Echorer Dalna or Bengali Style Raw Jackfruit Curry is a traditional Bengali dish in which raw jackfruit and potato are cooked in a spicy onion-tomato gravy with other spices. Unlike Kathal ki Sabji, this vegan dish is a gravy-based curry.
Find Raw Jackfruit Recipes: Jackfruit Kofta Curry, Jackfruit Biryani Recipe
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About Echorer Dalna
Echor or Enchor is nothing but green jackfruit in Bengali. We usually eat exotic tropical ripe jackfruit during the summer, but have you ever had the chance to try raw or unripe jackfruit? In India, green jackfruit is abundant, especially during the summer months.
Echorer Dalna or Enchorer Dalna is a summer special recipe because the main ingredient, unripe jackfruit aka echor, is only available during this season.
Due to its texture, raw jackfruit is sometimes a good meat substitute for vegans and vegetarians. Hence, in Bengal, it is referred to as Gach Pantha (vegan meat).
We always try to include this seasonal vegetable when it is available in the market. Some of our favorite dishes made with unripe jackfruit include Echorer Dalna, Jackfruit Biryani, Echorer Chop, and Echorer Jhal (in mustard gravy), etc.
Echorer Dalna Ingredients
Echor or unripe jackfruit or kanthal is the key ingredient of this dish.
Potato gives a nice taste and texture to this gravy. Addition of potato is must in this curry.
Ginger-Garlic I have used chopped garlic and ginger paste for this recipe. However, you can also use ginger-garlic paste for this recipe.
Onion It is another important ingredient, as the gravy base is made of onion and tomato.
Spice Powders include turmeric powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder. You can also use a dash of garam masala powder here.
Oil I always prefer to use mustard oil for the Bengali Recipes because it gives the authentic taste to the dish.
Others Tomato, Green Chilli, Cinnamon Stick, Bay Leaf, Bhaja Masala etc.
How to make Bengali Echorer Dalna
The recipe comes together in a few simple stages—preparing the jackfruit, cooking the masala, and simmering everything until perfectly tender. Learn how to make an easy and authentic Kathal Recipe by following the detailed steps.
I must admit that cutting raw jackfruit is a difficult task and time consuming too. As a result, I prefer to buy peeled jackfruit from the market, and I especially go to shops that can peel and cut the jackfruit while selling it. Sometimes I also order ready jackfruit pieces from online grocery stores.
If you are getting a whole jackfruit and planning to cut at home, then you must apply oil in your palms to protect them from the sap. After cutting into 1 inch size pieces immerse them in salt-turmeric water.
Later take the jackfruit pieces in a pressure cooker. Add water and cook for 2-3 whistles, or until the jackfruit pieces are tender while retaining their shape. Set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or pan and fry the potato cubes with little salt and turmeric and keep aside. Similarly, fry the boiled jackfruit pieces with salt and turmeric and set aside.
Now, in the oil, add the bay leaf and cinnamon stick, followed by the chopped garlic, and fry until the oil is fragrant. After that, add the chopped onion and sauté it until translucent.
After that add ginger paste and cook for few minutes. Later add all the spice powders including turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder.
Add chopped tomatoes and salt, cook until the raw smell is gone. After that add 1/2 cup of water and cook the masala.
Next add fried potato and jackfruit pieces and mix well with the spices. Finally add 2 cups of water, taste the salt and cover the pan with a lid and allow to boil for 5-7 minutes.
Later switch off the gas and add bhaja masala powder and ghee (optional) on top and serve hot echorer dalna.
Serving Suggestions
This Bengali vegetarian recipe is best paired with plain steamed rice. However, you can also serve this vegan jackfruit curry with roti, paratha or pulao.
Storage
You can store the Bengali style jackfruit curry in an airtight container for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. When needed you can reheat on the stovetop or microwave.
Top tip
In order to avoid mushy results, don't overcook jackfruit when using the pressure cooker. Check the jackfruit after two to three whistles in the pressure cooker; if it is still not done, add one or two more whistles. You can complete these steps one or two days in advance, and once the jackfruit pieces have cooled, store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container. This will definitely reduce the cooking time.
FAQ
Yes, Echorer Dalna is a plant-based curry, so we can call it vegan if we leave out the ghee. You can substitute ghee with vegan butter or skip it and enjoy it as a vegan and gluten-free curry.
This is the quickest and most convenient method for making bhaja masla. In a 2:2:1:1 ratio, dry roast cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, and black pepper powder until dark brown in colour. Allow to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container to be used later.
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Echorer Dalna
Materials
- 400 gms Unripe Jackfruit cut into 1 inch chunks
- 3 nos Potato, medium cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 nos Onion, medium chopped
- 8-10 nos Garlic Pods chopped
- 2 teaspoon Ginger Paste
- 2-3 nos Green Chilli
- 1 no Tomato, medium chopped
- 2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1½ teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup Mustard Oil
- 1 no Bay Leaf
- 1 inch Cinnamon Stick
- ½ teaspoon Bhaja Masala
- 1 teaspoon Ghee Optional
Instructions
- Put the pieces of jackfruit in a pressure cooker with water. Cook for 2-3 whistles, or until the jackfruit pieces are tender but not mushy. Place aside.
- In a wok or pan, heat the oil and fry the potato cubes with a little salt and turmeric. Set aside. Similarly, fry the boiled jackfruit chunks with salt and turmeric before setting aside.
- Add the bay leaf and cinnamon stick to the oil, followed by the chopped garlic, and fry until the oil is fragrant.
-  Then, add the chopped onion, green chilli and cook until it is translucent.
- After that, add the ginger paste and cook for a few minutes.
- Next add all of the spice powders, including the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and coriander powder, and mix well.
- Cook the mixture with salt and tomato chunks until the raw scent is gone. After that, simmer the masala by adding 1/2 cup of water.
- After that, mix the spices well with the chunks of fried potato and jackfruit. Then, add 2 cups of water, taste for salt, cover the pan with a lid, and let it boil for 5-7 minutes.
- After turning off the gas, top the echorer dalna with ghee (optional) and bhaja masala powder, and serve immediately.
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