We love this quick and easy breadfruit recipe at home, it’s a great healthier, vegan and gluten-free snack for in between or you can serve it too with rice and curry.
It’s a staple in Goa, India and an inexpensive breadfruit could be your next favorite super food delicacy in your daily life!
Learn how to prepare and fry breadfruit further below.
In fact, for some of us the humble breadfruit is a totally knew discovery! I am kind of obsessed with using this fruit these days in my cooking and I want others to catch the Breadfruit “obsession” as well, that’s why I want to share my quick and easy breadfruit recipe.
What is breadfruit and how does it taste like?
Breadfruit is a starchy round fruit, which is about 05-1kg heavy. The consistency and flavor can be much compared to a potato. It’s kind of tasteless however it can suck in flavors, such as marination and spice blends so well, that it makes a great vegan & gluten-free healthy food option for many.
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Where to buy breadfruit?
Breadfruit commonly grows in tropical climates and countries such as in South East Asia, India and on the Caribbean Islands including Jamaica, Puerto Rico and all the other smaller Islands.
So, you will find the breadfruit easily in local markets in these parts of the world, however up until now you will be mostly out of luck if you are looking to buy a fresh breadfruit in a local super market in Europe.
Breadfruit is close related to Jackfruit, Soursop and Custard apple. If you get these fruits in your local store, you might be able to buy the breadfruit as well. Check out my tropical garden 1 and tropical garden 2 to see some of the tropical trees that I mentioned.
If you have seen the breadfruit somewhere in the western world sold in a market or supermarket, please share the place and location with us in a comment further below. Your help might assist others looking for the breadfruit.
The breadfruit could be bought for 10 INR (~0,15 €) a few years back, now one fruit costs about 10 times more, however it’s still a cheap produce which can feed quite a few mouth and with the right breadfruit recipe, the fried breadfruit turns into an amazing healthy snack!
If you are traveling and looking for the fruit in a market, here are the different breadfruit names:
The Breadfruit’s botanical name is Artocarpus altilis yet in your corner of the world the breadfruit might be known under a different name, such as fruit a pain (French), Brotfrucht (German), Frutipan (Spanish), Fruta-pao (Portugues), Ulu (Hawai’i), Uru (Tahiti), Dhel (Sri Lanka), Buah Sukun (Malaysia) and Yaca (Mexico).
In India you might find the breadfruit under the following names in your local market: Ber Halasu, Seema Chakka, Kada Chakka, Jeevi Halasu, Jeev Kadgi or even Jeegujje.
Somehow I couldn’t find a name for it in Hindi, mostly I guess because the breadfruit is only commonly grown in South India.
There are a couple of reasons why you should add breadfruit to your diet (if you can).
- The fruit flesh is considered tasteless, and soaks in flavors easily. The fruit gets sweeter the riper it is, yet it never gets as sweet as other fruits do. That means we get to choose, if we would like to prepare it for a savory dish or if we would prefer to turn it into a sweet dessert.
Ripe Breadfruit
- You can boil the breadfruit, fry it, roast it, bake it or turn it into a flour. Breadfruit flour is Gluten-free.
- The Breadfruit might be 25% Carbs, yet it contains other useful nutrients for our body. The fruit is a rich source of fiber, controlling your cholesterol levels and it contains Omega essential fats.Usually those healthy essential fats are found in meats such as fish, so in my opinion that should be the first reason for Vegetarians to get hold of the bread fruit.Another interesting fact is that you fill find a good amount of Vitamin C, which are Antioxidants and those are known as cancer cell killers.
Our breadfruit tree a few years ago
- A breadfruit tree grows a tremendous amount of fruits every season. In India the trees are heavy with fruits and a breadfruit tree grows very fast and starts to give fruit in the 2nd or 3rd year already. That is why the humble breadfruit was connected to the world food security program, since the trees require little space compared to wheat fields and one grown tree can give in average 100 fruits (!).
So, breadfruits are quite versatile and delicious at the same time if you know how to prepare it! I felt reluctant to use the fruit in my cooking the first time I saw it, since I didn’t know how to use it.
I prepared a quick and easy breadfruit recipe for you this time, which is a bit spiced. You can make it as a snack or use the fried breadfruit as a little side with curry and rice.
Simply cut the fruit and marinate it for a while, then fry (or bake) and serve it hot. If you don’t like it spicy, then just omit the Chili powder but add the Turmeric Powder because it’s not hot spicy, yet will give flavor.
Quick and Easy Breadfruit Recipe – Learn how to prepare and fry breadfruit below:
- 1 ripe Breadfruit
- dash white Wine Vinegar (I use Coconut Vinegar)
- 2 flat Tablespoons Turmeric Powder
- ½ Tablespoon Chili Powder
- pinch Salt
- pinch Pepper
- 2 Teaspoon Garam Masala
- 2 Tablespoon Garlic Paste
- Optional: Chaat Masala to garnish
- Before you start preparing the breadfruit, you ought to oil your hands, your cutting board and your knife. The fruit emits a sticky substance and working with oil makes it all much easier!
