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Sri LankanVegetables and Pulses

Polos Curry (Sri Lankan Baby Jackfruit Curry)

written by Amila Gamage Wickramarachchi May 22, 2019
Sri Lankan Polos Curry
Sri Lankan Polos Curry

Here is the Sri Lankan Polos Curry recipe which is delicious,flavourful and authentic!If you look for ways to add Sri Lanka baby jackfruit curry to your meal,then why do you wait?Head on to a nearby market or even to your home garden to pick a fresh baby jackfruit and start cooking with me! 🙂

What is Polos Curry? (Polos maluwa /Baby jackfruit curry)

Polos curry is one of the most admired foods in Sri Lankan cuisine due to its unavoidable taste.To make polos curry, a baby jackfruit is cooked with spices and coconut milk. In Sri Lanka there are few different ways for cooking Polos Curry. However most of these polos recipes are basically same although there are few differences in ingredients and cooking order.

Polos
Polos/Baby jackfruit

What are the health benefits of Polos Curry (Benefits of baby jackfruit)

If you like to know health benefits of polos curry,let me share some benefits which are traditionally passed down.In Sri Lanka polos or jackfruit is known as a source for increasing breastmilk supply.This is why polos curry or baby jackfruit is added to a typical meal of Sri Lankan pregnant ladies.Moms with newborn babies love to eat this curry and they are lucky enough to receive the nutrients packed in a babyjackfruit as Sri Lanka is blessed with these trees.

However what I shared is what I learnt from traditional Sri Lankan food culture.Be sure to contact a healthcare adviser for scientific research and advice. 🙂

Baby jackfruit is a vegan favourite.It is also packed with many nutrients including vitamin A & C. Baby jackfruit is also rich in fibre.

Therefore there are many healthy reasons to add polos to your meal. 🙂

Other Names for Baby jackfruit Curry

As I mentioned at the beginning, Polos Maluwa is a Sri Lankan spicy dish popular among most of people. Polos is the common Sri Lankan name for Baby Jackfruit. Therefore this curry is also known as Green Jackfruit curry, baby jack fruit curry, Polos ambula, polos maluwa or simply as polos curry.

In Tamil,this is called as Palakkai Curry. So,if you look for Palakkai curry recipe but not Indian,then try this Sri Lankan style recipe.

Do you know any other name for this curry? If so, please share as a comment.

Green Jackfruit curry
Polos Ambula

How to cook Polos Ambula?

This is one of our favourite curries too. Whenever we visit Sri Lanka, Polos curry is in top of our must eat Sri Lankan food list. But in Singapore, we can easily buy Polos in Little India markets.

Polos Curry tastes good when cooked with a good amount of spices together with creamy thick coconut milk.   

In Sri Lanka, this is mostly cooked in low flame for few hours & in an earthen pot. It is more delicious if it is cooked few hours before the meal. Once you cook Polos curry for few hours, the appearance will be appealing with tender soft meat like polos pieces.

Here is how to cook Polos Curry.

Recipe : Sri Lankan Polos curry  (Baby Jackfruit curry/Green Jackfruit curry)

Sri Lankan Polos Curry
Sri Lankan Polos Curry

Ingredients (1 medium sized polos is enough for about 5-6 servings)

1 no of Polos (Baby Jackfruit)

For the Spices mix:

2-3 tbspn red chili powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

2-3 tbspn  Sri Lankan Raw Curry Powder

Other ingredients:

1 medium sized onion sliced

2-3 dried red chili

2-3 Green Chili

2 pieces of goraka (gamboge) or (replace with 1 tomato or tamarind paste 1 tspn)

3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 tspn crushed black pepper

1” piece cinnamon

2 cardamom

2 cloves

1 tspn mustard seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

2-3 cups thick Coconut milk

salt to taste

Cooking oil

Curry leaves

Pandan leaves(Rampe)

Method

Step 1:

Dry roast the spice powders until golden brown. Keep aside. Remember not to burn.

