Saturday, 10 January 2009

A Test Of My Patience...

I do not shy away from hard work. I know and understand that there are certain things that take time to prepare and cook. However, after sitting for more than two hours cutting, peeling, shredding a katahar’s pulp and shelling its seeds and then waiting for more than an hour for it to finish cooking, I was no longer feeling the love. Click here to continue reading the column and to learn more about this vegetable.

Left: Katahar un-cut Right: Cut Katahar showing seeds & pulp

This vegetable is known as:
Katahar (Guyana)
Chataigne (Trinidad & Tobago)
Breadnut (English)
Castana (Spanish)
Chataignier (French)
Kapiak (New Guinea)
Kamansi, dulugian, pakau, kolo, ugod (Phillipines)
Kulur, Kelur, Kulor, Kuror (Malaya, Java)
Mei Kakano (Marquesas)
Pana de pepitas (Puerto Rico)

Top: pulp with seeds Bottom: seeds ready to be shelled
Left: pulp shredded Right: pulp shredded and seeds shelled and cut ready to be cooked
Top left: Uncooked ripe seeds, Bottom left: cooked ripe seeds, Right: Cooked seed whole, shelled & peeled
Katahar Curry
The Royal Foodie Joust and Eat Healthy Contest that provided a chance to win a copy of my book are over and next week the winners will be announced! Don't forget that you can CLICK for a chance to win a copy of the book and be on the look out for other blog contests where you can win another copy of the book.
Thanks to all the Royal Foodie Joust & Eat Healthy Contest participants! We could not have done it without you!

60 comments:

Happy cook said...

Is this the same as Jackfruit?
It looks almost them same.
I know i am a bit late in wishing, Happy Newyear to you and your loved ones.
Hope you are having a big sucsess with your cooking book.

VeggieGirl said...

You're a true inspiration!! I need to work on being less intimidated by more challenging preparation methods and "more unique" ingredients :-)

Mary said...

Well that looks like a lot of work! The final product looks delicious, but I don't think I'd have the patience to get there. :)

Sue said...

Cynthia,
You constantly amaze me! What a fascinating story of your childhood encounters with katahar. Your current persistence in finding it and dealing with it is admirable. Plus your pictures are truly amazing and very, very beautiful. Your hard work paid off in a wonderful post.

Jeena said...

Happy new year Cynthia.

Hard work but well worth it! :-)

glamah16 said...

Great pictures and terrifuc article in the paper. Im very curious to try this nut. At least the presure cooker cuts down the time.

Vanille said...

It's ages I didn't it ! At home we call it "ti-jacque"(Creole) or "fruit à pain" (breadfruit). We do prepare it in curry too with some smoked "bacon"
I'm mouthwatering in front of your picture !...

Happy New Year Cynthia !

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Terrific! What gorgeous pictues! It looks a lot like jackfruit... This curry is making me drool!

Cheers,

Rosa

The TriniGourmet said...

Happy New Year Cynthia :) I had no idea all that work was needed for chataigne lol... just thought the seeds fell out of nowhere! Just goes to show :)

Yasmeen said...

It does look lot like Indian Jackfruit ,only more tougher to cut and cook.Love the hot chilly on the curry:)

Helene said...

As always, love the pictures.

sra said...

Never knew there was a breadnut AND a breadfruit - in any case, I've not eaten either, just the jackfruit. I enjoyed reading your column.

Sukanya Ramkumar said...

We call it as jack fruit in India, a very sweet seasonal fruit. Is it the same one...... Lovely pics.

Happy New Year......

Bake your cake and eat it too said...

Wow! That is some work for that dish! Must be good! At first when I saw the picture I immediately thought - DURIAN!It looks the same!

indosungod said...

Thanks Cynthia. That was a treat indeed (though the hard work was all yours). I remember curry made out of "young jackfruit" and it was mentioned that these jackfruit never grow big. Maybe it was Katahar all along.

Asha said...

In Hindi, it's called Kathal, many names in other languages too in India. I love the raw jackfruit, my mom used to cook a lot with it. Unfortunately, here in US, only thing I get in cans soaked in Brine. Smaller variety is also Jeegujje in M'lore.

