Breadfruit is one of those things that I always ask my mom to cook for me every time I visit Sri Lanka and never get enough of. Though it can still be found at local wet markets or in little india – it is not something that’s very commonly found in Singapore and one really needs to hunt a bit to find one. After many futile visits to the nearby wet market over the past couple of weeks, just when I was at the verge to give up on my bread fruit dream, a very sweet junior of mine found one at her neighbourhood wet market and helped me buy one and it was so worth the wait and effort!

For those who are not so familiar with breadfruit – it is a super starchy yam sort that is almost like tapioca or jack fruit. It is very popular in countries like Philipines, Indonesia, India and ofcoure Sri Lanka! In Sri Lanka, breadfruit is enjoyed in multiple ways – from simply boiled to fried to curries. My mom’s favourite way to prepare breadfruit is to make it into a deliciously creamy curry and naturally that is now my favourite way to prepare a breadfruit as well.

Ingredients:

• Breadfruit
• Coconut milk & water
• Curry leaves, onions, garlic & green chill to taste
• Salt, turmeric & cumin seeds

How to:

First remove the skin off the breadfruit like you would do to a mango or any fruit/yam with skin. Wash well and cut in half and remove the core of the fruit. The somewhat hard core is not used as it adds a tad bit of bitterness into the dish.

Cut the rest of the fruit into large chunks, mix in with a bit of salt, turmeric for colour, a bit of chili powder – cover with water and let it boil till the breadfruit is soft and starchy and all or most of the water has evaporated.

Into the same pot add in the sliced onion, garlic, curry leaves, green chilli and not forgetting a good pinch of cumin seeds. Cumin seeds to me is the perfect spice that pairs so beautifully with breadfruit – or maybe that’s just how my taste buds are tuned in.

Mix all these well and add a good amount of coconut cream and a little bit of water and let it simmer.

Lastly garnish with a few sprigs of drumstick leaves or spinach to make it extra delicious. Drumstick leaves are believed to contain properties that reduces the heatiness of the breadfruit – not too sure how true that is, but I do it anyway cos who am I to question traditions eh? 😉

This is best paired with a plate of white rice, a thick meat curry, a quick cucumber, tomato & onion salad and papadams. Here’s some inspo on what you could pair this delectable curry with!

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