Idichakka Thoran Recipe (Kerala Tender Jackfruit Stir Fry)

When you have tender Jackfruit or Idichakka in abundance during summers, make this delicious Kerala Style Thoran Recipe that is gluten free and vegan too. A must have stir fry recipe for Vishu Sadya meals.

I am blogging today about a delicious stir fry or Thoran Recipe from Kerala Cuisine called the Idichakka Thoran, the Tender or Raw Jackfruit Stir Fry. A No Onion No Garlic South Indian Side Dish or Palakkad Style recipe made using Tender Jackfruit during summers. The Recipe is Gluten Free and Vegan too.

For Vishu Festival, the Tamil New Year, we absolutely must cook this Raw Jackfruit thoran and serve it with Sambar or Mor Kozhumbu and some steamed rice. It is extremely filling and absolutely delicious with the grated coconut, aromatic cumin seeds and spicy green chillies. To know more about Vishu, please check here.

In my last month's post, Air Fryer Raw Jackfruit Cutlets, I had mentioned in detail about "how to chop the raw jackfruit" with tips and tricks. I followed the same procedure and used 500 gms of Raw Jackfruit to make this Thoran or Stir fry.

Thorans, especially Idichakka Thoran requires a good amount of grated coconut. Do not skip or reduce the quantity and by all means, add more, if required, as it enhances the taste.

Chopping and prepping for the Idichakka Thoran is quite a painstaking effort but at the end of the day, when the whole family sits together and enjoys the delicious Sadya meal, all the efforts seem worth it. Also, the whole emphasis of this festival is to incorporate Seasonal food into your diet for the next 2- 3 months of summer. Mangoes and Jackfruit clearly tops the list.

Some Tips to make delicious Idichakka Thoran

• Preferably plan and cook the day you buy tender Jackfruit and do not refrigerate it for days together.
• Do not compromise on the quantity of grated coconut used for this particular Thoran Recipe. The coconut enhances the taste of the tender jackfruit.
• Tender Jackfruit has tender seeds that gets cooked during pressure cooking and easily mashed too. Do not throw them away. They are absolutely priceless!
• Cook this vegetable in coconut oil for the authentic taste.

My version of the Idichakka Thoran Recipe is the Palakkad Style that uses no onion or shallots, nor any garlic. It is a Brahmin Style Thoran Recipe that is made with a mix of coconut-cumin-green chillies and stir fried in coconut oil.

Some other Vishu recipes on the blog are Beetroot Thoran, Pineapple Pachadi and Cucumber Zucchini Thayir Pachadi.

Let's head over to the recipe below and make some for the upcoming Vishu Festival.

Recipe for Idichakka Thoran (Kerala Tender Jackfruit Stir Fry)

Ingredients

• 500 gms of Tender Jackfruit or Idichakka
• 1 cup of freshly grated coconut
• 1 1/2 tsps of Cumin seeds or Jeera
• 3-4 green chillies
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder or haldi powder
• Few curry leaves
• 2 tblsp of Coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Urad dal
• 3 - 4 whole red chillies
• Salt to taste

Method

Note – Apply coconut oil to your hand and knife while dealing with Jackfruit. It tends to get sticky. Use good quality sharp knife. Jackfruit tends to discolour easily so keep a bowl of water ready to immerse the chopped pieces.

(1) Slice the green part of the raw jackfruit, cut and discard the hard centre, retain the tender seeds, and roughly chop them into pieces as shown below.

(2) Sprinkle some salt to taste and add turmeric powder along with 3 tblsp water and pressure cook until it shreds with a fork or masher as shown below.

(3) Coarsely Grind the freshly grated coconut along with cumin seeds, green chillies and keep aside.

(4) Heat a pan, add 2 tblsp coconut oil and mustard seeds, once they crackle, add urad dal and whole red chillies.

(5) Once the urad dal turns a bit brownish in colour, add curry leaves and the cooked tender jackfruit. Mix well.

(6) Now add the coarsely ground coconut-cumin-green chilli, mix well, cover and cook for couple of seconds.

Switch off the flame and serve hot.

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Vidya Narayan