Breadfruit (Jeev Kadgi/ Neer Phanas) - An Essay

Breadfruit is a green, round species primarily belonging to the Mulberry family. The bark or the surface area of the fruit (Saali in Konkani) has hexagonal like structures. The fruit finds wide prominence and grows in abundance in Tropical region with good amount of rainfall and sunlight.

Breadfruit is known as Jeev Kadgi/ Jee Gujji in Konkani and Neer Phanas in Marathi. The leaves of the tree are wide spread, and grow upto 20-25 metres in height. The fruit of the tree is a most sought after one. The fruit has a starch content and can be roasted, baked, boiled, fried or deep fried depending on preference. The more fresh and young the Breadfruit the better the taste and flavour.


Some of my friends prefer eating the Breadfruit on Mondays and Thursdays when the diet is vegetarian in nature (Shivraag in Konkani). Cutting and chopping the fruit is a little tedious task. The knife needs to be well oiled, some oil applied on the palm before beginning the cutting process. This is to prevent the sticky milk of the fruit (called as Deek in Konkani) clinging to the hands while chopping the fruit. The bark is gently chipped off to find the white, soft meat of the fruit. The central core which is a thin tall membrane (Pith) called as Geeru in Konkani is extracted and discarded. Rest of the fruit is cut into desired shapes and sizes and used as per choice.

My mom makes quite a lot of dishes from Breadfruit. Few which I wish to mention are - Breadfruit Fritters (Jeev Kadgi Phodi), Breadfruit Side Dish (Jeev Kadgi Upkari), Breadfruit Chickpea Curry in Coconut sauce (Jeev Kadgi Chane Soyi Bhajili Ghashi).

Breadfruit if stored, stay good for a week upon refrigeration. The fresher the Breadfruit, the better the taste and flavour. The Breadfruit can be found in huge numbers in tropical areas of Asia and Carribean regions. Couple of my cousins have huge Breadfruit trees in their backyard and I have fond memories of Breadfruit picking activity which we used to participate during summer. The fruit of the tree is an adored one and is a staple food in many a tropical regions across the globe.

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.