How to cut a raw jackfruit | baby jackfruit | Goan Kuvlo | Konkani Phanas | Fanas | Halasina | Echor | Kathal | Kadgi | Palakkaai | Kathaler | Gujje | Idichakka In this post, I provide detail instructions with photos and a video about how to peel the skin, remove the core and cut a raw jackfruit for various Indian recipes. During the summer months, you will see raw jackfruits in every Indian kitchen. Especially in the coastal states of India, raw jackfruit/phanas/kathal is very popular. In Goa, we call this small baby raw jackfruit as ‘kuvlo’ in Konkani.
In India, raw jackfruits grow in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. A raw jackfruit is known by different names throughout India. In Marathi, it is referred to as ‘kaccha phanas’ or ‘kovla panas’. It is also called as ‘kadgi’, ‘idichakka’, ‘gujje’ , ‘kathaler’, ‘echor’, ‘palakkai’, ‘kathal’, ‘halasina’ in some other parts of India. The outer surface is thick and green in colour with spikes. The inner flesh is creamish in colour.
How to cut a raw jackfruit?
It is very simple and easy to cut a raw jackfruit. In the olden days in Goa, people used a cutting equipment called as ‘aadoli’ or ‘vhili’ to cut vegetables. This equipment is like a small stool to sit on with a big blade attached to one side. Nowadays most youngsters are more comfortable using a chopping board and knife than the traditional cutting tools. Hence, in my post I use a knife for cutting the raw jackfruit. Alternately, you can follow the steps I have listed and cut it using an aadoli.
Before starting the cutting process, it is advisable to grease your hands and the blade of the knife or aadoli with oil. This is because the raw jackfruit will have a lot of sticky latex or sap. Applying oil will make it easy to wash off the sticky latex. Before cooking, the thick outer green coloured skin of the raw jackfruit needs to be peeled off and discarded. Also the hard inner core needs to be removed and thrown away. The raw jackfruit pieces can then be cut as per your preference. The cut pieces need to be immediately soaked in water till use to avoid discoloration.
Watch out for our upcoming Goan Konkani Sushel recipe!! You can refer to more cutting and cleaning videos and posts in our How To’s section.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Raw jackfruit
Instructions
- Apply oil to your hands and to the blade of the knife.
- Cut the raw jackfruit into half. Using a coconut husk, wipe off the sticky latex.
- Cut the raw jackfruit half into quarters and so on to form small pieces.
- For each piece, cut off the hard core portion and discard.
- For each piece, cut off the hard outer green skin and discard.
- The raw jackfruit pieces are ready to be used in curries and sabjis.
Tips & Tricks
- Apply oil to your hands and knife blade before cutting the jackfruit. This makes it easy to wash off the sticky latex from your hands and the knife.
- Soak the cut pieces in water to prevent darkening.