- Peel the Breadfruit, then half and quarter it. Discard the fruit core. The fruit will change color, that's alright.
- Cut the fruit into 1 cm thick slices and make some cuts on it. The cuts will be helpful while marinating it.
- Place the slices into a container and throw in all the above mentioned ingredients. That means the vinegar, the turmeric powder, the chili powder, the salt & Pepper, the garam masala and the garlic paste. Marinate the fruit well with your hands and keep standing for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat up some cooking oil in a pan and once hot add the marinated fruit slices. Fry on each side for 5 minutes or until both sides are golden brown and a bit crisp.
- Garnish with some Chaat Masala if you want and serve hot as a snack or as a rice curry side dish.
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The use of breadfruit is simply stunning, what a delicious simple recipe! 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I am so sure Uru you would come across some great using ideas for the fruit. =)
Wow, fantastic. Loved the simplicity of your recipe. Its sounding delish too.
BTW do join my Weekend Gala Dinner Extravaganza. Please come and join and help me make it a success. You can post old posts too 🙂 http://www.thelady8home.com/2012/09/13/weekend-gala-dinner-extravaganza-week-2/
Thanks Minnie!
I d love to join, but I am all busy with work and I am already behind… maybe another time Minnie!
This is new to me.. Never tasted it!
Great-secret-of-life.blogspot.com
ah, then you should keep and eye out for it. =)
I learn sth new from your blog everytime, that breadfruit is just fascinating! wish i can get hold of soem to try!
Happy fruit hunting Shuhan! 😉
I am still not sure on the breadfruit and like you have mentioned, looks similar to jackfruit. I live in an Asian country and I have not seen the fruit. However, I like what you did with the fruit because masala and chili are a must for our food. Simple recipe but so lovely.
masala and chilli is an Indian signature. ^.^ Thats the way the breadfruit is prepared in Goa. I am surely going to try more flavor ideas one of these days. The fruit is so versatile! You can make out the difference between jackfruit and breadfruit, if you take a look at the tree. a Jackfruit tree has round leaves and a breadfruit tree has those poky style ones, as you can see in the pictures above.
I only know breadfruit from Swiss Family Robinson and other shipwreck focused books 🙂 I’d hope to have my first taste some day. Have a great weekend~
Now that you are saying it, I remember them showing the fruit in that movie. I am pretty sure that the fruit will pick up on popularity in the years to come. Its quite useful and if you use it in the correct way very very addictive!
This does look similar to the jackfruit. We were able to find some canned jackfruit at the market. I wonder if they carry breadfruit too. I’m sure it’s not as good as the fresh variety, but I doubt I’ll be getting to travel to the islands anytime soon. 😉
yeah for sure if there is no fresh fruit around, I d buy the canned version as well, just to savor it. =) They might just sell it somewhere around, I think so I have seen once canned breadfruit in europe.
Woo hoo! Totally new way for me to have breadfruit! They’re kind of boring here. It’s really only ever boiled or fried and seasoned with salt and pepper. I’m totally trying this!
I dont think so salt and pepper does it with the breadfruit. We dont just eat plain potatoes with salt and pepper either right? I think so we should treat it more like a universal food, that soaks in well other flavors. I mean, vegetarians should consider it especially! Once everyone realizes the use and value of breadfruit it will turn into an essential staple food for the future generations. Imagine how else you could prepare it! =D
Let me know how u liked it! 😉
Thx for the 411 on the breadfruit. I was not familiar with it. BTW who is that in the 1st photo background? Lovely quick dish!
lol thats a statue that broke some months back. The staff had thrown it out, some mysterious person brings them into our garden, and there they are. one doll here, one head there… ^.^ I love using them as props. 😉
I haven’t cooked with bread fruit before. Thanks for posting a recipe with it that I could manage. xx
I think so you will like it. If you are not that fond of spicy food, then just reduce the spice amounts to half for the start, then you can experiment with the amounts better.
How interesting! I love learning about new treats from you:-) Thank you for sharing! Hope you are well, Hugs, Terra
As you said on twitter, you might just come across it by accident. hehe ^.^
Well, lets see what else we can create with the breadfruit!
That is something I’d love to try, but I’ve never seen this fruit here…. A lovely recipe!
Cheers,
Rosa
no u r right u dont get it in europe, maybe only france, but I am not sure either. thank you dear!
Breadfruit is one of my most beloved foods in Jamaica. I love it roasted then fried and its wonderful in a chicken or beef soup! It is perfect served with Ackee & Saltfish (Jamaica’s National Dish). Thank you for sharing how its prepared in Goa. 🙂
I d love to learn some more Caribbean dishes and the way you prepare it in Jamaica. The way u described it sounds wonderful Lyn, you have me tempted to go to the market and bring back a couple of breadfruits. ^.^
You had us at breadfruit. As children of the tropical Caribbeanisland of Jamaica, we were delighted to see you write about it! So nice to meet you and we will definitely keep coming back for more of your treats!
