Chaitaigne, also known as katahar or breadnut is cooked in a flavorful coconut curry sauce.
Curry chaitaigne is a very popular dish around Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights or on special occasions, including weddings and poojas. It's one of the main dishes served on a fig leaf along with curry channa and aloo, pumpkin, mango talkarie, bhagi, carhee, rice and paratha roti.
Peeling and cleaning chaitaigne is time consuming, however, nowadays we have the luxury of buying peeled frozen chaitaigne which I mostly use for this recipe.
If using fresh chaitaigne, cut into quarters and remove the flesh and seeds. Pull apart flesh and peel and cut seeds in half.
Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, hot pepper and cook until the edges become golden brown.
Add curry powder and cook for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of water, minced bandhania(culantro) and cook until grainy and fragrant, stirring, about 5 mins
Add chaitaigne, salt, cover and cook 20 minutes until the liquid dries out. If there is no liquid, which occasionally happens, skip to next step.
Stir in coconut milk. Cover and cook for 60-90 minutes or until the liquid evaporates. Stir in ground geera at the end of cooking and add more salt if required.
Video
Notes
If using the fresh chaitaigne, firstly ensure that it is green(unripe) and firm. You can purchase chaitaigne at the Caribbean vegetable markets in Brooklyn and Queens here in NYC. We purchase ours on Liberty Ave, Queens.Peeling and cleaning chaitaigne is time consuming, however, nowadays we have the luxury of buying peeled frozen chaitaigne which I mostly use for this recipe. Aapna Bazaar in Queens carries the peeled, frozen brand which eliminates all the hard work involved!
To clean and prepare the chaitaigne:
rub hands with oil
place on a cutting board and, using a knife, peel off the green tough skin
cut lengthwise into quarters
remove the core
pull apart the white flesh separating the layers
remove the seeds - peel off the dark skin and white film from the seeds using a knife
The seeds can be then cut into smaller pieces for cookingÂ
To make the coconut milk, you can use canned coconut milk (1 can) or coconut powder and mix with enough water to make 5 cups. If using frozen grated coconut, blend with 5 cups hot water and squeeze to drain. If using coconut cream block, chop into pieces, add to the chaitaigne along with the hot water.