Roast 1/2 tspn of mustard seeds. Grind it into powder and keep aside.

Step 2:

Remove the skin of Polos. Cut in to pieces/cubes.

How to cut a baby jackfruit?

It is not easy to Cut Polos.

cutting-jackfruit

Tip: Apply cooking oil into knife. Use a good amount of used newspapers below the cutting board.(Easy to clean after the process. When you cut baby jack fruit, use a piece of newspaper to remove the sticky milky sap. You can also use your hand to remove milky sap. But, apply some cooking oil before you do this.

Baby jackfruit

When you cut polos in to pieces, directly add those to a bowl of water to avoid discolouring.

Once cutting process is completed, wash all polos pieces and drain water.

Mix roasted spices with polos pieces & keep aside.

Step 3:

Heat 2-3 tblspn of oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds once oil is hot. When mustard seeds are popping up, add onion, dried chili, Green chili, garlic, Curry leaves, Pandan leaves (Rampe) into the mix. Also add cinnamon, cardamom & cloves.

When onions are tender, add the Polos pieces into the pan & mix well.Add crushed black pepper too.

Add thick coconut milk into the mix together with another 1 cup of water.

Add goraka or tamarind juice. Add about 1 tspn salt. Mix well.

Step 4:

Cook polos curry until al pieces are soft and well cooked. Usually it will take at least 30 minutes to cook Polos. Once it is cooked /boiled, simmer the polos curry in low flame for another 30 minutes until the gravy become thick and creamy. When it is done, polos pieces will turn into reddish brown colour.

The more you simmer this curry the more it tastes.

Once the curry is ready, sprinkle the powdered mustard seeds that we kept aside at Step 1.

Serve with plain rice or string hoppers.

Baby jackfruit curry
Baby Jackfruit Curry

Important Tips on cooking Polos / Baby Jackfruit Curry:

For an appealing dish, Use a clay pot to cook polos curry.

Adjust spices and salt according to your taste.

You can use tamarind juice if you cannot find Gamboge/(goraka)

Once cooked, It is better to keep this curry to rest at least 2-3 hours before serving.

You can use canned jackfruit. However taste will not be same as using fresh baby jackfruit.

You can also boil polos first before making the curry. If you boil polos first, don’t discard the water that is used to boil polos. Use it with coconut milk when you cook the curry.

Once the initial steps are done, you can use slow cooker to cook polos in low flame for few hours.(above step 4)

Other Polos recipes

 polos achcharu (polos pickle recipe) : Recipe here

Polos with grated coconut: Recipe here

Sri Lankan Polos Curry

Polos Curry (Sri Lankan Baby Jackfruit Curry)

Amila Gamage Wickramarachchi
Polos curry is one of the most admired foods in Sri Lankan cuisine due
to its unavoidable taste.To make polos curry, a baby jackfruit is cooked
with spices and coconut milk.

5 from 17 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hr
Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Sri Lankan
Servings 6
Calories 1 kcal

Equipment

  • cooker
  • clay pot

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Nos Baby Jackfruit (Polos)

For the Spices mix:

  • 3 tbsp Red Chili Powder
  • 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
  • 3 tbsp Sri Lankan Raw curry powder

Other Ingredients

  • 1 nos medium sized onion sliced

  • 3 nos dried red chili

  • 3 nos Green Chili

  • 2 pieces goraka (gamboge) or (replace with 1 tomato or
    tamarind paste 1 tspn)

  • 3 cloves of garlic chopped

  • 1 tspn crushed black pepper

  • 1 inch piece cinnamon

  • 2 nos cardamom

  • 2 nos cloves

  • 1 tspn mustard seeds

  • 1 tspn fenugreek seeds

  • 2-3 cups thick Coconut milk

  • Curry leaves

  • Pandan leaves(Rampe)

  • 3 tbspn Cooking oil

  • Salt to taste

Instructions
 

Step 1:

  • Dry roast the spice powders until golden brown. Keep aside. Remember
    not to burn.
    Roast 1/2 tspn of mustard seeds. Grind it into powder and
    keep aside.

