You may have often notices bunches of jackfruit hanging from the tree. But have you noticed a comparatively smaller, rounder produce hanging from the trees? That is a breadfruit! This tropical fruit, matures mostly during the monsoons around the coastlines, and has been in the geography of India, Caribbean and Pacific Islands for years. People also consciously grow breadfruits in their farms, pick them up and make delicious dishes.
One might wonder how it got the name breadfruit! In reality, it has got nothing to do with bread. The name is derived from the bread-like texture that the ingredient reduces to once it is cooked. Available in abundance around Kerala, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal, these green rounds are pale white on the inside and weighs typically between 1 and 4 kgs. While most varieties are seedless, some with seed varieties also exist.
How to cook breadfruit in different parts of India?
Breadfruit has a mildly-sweet-to –savoury flavour complex where the taste may resemble anything from potato, sweet potato to the nuttiness of chestnuts. Different regions combine it with their local and seasonal produce and spices making it a very adaptable ingredient to work with. While Maharashtra prefers a semolina coated fry, Karnataka prefers to have it in a coconut and vegetable based curries. With its long shelf-life after harvesting, versatility to blend with most vegetables and spices, light yet stomach filling and natural occurrence during the monsoon, breadfruits are a household name during this season.
Benefits of having breadfruit
Moreover, they are actually healthy and nutritious for the body. Breadfruit contains carbohydrates, dietary fibre, potassium, Vitamin C and antioxidants; are naturally gluten free and low on fats. Intake of these nutrients helps in balancing digestion, blood pressure, immune function and stress and energy, making it easily available and healthy at the same time.
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