mix evenly. Let it cook for another one or two minutes so that the raw flavor of the coconut mixture disappears and switch off the flame.

Heat coconut oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, and when it splutters, add red chilies and curry leaves. Pour this over the mashed curry and give one good mix. Serve with spicy fish curry or beef curry.


You might also like,
Mashed Tapioca/ Puzhukku
Ellum Kappa/Kappa Biryani
Kadachakka Ethapazham Stew
Chemmeen Kadachakka Masala
Kadachakka Payasam


Try it,
Hope you will all enjoy!