Hi there! Yes its nice to meet new people through food likings and then too the breadfruit! =) see ya around! 😉
Well, now that’s a dish we prepare every now and then at our home. It especially serves as an evening snack. There are many interesting south Indian recipes that include cooking breadfruit with coconut.
Hello Anuradha. I am super curious now to learn the south Indian breadfruit recipes with the coconut addition. Our tree has already 3 fruits this year although he is still very young and small so I can’t wait to cook our home grown fruits. =)
Hello there Helene. Thanks for you recipe. Im going to try it. I have eaten this fruit many times 50/60 years ago. My mother used to cook it. We had a giant tree in the back yard. I am amazed to read that this fruit is rare in Goa. Looks everyone has a tree in their garden abd the markets are full os stalls selling them. I came scross a branch of a tree that fell off nearly hitting a parked car and picked up one fruit. There are tens of them but nobody cares. As I do not know what to do with it I went to google and found your site. I may post ba k the result of my cooking (I plsn to modify the spices). Thanks.
Delicious…
Breadfruit is known as “Kulu” in my area in the Philippines. We cook it in various ways and every recipe is very good. And now your recipe, is also very good.
I have never tasted breadfruit, so thank you for all the explanations. If I ever see it here I’ll know how to cook it. This dish sounds and looks fantastic!
Awesome, I want to eat it…. 🙂
I’ve had breadfruit in Jamaica but I’ve not seen it here in Australia. It might be available up in the tropical top end but it’s sub-tropical here and no breadfruit.
This sounds yummy.
I am from Puerto Rico, and there it is known as Pana. It’s my favorite food to eat when I visit. My Sister has a gigantic Pana tree in her “parcela.” Every property there has one or more trees. I can’t get enough of this healthy, delicious fruit. We eat it mostly boiled with Codfish or Pollock either in a salad with avocado or sautéed in sauce, but some people will only eat it fried. Thank You for giving me other ideas.
Hi Carmen,
Thank you for your lovely comment.
Breadfruit is one of those basic foods, which should be gaining popularity in the coming years all over the world. I think it’s not getting enough credit yet. I never tried to boil bread fruit however how you describe it, it just sounds heavenly tempting. 🙂
In Goa breadfruit is known as pannas. I think Pana and Panna and all it’s other similar name variations must come from the spanish/portugues, from the word bread. I suspect it, because bread in french in pain and in the french Caribbeans we called it fruit de pain aka bread fruit.
I am going to check out what a parcela is. 🙂 Thank you for your lovely comment!
Bread Fruit can be purchased at C Town on Boston Ave on the Stratford/Bridgeport line
Oops..in Connecticut ,I should have added..
Good to know! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, much appreciated. I am sure it will be helpful to somebody. 🙂
Just got some fresh breadfruit at the Lake Worth market this weekend. There are a few trees growing locally out in the Loxahatchee area and one of the farmers is always bringing in fresh stuff from his neighbors. He also had jackfruit. South Florida is not quite tropical, but it has not frozen down here in nearly 30 years.
The guy selling it suggested letting it sit and get really ripe, then cooking it in a pan with raisins and a bit of brown sugar or honey to make a sweet bread pudding like substance. Looking forward to experimenting this week.
I have friends in Florida who get breadfruit and jackfruits regularly. In that sense we have something in common. 🙂
Well, let us know here what you ended up making and how it tasted. We are always eager to learn something new!
After reading about breadfruit for so many years, I just found some at a store called Fresh Farms, in the northern suburbs of Chicago, a store that carries many items from all over the world. I bought three, and tonight boiled one and buttered it. So now I know what it tastes like. I will try baking, roasting or frying the other two.
That is great news that you can buy breadfruit now in your nearest supermarket! I heard that it’s mostly available in Ethnic grocery stores. I hadn’t tried baking it yet, that sounds interesting too. Great idea!
I was introduced to breadfruit by a coworker of mine from St Lucia who shared some with me that he had brought for lunch. I came across this page after deciding to take a crack at cooking some for myself.
I live in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, which is a predominantly West Indian neighborhood. They are readily available at West Indian grocery stores. If you have enough folks from the islands around you that they have their own grocery stores, they should have them there.
They really are a cool fruit that everybody should try. There isn’t anything to not like about them.
Thanks for posting this Helene
Hi, thanks for your comment. I totally agree there is nothing to not like about breadfruits, I hope the fruit will gain in popularity in time. So that it will be more available. 🙂
Fish market at Artesia and Norwalk in Cerritos, California. USA has breadfruit and many other favorites from Caribbean and South Pacific.
thank you for sharing!
In Haiti, we called it “Lam veritab” or just “lam.” We boil it, we fry it and make something called “tontonm” with it. Tontonm is similar to the African “Fufu”. Good stuff.
Ok that’s cool info! What does lam veritab mean?
btw that’s a fried breadfruit recipe too 🙂