Looking for an exciting addition to your next Green Curry? Try Boiled Breadfruit!

Green curry and boiled breadfruit in general is hands down one of our favorite foods in the Caribbean! Here in Puerto Rico breadfruit trees are abundant, offering an exciting challenge to utilize their fruit in both savory and sweet dishes. Initially, firm breadfruit creates a nice alternative to rice, potatoes and bread (hence the name). Once ripened it takes on more sweetness offering pudding-like consistency for desserts. You have to try it!

Breadfruit is nourishing, heavy, sweet, cooling and moist making it an ideal addition for Vata and Pitta dosha; and of course during the times that they can be found ripe on the island. Known for its multitude of health benefits including digestive support, skin health and reducing inflammation. Breadfruit is also high in vitamin C, Omega-3 and 6, while offering nourishment to the body and brain alongside supporting sustained energy throughout the day.

Island Fresh Green Curry with Boiled Breadfruit is perfect for our local season

In our 500 Hour Professional Ayurveda Program we challenged the students to create a Vata-reducing meal plan with local foods. Similarly, we challenged ourselves and we came up with this delightful local dish! Our goal was to harvest or locally acquire 100% local and produce we came close!

Over the weekend we harvested breadfruit with a friend from a beautiful tree here in Puerto Rico. Each of the vegetables and herbs came from our favorite vendors at the Saturday market and even the coconut milk was locally made. To clarify, the cashews snuck in weren’t grown on island but incorporated simply because we love them. Additionally, freshly made tofu, local chicken or fresh fish would all be fantastic add-on options and could be locally sourced also!

Because the goal was to reduce Vata dosha (here Winter means cool evenings with rain and often very windy during the day) we considered the qualities we were looking to balance against. Warm, heavy, unctuous, sweet and salty were the qualities we built the meal around. Fresh pumpkin, zucchini, sweet seasoning peppers, onions, coconut milk and the side of breadfruit seemed like the perfect meal.

Boiled Breadfruit- the Simplest Approach

There are a the multitude of ways to cook breadfruit. It can be roasted whole, cut and made into fries, sautéed, baked, grilled or broiled.  Today we used breadfruit as a supplement to rice while trying to keep the dish as locally sourced as possible.

Easy Boiled Breadfruit

1. Wash the fruit, cut off the skin and cut it into bite size portions.
2. Place them in a large pot with 1/2 tsp himalayan salt, 1 whole cut onion, 3 cloves of garlic and 1 sliced lime.
3. Cover with water and bring to a boil (lime helps keep the fruit from oxidizing)
4. Allow the breadfruit to cook on a low boil until just soft. It takes around 20 minutes.
5. Strain water and serve.

Try boiled breadfruit with a drizzle of ghee or coconut oil. It’s delicious with our Peanut Travel Chutney, Savory Tomato Chutney, or as a side dish paired with vegetables. You may even like it for breakfast!