For years, the global food world has approached jackfruit with one dominant reason: its resemblance to pulled meat. In India, however, that is only one part of the story. Known as kathal in much of the north and chakka in Kerala, jackfruit has long moved between categories, appearing as a vegetable when unripe, a fruit when ripe and, in between, as an ingredient for curries, biryanis, sweets, preserves and snacks. Its seeds are cooked, roasted or ground, while traditional techniques such as fermentation and preservation extend its use beyond the short summer season.
That versatility is now being reconsidered in professional kitchens and bars. Chef Avinash Martins, founder of Janot, sees jackfruit as an ingredient whose value lies precisely in its ability to change character. Behind the bar, Aman Dua, co-founder and Bar Director of 403 Forbidden Bar, is pushing that idea further, working with the fruit as a purée, ferment, texturiser and even through its seeds. Their approaches suggest that jackfruit’s contemporary appeal is not simply that it can stand in for meat or mimic another tropical fruit. It is that one ingredient can behave like several different ingredients depending on how it is treated.
Ripe, Unripe And Everything In Between
Part of jackfruit’s usefulness comes from the fact that ripeness fundamentally changes what it can do. Martins describes ripe and unripe jackfruit as behaving “almost like two different ingredients”. Ripe jackfruit is naturally sweet and aromatic, making it suitable for desserts, payasam, halwa and preserves such as Chakka Varatti. Unripe jackfruit, by contrast, is relatively neutral, firm and fibrous. That makes it particularly receptive to marinades, spices and sauces.
The latter quality explains its now-familiar association with meat substitutes. Martins points out that its fibrous texture can replicate shredded or pulled meat, allowing it to work in kebabs, biryanis, tacos, pizzas, burgers and fillings. But even here, the interesting part is not only imitation. “Its relatively neutral flavour allows it to absorb bold and robust spices,” he says.
That characteristic has long been understood in Indian cooking. In Bengal, unripe jackfruit is known as gachpatha, or “tree goat”, because it can be cooked as a substitute for mutton. In Bihar, it can be prepared in the style of kala mutton, while kathal biryani has developed its own following. In Kerala, meanwhile, the fruit moves between savoury and sweet preparations.
In other words, the contemporary culinary masters working with jackfruit are not starting from scratch. They are building on an existing tradition.
The Whole Fruit Is The Point
If there is one aspect of jackfruit that both Martins and Dua return to, it is the possibility of using more than just the flesh.
Martins particularly singles out the seeds, which he considers “often overlooked despite having so many applications”. Once prepared, they can be used in kebabs, salads and granolas or milled into flour. He also points to Chakka Varatti, where ripe jackfruit is slow-cooked with ghee and jaggery to create a preserve that lasts well beyond the fruit’s immediate season. Pickling and fermentation thus add further possibilities.
This approach has a strong precedent in Kerala. Jackfruit was declared the state’s fruit in 2018, and the fruit is traditionally grown in backyards rather than exclusively in organised plantations. During the 2020 lockdown, when fresh vegetables became harder to find, jackfruit trees became particularly valuable household resources; a single tree could produce 50–100 kilograms or more of fruit in a season.
For Martins, that makes jackfruit particularly relevant to the modern low-waste kitchen. “The opportunity lies in approaching jackfruit as a whole ingredient rather than using only the part that is most commercially convenient,” he says. Dua takes the same principle into the bar, but with a warning, “only if the bar commits to using the whole fruit.” A jackfruit can weigh around eight to 15 kilograms, he points out, making it easy for a bar that uses only the bulbs to generate considerable waste. Instead, he suggests turning the bulbs into purées and cordials, roasting the seeds for nut or seed milk, and using the core and rind for vinegar or fermented shrubs. “Sustainability has to work operationally, not just conceptually,” Dua says, noting that breaking down jackfruit is labour-intensive and messy because of its latex.
From The Kitchen To The Cocktail
Dua describes ripe jackfruit as “loud in aroma but relatively weak in structure”. It is naturally high in sugar and low in acid, so using it as a straightforward juice can result in a cocktail that smells intensely fruity but lacks balance. At 403 Forbidden Bar, locally sourced jackfruit purée is combined with passionfruit and tequila: the passionfruit supplies the acidity while tequila provides enough backbone for the jackfruit’s character. “Jackfruit becomes the perfume of the drink rather than overpowering the entire cocktail,” he explains.
But Dua is interested in jackfruit for more than its aroma. Its pectin and fibre can provide viscosity and weight, allowing bartenders to build texture without relying entirely on sugar syrup or egg white. Unripe jackfruit opens up another set of possibilities altogether: savoury, starchy and vegetal, it can be brined, charred and used in infusions or fat washing.
Fermentation is where he sees the greatest potential. A lacto fermentation can reduce the fruit’s sweetness, build acidity and soften its characteristic bubblegum-like aroma. Clarification can retain the aroma while removing fibre and haze, making it suitable for stirred drinks and spritzes. Even the seeds have a role: roasted, they develop a chestnut-like nuttiness and can be made into a seed milk similar to orgeat. “For me, fermentation and the seeds offer the most interesting possibilities,” Dua says.
That experimentation also mirrors what is happening in kitchens. Martins has worked with jackfruit across conventional and contemporary formats, while other cooks have taken it into ravioli, baos, cakes, pies and even cheesecake. It is not about how jackfruit can be made to resemble everything. Rather, its neutral flavour, fibrous texture and ability to absorb other ingredients give chefs considerable control over the final result.
A Return, Rather Than A Discovery
There is a tendency to describe the current interest in jackfruit as if the modern food world has discovered an overlooked ingredient. Both chefs complicate that idea.
Martins sees the renewed attention as part of a larger movement towards regional and indigenous produce. Jackfruit already has deep associations with Malayali, Konkani and Tamil cuisines, alongside traditions elsewhere in India. The contemporary restaurant is essentially taking knowledge that existed in homes and translating it into new formats.
Dua puts it more bluntly. “It was never really lost. It was simply missing from the modern bar.” For him, the use of jackfruit in cocktails represents “a return” rather than a discovery.
Jackfruit’s greatest strength is not its novelty, but its familiarity. India has long known how to cook the fruit at different stages of ripeness, preserve it, use its seeds and work around its seasonality. What is changing now is the number of contexts in which that knowledge is being applied. As Martins puts it, “it is not simply about the fruit itself, but about exploring the possibilities of the entire ingredient.”
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