Do you know how to cut kathal the right way? Chef Kunal Kapur demonstrates

Raw jackfruits is an incredible ingredient, but it can be intimidating to cut and prep on our own. Kunal Kapur shows how it is properly done.

Summer is the season of kathal, aka jackfruits, and the raw fruit is used as a vegetarian alternative for meat in many households across the country. However, when it comes to cutting and prepping the raw kathal, it is not the easiest ingredient to manage.

Kunal Kapur shows the right way to cut and prep a whole raw jackfruit. (chefkunalkapur.com)

To help us out, celebrity chef and MasterChef India judge Kunal Kapur took to Instagram on April 6 and showed the right way to skin, cut and dice an entire raw jackfruit.

“Jackfruit is in season, and it’s the perfect time to bring it into your kitchen. This is how I usually cut it when prepping for vegetables or any dish I plan to make. It can seem tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s actually quite simple and satisfying. I hope this method makes it easier for you too and encourages you to cook with it more often,” he wrote in the caption.

Preparation to cut raw kathal

1. In order to cut raw jackfruit (kacha kathal), you would need a sharp knife; also, pick the longest knife that you have in your kitchen.
2. The first step is to prepare a cold bath of iced water in a large container, about two to three litres. Add one teaspoonful of salt and one teaspoonful of turmeric. This would maintain the colour of the jackfruit once it is peeled and cut; else it may darken.
3. Apply oil onto the blade of the knife on both sides; do not have oil on its handle, as this will make the knife slippery. Also, if you are a right-hander, then apply oil only on your left hand and vice versa. Oil is applied to the blade and the hand so that the sap or milk from the jackfruit, which is very sticky and can cause an itchy feeling in your hands, cannot stick.
4. It is important to remember not to apply oil to both hands as it can cause the knife to slip.

Steps to cut raw kathal

1. Place kathal onto a chopping board and cut the top end of the kathal where the stem is, about 1½ inches below the stem. Once the cut is made, the sticky sap will ooze out, so immediately place the kathal onto an old newspaper or a plate to collect the sap.
2. Wait for a minute and then, using the cut end of the jackfruit, scrape the sap from the fruit. Do not use your knife or hands to scrape off the excess sap.
3. Now turn the jackfruit around and from the bottom of the jackfruit slice the same way as the top, and collect the sap onto a newspaper or a plate. Wait for a minute and then scrape off any milk sticking to it using the cut piece of the jackfruit.
4. Again, apply oil on the blade of the knife, both sides. Place the kathal upright on the chopping board and cut it from top to down right from the middle. You will notice that the sap is oozing out only from the centre stem of the jackfruit. Let it sit for 30 secs and then scrape off the sap using a piece of the previously cut jackfruit.
5. Cut again lengthwise to make long wedges of the kathal from both halves.
6. Cut the jackfruit from the centre and place it upright on the chopping board.
7. Peel the outer hard skin with the knife. Make sure you do not peel off too much.
8. Once peeled, slice them into half-inch thick slices. And then cut the slices into one-inch-thick chunks of the kathal and immediately put them in the cold water bath.
9. Repeat the same with the remaining jackfruit. One of the biggest mistakes many make is to trim off the stem of the kathal, which is wrong. The chunk of the jackfruit from the centre is fibrous and is held together by the top and bottom flesh, so do not cut that. Or else, while cooking, the fibres of kathal will disintegrate.
10. Place in cold water for 15-20 mins, then remove them to a dry towel to pat dry. Now you can cook kathal ki sabji or store it in the fridge or deep freezer for use later.

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