Raw Jackfruit Fritters (Kadgi Phodi)

I guess God created raw jackfruits just for Konkani’s!! :-) Even if he didn’t Konkani’s definitely eat everybody else’s share of raw jackfruit! :-P Konkani’s loveeeeeee raw jackfruits! Fondly called as kadgi in Konkani.

And one thing Konkani's would die for are raw jackfruit fritters called as kagdi phodi in Konkani. They're yummy, spicy, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. These raw jackfruit fritters are made by coating raw jackfruits with a spicy masala & deep frying them.

Raw jackfruit is the most loved and adored veggie of Konkani cuisine. Konkani's prepare umpteen number of dishes using raw jackfruit. Some of them are:

Kadgi gashi, kadgi randayi - coconut based curries of raw jackfruit with peas, chickpeas or any other pulse. Both are Konkani cuisine favourites.
A dry side dish made using raw jackfruits and coconut masala is kadgi chakko, another Konkani cuisine favourite.
We also make yummy raw jackfruit pickles called as kadgi nonche, kadgi adgai in Konkani.
Kadgi ambat, kodel are again coconut based curries prepared with raw jackfruit, lentils and onions.
Amazingly, yummy fritters called as kadgi phodi are also prepared from raw jackfruit.

Watch it's making here:

Here’s the recipe to make fabulous kadgi phodi - raw jackfruit fritters. Happy cooking and happy eating! :-)

Picking raw jackfruit to prepare these fritters (kadgi phodi):

Tender raw jackfruits are best suited to make soft, tender, juicy fritters - kadgi phodi. Tender most raw jackfruits to raw jackfruits that aren't fully developed or aren't completely mature will do to make this dish. You know the stage of development raw jackfruit is in by it's size and by looking at the thorns on the peel of raw jackfruit. Tender most raw jackfruits have tiny thorns very close to one another on the peel. As they grow and mature, the thorns grow in size and grow apart.

Pick raw jackfruits in the pic 1 over raw jackfruits in the pic 2 below: The thorns on the peel of raw jackfruit in pic 1 are an indication that the raw jackfruit is still in its growth and hasn't matured.

Essentially pick raw jackfruit whose seeds inside are still soft and are still growing. Raw jackfruits with hard seeds on the inside would be completely mature jackfruits and won't give you the right texture of these fritters - soft kadgi phodi. They aren't suitable to be used to make these fritters and make them very hard.

Pic 1: These raw jackfruits in the pic 1 below are best suited to make kadgi phodi.

Pic 2: This raw jackfruit below has almost reached its maturity. The thorns on the peel are spaced out and are fully grown.

Ingredients:

1/4 of a medium raw jackfruit - Should make about 12 slices of 2-3 inches in length and 0.5 inches in thickness.
1 cup rice (any medium grained rice will do)
6-8 dried red chillies
1 lemon sized tamarind
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Serves: 2-4

Preparation time: 50 minutes

For raw jackfruit prep you'll need:

A sharp sickle (called as koithi in Konkani) or a sharp knife.
Lots of clean newspapers.
Coconut oil or any other oil to grease your palm, your knife & cooker.
Few bowls to hold chopped raw jackfruits and the discarded skin.
Tissue papers

Preparation Method:

Prepping raw jackfruit:

1. Spread out 3 layers of newspapers on the floor or on your table. It's a pain to clean jackfruit sap sticking to the floor/table later.

2. To prevent the sticky gum from raw jackfruit, sticking to your hands and knife, apply a layer of oil to your palm, to the knife and also to your chopping board.

3. Chop raw jackfruit in the middle into 2 halves, wipe clean the white sap that drips off using a tissue paper.

4. Chop it further into halves. Chop each piece further into halves depending on their size. These halves are called as 'shedo' in Konkani. If there's excess gum oozing out of the jackfruit, clean it using a paper towel. Or it'll make your chopping board messy and sticky.

5. Remove the outer skin of raw jackfruit until you get a smooth surface and the thorny peel is all gone.

7. Chop off the excess inner, center, ridge portion, but keep a thin layer so that the inner compartments of jackfruit are held together firmly and they don't disintegrate altogether on cooking.

8. Chop the raw jackfruit pieces into thin slices of 0.5 inches thickness or less. And make the raw jackfruit pieces 2-3 inches in length.

Size and thickness of the jackfruit pieces is a personal choice. If the slices are thin then they turn out to be crispy, if the pieces are thick then you get a mouthful of jackfruit with every bite into the fritter, kadgi phodi. If you try to make very thin slices, they tend to disintegrate on cooking and make very crunchy kadgi phodi. So, make them semi-thick to get soft, juicy, tender kadgi phodi with a crispy, crunchy, spicy batter on the outside. I make some semi-thick for soft, tender phodis and some thin to enjoy crunchy kadgi phodi.

9. Add chopped raw jackfruit pieces into a bowl containing water to help wash off excess gum. That way raw jackfruit pieces don't stick to the plate or vessel you put them in.

10. Pressure cook them with salt and 1 cup of water for 1 whistle. Only for 1 whistle, please. Do not overcook raw jackfruit slices. We want just cooked raw jackfruits, as we'll deep fry them later.

It's ok if they are little uncooked too. It'll cook completely on deep frying. If raw jackfruit pieces get soft or over cook they then tend to disintegrate on pressure cooking and the fritters won't hold shape. Then it becomes difficult to deep fry them. They then easily break into small pieces.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pressure cooker while cooking raw jackfruit, to help you clean the pressure cooker easily later on. Oil prevents any gum from sticking to your pressure cooker.

11. Once you are able to release the pressure off the cooker, remove out the cooked slices immediately to prevent further cooking. Drain all the water and keep them aside to cool. The slices otherwise continue to cook in the boiling water.

Preparing the batter:

We need a spicy batter to coat the raw jackfruit slices. Ground rice batter makes spicy, crispy fritters. To make the batter:

12. Soak rice for about 30 minutes. Any medium rice grains will do. Dosa rice or sona masuri.

13. After 30 minutes, wash the rice grains well and drain all the water. Grind soaked rice with red chillies, tamarind and salt into a smooth paste using just enough water to make a paste. The ground batter/masala has to be thick so be careful, do not add extra water.

13. Transfer the ground masala/batter into a bowl.

14. Now add little water only if required (about few spoons), ie, if your batter is too thick and mix well. This ground batter has to be in between thick and dripping thin. If it's too watery it'll drip off the jackfruit slices and won't stick to it.

If the batter gets watery, thicken it by adding in gram flour or rice flour. Add a teaspoon full of flour or more to get the desired consistency of the batter. Mix well to prevent any clump formation.

15. Heat up oil for deep frying.

16. Add in cooked raw jackfruit slices into the batter one by one and coat it well on all sides.

17. Once the oil is rolling hot, add in jackfruit slices coated with batter into hot oil one by one.

18. Fry until the masala all around the raw jackfruit slices change in colour and are completely, uniformly fried.

Make it a little crispy if you like by frying them for an extra minute.

19. Transfer fried raw jackfruit fritters onto a blotting paper to drain excess oil and serve them hot.

Serving suggestions:

Serve them hot as a side dish or as a starter for lunch, dinner. They also make a great tea time snack.

Find more fritters (bajo, phodi in Konkani) recipes here.

Tags: Raw jackfruit, kadgi, Konkani recipe, Konkani dish, Konkani cuisine, Udupi cuisine, Mangalore food, Konkani food, kadge, fritters, phodi, bajo, deep fried, kadgi phodi, raw jackfruit fritters, ugadi