Kiri kos (කිරි කොස්) is the Sri Lankan white curry of jackfruit. Kiri means milk and kos is jackfruit, and the name describes the dish well: strips of jackfruit and its seeds cooked gently with turmeric, unroasted spices and plenty of coconut milk until soft, pale and creamy. It is a mainstay of home cooking wherever jackfruit trees grow, eaten with rice for lunch or with bread and string hoppers.
It uses jackfruit at the kos stage: fully grown but still unripe, with the seeds formed inside the pale bulbs. Much younger fruit, cooked whole, is polos and makes a different, darker curry.
How to make kiri kos
- Serves 4
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Cook: 30 minutes
- Difficulty: Medium
For the curry
- 600 g unripe jackfruit bulbs (kos), cut into thin strips, plus their seeds, peeled and halved
- 1 medium red onion, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 green chillies, slit lengthways
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 5 cm piece pandan (rampe) leaf
- 2.5 cm piece cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp unroasted Sri Lankan curry powder
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 400 ml thin coconut milk (or 150 ml tinned coconut milk mixed with 250 ml water)
- 200 ml thick coconut milk
- 1 tsp mustard seeds, ground to a paste with a little water
For the tempering
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 2 dried red chillies, broken
Method
- Prepare the jackfruit. Oil your knife and hands. Pull the bulbs from the fruit, discard the stringy fibres around them and take out the seeds. Cut the bulbs into strips about 1 cm wide. Crack the seeds lightly, peel off the white outer skin and halve them.
- Combine. Put the jackfruit, seeds, onion, garlic, green chillies, curry leaves, pandan, cinnamon, fenugreek, curry powder, turmeric, chilli powder and salt in a heavy pan. Mix well.
- Simmer in thin milk. Pour in the thin coconut milk, cover and cook over a medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, without lifting the lid for the first 10 minutes, until the jackfruit and seeds are soft.
- Add the thick milk. Stir the mustard paste into the thick coconut milk, pour it into the pan and turn the heat to low. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring, without letting it boil hard, until the gravy is thick and creamy.
- Make the tempering. Heat the oil in a small pan over a medium heat and fry the onion for 3 to 4 minutes until golden. Add the curry leaves and dried chillies and fry for about 30 seconds, until the leaves crackle.
- Finish. Stir the tempering into the curry, check the salt and leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.
What is the difference between kiri kos and polos curry?
Both come from the same tree, the jackfruit, but at different ages. Polos curry uses very young fruit, chopped whole once the rind and core are cut away, and cooks it with dark roasted curry powder and goraka. Kiri kos uses the older, unripe fruit: the bulbs are separated and the seeds cooked with them, in a pale white curry of unroasted spices and coconut milk. Once the fruit ripens, the sweet golden bulbs are eaten raw.
Why unroasted spices and mustard?
A kiri, or white, curry is meant to stay pale and mild, so it uses the light, unroasted curry powder and only a little chilli. Ground mustard stirred into the thick coconut milk gives a gentle sharpness that cuts the richness, while fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and rampe add fragrance. A pinch of crushed Ceylon black pepper is a common addition for warmth.
How do you handle fresh jackfruit?
Cut jackfruit releases a sticky white latex that clings to knives and fingers. Rub coconut oil on your hands, knife and board before starting and keep a cloth or paper towel at hand. Work on newspaper or a tray, as the sap is hard to wash off. Tinned green jackfruit in brine can stand in, but it is younger fruit, so the texture is closer to polos.
What do you serve it with?
Serve kiri kos with rice, dhal curry, a green leaf mallum and a fish curry, with a little lunu dehi (salted lime pickle) on the side. It is also good with string hoppers or bread for breakfast or dinner.
Variations
- With Maldive fish. A teaspoon of Maldive fish flakes cooked with the jackfruit adds a savoury depth; leave it out for a vegan curry.
- Drier curry. After adding the thick coconut milk, simmer uncovered for 5 minutes more so the gravy reduces and coats the strips.
How do you store it?
Cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. The jackfruit soaks up the gravy overnight, so reheat gently with a splash of water or thin coconut milk until piping hot.
