Ghee Roast Green Jackfruit and Paneer

 

This is a fully vegetarian variation of a dish commonly used for non vegetarian dish from Karnataka India. It includes no onions and no garlic but you can add those if you like

Ingredients

Quantities depend on the amount of jackfruit and paneer used. This recipe uses 1 cup of green jackfruit and one cup of paneer.

- 1 cup Green jackfruit
- 1 cup Paneer
- Half cup each two kinds of dried red chillies, Kashmiri and the regularly available one. Kashmiri adds color, regular adds heat and you can adjust the proportions according to taste.
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
- 1 tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
- 1 tsp cummin (jeera) seeds
- 2 tsp coriander (dhania) seeds
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorn
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 tbsp ghee but the amount can be varied. You can mix vegetable oil also, for a healthier mix
- Curry leaves
- 1/2 cup tamarind water
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing). This is a replacement for onions and garlic which we do not use here
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- Coconut sugar or molasses (gur) or ordinary sugar. Enough to balance to tartness of the tamarind water
- Ground ginger, ground from a 1 inch pie

Steps

- The jackfruit should be boiled in water - till it turns soft - with a little turmeric and salt (to remove stickiness). Discard the water
- Soak both types of red chillies in warm water for some time. Grind them into a paste
- All the above (seven) seeds should be lightly dry roasted in a pan for the fragrance. Avoid burning. Then powder them together in a grinder
- Grind the ginger

- Heat one tbsp of ghee and put a tsp of cummin seeds in it and a few (not all) of the curry leaves.
- Saute the cooked jackfruit and the paneer with a little salt in the ghee for a while then keep aside.
- In the same pan add the rest of the ghee with a (little vegetable oil in my case) and put in the red chilli paste, the rest of the ground-together ingredients, the turmeric, sugar, and salt.
- Saute until you see the oil.
- Add the jackfruit. Mix them together thoroughly. They should be incorporated
- Add the turmeric water and add a little extra water for the whole thing to boil together.
- Make sure the jackfruit is properly soft. Then add the paneer.
- Allow it to boil till the whole thing is dry and properly sauteed together. Turn off the heat.
TIP: Taste it and if it is too tart add a little more sugar to balance

Serve the dish with drizzled ghee and the rest of the curry leaves.