Beautiful post, thanks. I just checked your comment, wish you a very happy, healthy new year as well. Feels great to be back. Loving the new kitchen, got a oven burn to show it too! hahaha!

Have a wonderful Sunday. Hugs to you.

OhioMom said...

LOL .. sometimes feeling the love in the kitchen can become labor eh?

Salt N Turmeric said...

Im not sure about Kulur, Kelur, Kulor, Kuror but Im pretty sure in Malaysia it is called nangka. lol.

I love love them but they are in the gas-sy food category so it is advisable for us (if it's possible) not to consume too much.

bindiya said...

here in india,kathal is available ready for cooking,i have made a lot of dishes with it particularly kebabs,will try out this curry too soon....

Paz said...

Wow! This is very interesting. I've never seen this before. I always learn something new here.

Happy New Year!

Paz

NAVAL LANGA said...

Ms. Cynthia

I have read the contents of your blog. I liked it and would like to revisit.


I liked the page construction of your blog; the three columnar one.

I would like to know the HTML structure of your blog.

Naval Langa
SHORT STORIES by NAVAL LANGA
PAINTINGS GALLERIES

Another Interesting Blog LIFESTYLE AND RELATIONSHIP

Darius T. Williams said...

Wow - never heard of this before ever...but you make it seem like I need to order some of this!

Tuty said...

Cynthia,
We call these buah SUKUN in Indonesian. I think the name SUKUN refers to both breadfruit and breadnut. Your story reminds me of the seeds (nuts) of ripe jackfruit that we also boiled with salted water on a kerosene stove :-) My dad and I were the only ones who enjoyed this snack.

I wonder if the taste of breadnuts are similar to chesnuts.

In the Pacific Northwest, we don't get fresh breadnut/jackfruit. Although, I've seen frozen young jackfruit or canned young jackfruit at our local market.

Cheers...

Jaya said...

Cynthia,
this looks amazingly similar to Jackfruit or Kathal in India..
the dry texture of curry looks absolutely delicious ...
we also kind of like ripened seeds of jackfruits ..and it's also being added to many curries that we make ..
wish you a very happy New year ..
hugs and smiles

Aparna said...

Since I come from a part of India where breadfruit and jackfruit is very much part of our cooking, I sympathise with you.
Cleaning and preparing this thing is a kind of torture!
I can see that this looks a lot like raw jackfruit though I can see the differences.
We also cook the seeds of the jackfruit. The seeds are usually dried in the sun/ at room temperature for a few days and this makes the papery skin come off very easily.
In my childhood, I remember these seeds being roasted on a coal fire and the tatse of that is something else. Nowadays, no coal fires so no roasted seeds! :(

Salt N Turmeric said...

I just read tuty's comment and realised that they are not jackfruit but sukun. :)

Ashwini Kenchanna said...

This fruit resembles like raw jack fruit.. Is it the same or different..Whatever it is, it looks very tedious to do but i think it is worth the effort and patience. The end result looks very tasty and yummy..

jesse said...

Wow, when I first saw the thumbnail of the picture, I thought it's a post about durians! This post is truly inspiring... a great story on the art of perseverance. The end result is simply amazing... You go girl!

Caffienated Cowgirl said...

Oh fabulous, Cynthia...I've always wondered what you do with it...I saw it at the market a while back and was dying to buy it, if only I knew what to do...and now I do :)

Happy New Year!

Maria said...

I love all of the photos!

Sandeepa said...

Happy New Year Dear Cynthia. Cutting a kathal is surely some work, never attempted ;-) make do with the canned version

RAKS KITCHEN said...

In south India we call this as Pala pazham...if its Jackfruit...we too cook those seeds similar to this:)

Chitra - spicelover said...

really really u have lots n lots of patience:)i thought its jack fruit.the recipe looks perfect!!Do visit mine at ur free time:)

Dershana said...

This looks like a cross between tender jackfruit and breadfruit!! Wow!

Happy New Year

Ivy said...

It looks a little bit like chestnuts and it really takes a lot of time to boil an peel them as well. Lovely story and memories.

