Kadachakka Ethapazham Stew/ Sweet Plantain and Breadfruit Stew

Kadachakka Ethapazham Stew

One of my vegetable/ fruit of the moment is breadfruit, and it has rekindled memories of a forgotten taste. Not everyone shares my enthusiasm for breadfruit in my family. This simple old-fashioned treat with ripe breadfruit and plantains cooked in coconut milk is comforting and inviting, and my family enjoyed it. My recipe comes from my mother and has a homey feel to it. It is a mildly sweet creamy stew served as a side dish for breakfast or as a snack on its own. There is the enticing flavor of ghee/ clarified butter and cardamom powder. Back home in Kerala, breadfruit is called Kadachakka or Sheemachakka is grown in everyone's backyard. It looks like small jack fruit, but the taste and flavor are very different.

Perfectly made soft appam or idiyappam, and this sweet bread fruit plantain stew tastes delicious. It is a simple recipe and can be enjoyed as a snack by itself. Both breadfruit and plantains have a good fruity flavor, and coconut milk gives it a creamy texture. For this recipe, you have to select ripe breadfruit. At its peak of ripeness, breadfruit is creamy to the yellow inside and sweet to the taste. Plantains are also naturally sweet. I am adding a little bit of sugar, but you can add it according to your sweet preference. It is a healthy breakfast recipe. You can have it like a breakfast porridge or a stew with appam or freshly baked bread. Breadfruit is a good source of antioxidants, calcium, vitamin c, and dietary fiber. Plantains also have great nutritional value. The best place to find breadfruit is Asian stores or Latin American grocery stores. Let’s try making this delicacy with some simple steps below. You will be surprised by how easy it is to make this delicious stew.

Kadachakka Ethapazham Stew/ Sweet Plantain and Breadfruit Stew

Ingredients
Bread fruit cubed- 1 medium
Ripe plantain- 2 small
Thin coconut milk- 2 1/2 cup
Thick coconut milk- 1 cup
Rice flour- 1 tbs
Sugar- 3 tbs
Salt- a pinch
Raisins and cashew nuts - a few
Ghee- 1 tbs
Cardamon powder- 1/8 tsp
Fennel seeds- 1/8 tsp
Whole Cardamon-3-4

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.
Cut ripe plantain into thick cubes. You can either steam it or cook in a heavy bottom pan with 1/2 cup of water and a pinch of salt. Remove from stove when it is cooked and soft tender, but not mushy.
Heat ghee in a pan and roast cashew nuts till golden brown(adding cashew nuts is optional). Drain and set aside. Add raisins and saute till it is plump. Set this aside too.
Heat ghee in a pan, add whole cardamom and fennel seeds, and roast for a minute. Add the cooked breadfruit, plantain, and sugar and saute them gently. Allow the sugar to caramelize. Pour 2 cups of thin coconut milk and allow to simmer for 4-5 minutes.
Take the leftover thin coconut milk and mix the rice flour till there are no lumps. Quickly add this to the stew and mix. Let it get heated and thicken. Finally, add the thick coconut milk, roasted cashew nuts, and cardamom powder. Simmer for one more minute and switch off the flame. Serve warm with appams.


You might also like, 

Sweet Plantain Stew- Ethapazham Stew/ Kurukkiyathu
Kerala Vegetable Stew with Coconut Milk
Kadachakka Payasam/ Bread fruit pudding with coconut milk
Pazham Pori-Crispy Fried Sweet Plantain
Kaya pola / Malabar Plantain Cake 

Try this
Hope you will all enjoy!