Step 2:

  • Remove the skin of Polos. Cut in to pieces/cubes.
    However it is not easy to Cut Polos.
    Tip: Apply cooking oil into knife. Use a good amount of used newspapers
    below the cutting board.(Easy to clean after the process. When you cut
    baby jack fruit, use a piece of newspaper to remove the sticky milky
    sap. You can also use your hand to remove milky sap. But, apply some
    cooking oil before you do this.
    When you cut polos in to pieces, directly add those to a
    bowl of water to avoid discolouring.
    Once cutting process is completed, wash all polos pieces and
    drain water.
    Mix roasted spices with polos pieces & keep aside.

Step 3:

  • Heat 2-3 tblspn of oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds once oil is hot. When
    mustard seeds are popping up, add onion, dried chili, Green chili,
    garlic, Curry leaves, Pandan leaves (Rampe) into the mix. Also add
    cinnamon, cardamom & cloves.
    When onions are tender, add the Polos pieces into the pan & mix well.Add crushed black pepper too.
    Add thick coconut milk into the mix together with another 1
    cup of water.
    Add goraka or tamarind juice. Add about 1 tspn salt. Mix
    well.

Step 4

  • Cook polos curry until al pieces are soft and well cooked. Usually
    it will take at least 30 minutes to cook Polos. Once it is cooked /boiled,
    simmer the polos curry in low flame for another 30 minutes until the gravy
    become thick and creamy. When it is done, polos pieces will turn into reddish
    brown colour.
    The more you simmer this curry the more it tastes.
    Once the curry is ready, sprinkle the powdered mustard seeds that we kept aside at Step 1.
    Serve with plain rice or string hoppers.

Notes

For an appealing dish, Use a clay pot to cook polos curry.
Adjust spices and salt according to your taste.
You can use tamarind juice if you cannot find Gamboge/(goraka)
Once cooked, It is better to keep this curry to rest at least 2-3 hours before serving.
You can use canned jackfruit. However taste will not be same as using fresh baby jackfruit.
You can also boil polos first before making the curry. If you boil polos first, don’t discard the water that is used to boil polos. Use it with coconut milk when you cook the curry.
Once the initial steps are done, you can use slow cooker to cook polos in low flame for few hours.(above step 4)
Keyword Baby Jackfruit, Polos Curry, Sri Lankan Recipes

jackfruitpolosPolos curryVegetarian
33 comments
1
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Amila Gamage Wickramarachchi

Amila Gamage is the blogger behind Food Corner. She is a Sri Lankan living in Singapore and shares her cooking adventures in this blog. Apart from recipes, you will also find travel, health and kitchen inspirations in this blog. She is the founder of Sihela Consultants. (www.sihelaconsultants.com) She started writing this blog in 2011 and still continuing.

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33 comments

Jemini November 27, 2012 - 6:25 am

5 stars
looks delicious dear……

Reply
Amy November 28, 2012 - 5:34 am

thanks Jemini…

Reply
Veena Theagarajan November 27, 2012 - 7:16 am

5 stars
looks so yummy

Reply
Amy November 28, 2012 - 5:35 am

thanks Veena,this is one of our favourites….

Reply
PT November 27, 2012 - 9:47 am

5 stars
i just love it.. looks tempting..

Reply
Amy November 28, 2012 - 5:35 am

thanks,this is one of our favourites….

Reply
Faseela Noushad November 27, 2012 - 10:39 am

5 stars
wow….thats great….yummy

Reply
Amy November 28, 2012 - 5:36 am

thanks,hope you will try…

Reply
Rosh November 27, 2012 - 10:59 am

5 stars
Jack fruit is something I haven’t tried cooking with yet. We make something similar in Kerala as well 🙂 Looks great!

Chef Al dente On going event: Street Food of India!

