Kaplanga or papaya is cooked in a coconut based curry and helps to thicken the dish before it is served over rice.
By Nisa Homey
Kaplanga curry or raw papaya curry is an easy and quick Kerala side dish; kaplanga or papaya is found in most backyards of Kerala. Raw papaya is used in coconut based side dishes for rice.
Raw papaya is cut into cubes and pressure cooked; I like to lightly mash the cooked papaya, so that the curry will be a bit thickened. A very easy and simple curry and very light on the stomach. It is said raw papaya helps in digestion.
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Kaplanga: Mashed Papaya Curry
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 4
Ingredients
- Raw papaya: About 750 gms, cubed.
- Organic turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp.
- Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp.
- Salt: 1 tsp.
- Water: 1- 1/2 cup.
- Coconut: 3/4 cup scraped.
- Green chili: 1.
- Organic turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
- Tamarind: lemon sized ball (mix with 1/2 cup water to make tamarind water or puli vellam).
TO SEASON
- Shallots or Cheriy Ulli: 3 or 4, sliced.
- Kashmiri Chili: 3, broken.
- Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp.
- Curry leaves: 1 sprig.
- Coconut oil: .2 tsp
Instructions
- Peel the skin of the papaya and remove the seeds. Chop them.
- Put the chopped papaya in a pressure cooker with turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder, and water.
- Allow 4 or 5 whistles and switch off the fire.
- Grind coconut, green chili, and turmeric poweder to a fine paste (add a tbsp of water, if needed).
- Open cooker, lightly mash the cooked papaya, switch on the fire, add in the grinded coconut paste.
- Put the flame to medium, and mix the coconut paste, once it starts to boil, add in the tamarind water and mix well.
- Heat a tadka pan with coconut oil, add in mustard seeds, shallot, red chili, and curry leaves.
- Pour this over the papaya curry, close with a lid so that the flavor does not escape.
- Serve hot with rice.
Notes
You can use 3 or 4 tbsp of curd/yogurt instead of tamarind water.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Indian