Laavanya said...

I have tasted breadfruit at my malayali neighbour's home. SHe makes a mild, coconut milk based curry with it similar to ishtu and i used to love it's chewy texture. The breadnut reminds me of jackfruit seeds :)

veggie belly said...

Wow cynthia, what a wonderful and elaborate preparation! That too with mango achar?! yum! In India we have jackfruit curry that is a little similar to this.

Homecooked said...

This veg looks a lot like jackfruit. The preparation looks long but the results are well worth it :)

pigpigscorner said...

This is new and very interesting! Wonder how it taste like and i'm curious about the texture.

PG said...

a lovely post! i find it interesting that although you say it is different than jackfruit, its name resembels the hindi name of jackfruit so much: kathal.
I love kathal. I have eaten it once ripe otherwise only as an unripe vegetable and I love both ways.

Kevin said...

That does sound challenging to work with!

Cham said...

Great informative post Cynthia never knew before but lots of work:)

Michelle said...

I love all these pics. So interesting to see these exotic foods!

Seena said...

Oh Cynth, you have much patience! :)
We wouldn't separates seeds from breadfruit, it needs much work?
Some times am thinking you are living in part of Kerala, seeing all such food items..!! :)

acey said...

it must be a really delightful 1, cynthia! and it's more special bec there's extra effort and an exotic twist to it. :) i love your creations!

Sam Sotiropoulos said...

Wow Cynthia! What a great blog! Added to my blogroll and R reader and thanks for dropping by and commenting on my own humble efforts at blogging. I am going to say straight up that your blog is one of the best food blogs I have run across to date! Keep up the amazing work!!! As for katahar, I have never heard of it before, thanks for teaching me something new. :-)

pixen said...

Hi Cynthia, that's a very nice close-up of the fruit. In Malay Archipelago, it's called Buah Sukun or breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis). I also like it deep fried in batter or crispy chips.

It's also a multi-purpose tree that's very useful from fruits, leaves to the trunk! Really an amazing plant!

Maya said...

Firstly, Happy new year to you Cynthia..This looks so much similar to jackfruit and breadfruit. Breadfruit doesn't have seeds like this though..Back home, cleaning this was a big project where all family were expected to help..Your dish looks yummy..

Roopa said...

Hello Cynthia :) Wish you and your family a Happy New Year ! Hope you have many more success in your life :)

Indonesia-Eats said...
This post has been removed by the author.
Indonesia-Eats said...

As pixen said, we, Indonesians call for sukun too. I lived in Java island and never heard term Kulur, Kelur, Kulor, Kuror before. I used to the dried sukun as snack.

Laurie said...
This post has been removed by the author.
Laurie said...

Ok.. I read the article which I didn't see at first because I was so enamored with the beautiful pictures of this very pretty seed..nut! :) I think this would be one of those things I would have to prepare with a friend! Friends have a way of helping the time pass and lightning the load of the task at hand. What a lovely story. I love curry but haven't had it in such a long time! The taste of this must me exceptional with your preparation.. and love!

Uma said...

Gorgeous! yeah it does look like a jackfruit! What a lovely picture! Nice informative post!

Jude said...

I'm Filipino but none of those terms sound familiar to me. We have so many dialects. I forgot what this is called so now I have to look it up :)

Karin said...

I was kind of confused on what it was when I looked at the pictures. However, I found that it's known as 'brödnötsfrukt' ('breadnut fruit') in my language.

Gloria said...

Dear Cynthia I really love castañas but normally I used to sweet things, but here look awesome!!! so nice pictures,xxGloria

Soma said...

Oooo ! its been many years sicne i got fresh jackfruits. Its is so common in Bengal, & I miss it.
I remember my grandma roasting the seeds of the ripe ones to eat as snack or cook with them.

Kalai said...

First of all, a very happy (belated) new year to you, dear Cynthia! This does look an awful lot like jackfruit... Guess the best things really do come to those who wait, huh? :)

Jeanne said...

I've never seen one of these before but GOOD HEAVENS it looks like hard work! Hope the taste justified the effort...