Reply
Amy November 28, 2012 - 5:37 am

thanks,hope you will try one day…only problem is peeling & cutting jackfruit 🙂

Reply
Priya November 27, 2012 - 11:16 am

5 stars
Very interesting curry,quite new for me.

Reply
Amy November 28, 2012 - 5:37 am

thanks for your comment,this is very popular in Sri Lanka

Reply
Reva November 27, 2012 - 11:45 am

5 stars
Awesome dish… reflects the country’s long living tradition..:)
Reva

Reply
Amy November 28, 2012 - 5:38 am

yes Reva,Thanks for your comment…

Reply
priya satheesh November 28, 2012 - 6:56 am

5 stars
Sounds very delicious…Never tried curry with Jackfruit…Love to try this!!1Bookmarked!

Reply
Big Mama November 28, 2012 - 7:10 am

5 stars
We used to eat this often during my childhood as we had a huge Jak tree in front of my parents home.Gone are the days….I miss this dish now.

Reply
Bunny Girl November 29, 2012 - 5:36 am

5 stars
Looks really yummy.

Mandy

Reply
livewithstyle-ewa November 29, 2012 - 10:32 am

5 stars
OMG looks yummy!
Sounds great!
would you like to follow each other?
xoxo E

Reply
MSK DESILVA (Sisil) January 7, 2013 - 11:05 am

5 stars
Very colorful .

Reply
MSK DESILVA (Sisil) January 7, 2013 - 11:06 am

very colorful.

Reply
Naz August 13, 2013 - 7:54 pm

5 stars
Hi Amy, thanks for sharing. Great tips. Unfortunately i can’t get hold of a fresh jack fruit in Vancouver, BC but am gonna try it with a canned one:)
Naz

Reply
Naz August 13, 2013 - 7:57 pm

Hi Amy
Thanks for sharing. Great tips. Unfortunately i can’t get hold of a fresh jackfruit in Vancouver, BC but am gonna try it with a canned one.
Naz

Reply
Amila Wickramarachchi August 14, 2013 - 4:20 am

thanks for the comment,hope you’d try this and canned one will be helpful to taste a delicious polos curry….

Reply
Shey May 11, 2016 - 11:24 am

I have made this Curry so many times. It’s so damn good. This really takes me back home 🙂 thank you so much for your website. I love everything

Reply
Amila Wickramarachchi May 11, 2016 - 1:41 pm

Thanks for the feedback Shey,Try this recipe too https://foodcnr.com/polos-curry-with-grated-coconut/ It is another way I cook polos curry. 🙂

Reply
Dinushini November 5, 2016 - 5:11 am

5 stars
Hi Amila
I always follow this recipe when it comes to polos. No complications easy and it tastes good. Tnx a lot for sharing.

Reply
Amila Wickramarachchi November 10, 2016 - 1:17 am

Thanks Dinushi for sharing your experience.Glad you like the recipe….

Reply
Food in Train July 8, 2019 - 4:25 pm

5 stars
Hi Amila,
Thanks for sharing wonderful dish recipe. Once I saw the image I feel that it was a chicken 🙂 but after when I carefully see the pic then I got it.

Reply
Food Corner July 9, 2019 - 4:11 pm

Thanks for sharing your experience with this post.. 🙂
-Amila

Reply
Chamika July 9, 2019 - 4:06 pm

5 stars
Thanks.This polos recipe is really helpful for me to cook it same as in Sri Lanka.

Reply
Food Corner July 9, 2019 - 4:07 pm

Glad this recipe is helpful.Hope you enjoyed cooking Polos Curry! 🙂

Reply
Manjula September 13, 2019 - 11:19 pm

5 stars
Hi Amila,I tried your recipe.I cooked a delicious polos Curry,thanks ?

Reply
Amila Gamage Wickramarachchi September 25, 2019 - 5:39 pm

Glad it came out delicious.Thanks for letting me know… 🙂

Reply

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