Here's how to cut jackfruit or kathal at home. (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock)Do you like kathal or jackfruit? Commonly found in most vegetable markets, it can be prepared in numerous ways. But it is not only delicious to eat in biryani, as a curry or even pickle, unripe kathal is also a powerhouse of vitamins A and C, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, zinc and niacin, all of which are known to promote overall health. Fleshy on the inside and thorny on the outside, jackfruit is packed with many health benefits. However, many people find it hard to select the perfect kathal and then cut it for cooking. If you like jackfruit, here are some tips to keep in mind when buying and cutting it.
How to buy?
*Feel the skin of the jackfruit with your hands while pressing it gently. If it’s ripe, the skin would have softened.
*Another way to check if it is ripe is to gently knock on it. If you hear a hollow, dull sound, it is ripe.
*Choose a green one if you don’t plan to cut open the jackfruit immediately. Keep it at room temperature and allow it to ripen naturally.
Chef Saransh Goila shared some tips to cut the fruit without much hassle.
*First, spread newspapers on the kitchen counter so as to prevent the sticky sap from spoiling the surface.
*Then apply a generous amount of mustard oil on your hands and knife in order to avoid the gum from sticking on your hands or knife.
*First cut the top edge of the jackfruit and wipe off the sap with a tissue. Then cut the other edge so as to level the fruit vertically.
*Then peel off the skin using a sharp knife. According to Goila, a bread knife works better compared to a kitchen or chef’s knife.
*Once all the peel is removed, cut it from the center into two halves. Clean the white coloured sap using a tissue.
*Chop it further into quarters; don’t forget to keep applying oil.
*Take a piece, look for rotten or soft spots and cut them. Since the core of the jackfruit is inedible, cut it out.
*You can also remove the plastic-like arils, the extra seeds covering the flesh.
*The seeds, which look like big beans, can be cooked, boiled or roasted.
*You can keep the rest in the refrigerator after apply a generous amount of oil on all sides and wrapping it with a newspaper.
If you are cutting a ripe fruit, you can directly take out the soft parts from the quarters and eat it, suggested Goila.
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