Breadfruit Fritters (Jeev Kadgi Phodi/ Neer Phanas Chi Kaapa)

Do you get oodles and oodles of happines seeing that one long lost vegetable which you are sampling after decades..? Well I for one, relish such instances. Recently, I got my hand on a pretty young Breadfruit. I was delighted and on cloud zillion (if there was one) to see the mushy buttery vegetable. In Konkani, the Breadfruit is known as Jeev Kadgee (Konkani) or Jee Gujji (Konkani) or Neer Phanas (Marathi).

The Breadfruit is of mighty coconut size, with light green honey comb like structure on the surface. While chopping the vegetable, I oil the knife and apply some on my palms as well; the thick milk oozing from the Breadfruit sticks to hands otherwise and gets messy to clean up. Extract the central thick stem which is the Pith (called as Geeru in Konkani), chip off the thick Breadfruit green bark entirely from the surface of the vegetable. You will find white, pristine meat which is soft and easy to chop. Chop them into desired pieces or shapes of choice. Of many a dishes I ate, I love Fritters (Jeev Kadgee Phodi) and Breadfruit Chana Curry (Jeev Kadgee Chane Soyi Bhajili Ghashi).

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Yield: 2-3

Ingredients:

Breadfruit pieces - 4-6

Sooji - 3-4 tablespoon

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/3 teaspoon

Garam Masala powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Pepper powder (optional) - 1/3 teaspoon

Water - For cooking

Oil - For frying

Method:

Remove the green bark from the breadfruit and the central core which is the Pinth. Chop them into desired size. Apply spice rub of all the powders. Sprinkle little water for moisture and leave aside for 20-30 minutes.

Dredge them in Rava/ Sooji. Shallow fry in a heated pan with oil on the sides. Turn them after they are fried on one side. Pour some oil on the sides. After some time sprinkle 2-3 handfull of water, cover the lid and allow to cook evenly on both the sides. Serve hot with rice and a side dish.

Suggestion: Breadfruits tend to have a dry texture once cooked. To prevent that, sprinkle some water after turning them over once and cover with a lid. This ensures the fritters have a soft, moist taste.