Del Maluwa
Sri Lankan Breadfruit Curry (Del Curry)
Also known as Del Maluwa
Sri Lankan breadfruit curry, or del maluwa, is chunks of starchy green breadfruit (del) simmered in a spiced coconut milk gravy until tender and creamy. It soaks up the sauce like a potato. Del just means breadfruit in Sinhala. The curry is naturally vegan, mild to medium in heat, rich with coconut, and hearty enough to anchor a plate of rice and curry. Often called del curry or del maluwa, it turns a humble backyard fruit into a curry that sits at the centre of the meal.
Starchy breadfruit chunks drink up a spiced coconut gravy like a potato. A creamy vegan curry that eats like a meal.
- Total time
- 50 min
- 20 min prep · 30 min cook
- Serves
- 4 people
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice level
- Medium
- Country help
- USA · UK · AU · CA substitutes included
CeylonCooking
ceyloncooking.com/recipes/breadfruit-curry
Sri Lankan Breadfruit Curry (Del Maluwa)
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Nutrition
Estimated values, per serving.
About This Dish
Breadfruit, del in Sinhala, grows almost too easily in Sri Lanka. One mature tree can drop more fruit than a family can eat in a season, so cooks have spent generations turning the starchy green globes into everything from chips to porridge. Del maluwa is the coconut milk curry at the centre of all that: the way most homes use up a firm, just-mature breadfruit before it softens and turns sweet on the branch.
What makes del curry so good is how the fruit behaves. Cut into chunks and simmered in spiced coconut milk, breadfruit cooks much like a potato. It turns tender and creamy on the inside, and drinks up the gravy around it. The flavour is mild, nutty and faintly sweet, so it carries spice without fighting it. That is why a pot of del maluwa fills you up properly. It is humble food, the kind cooked midweek and ladled generously over red rice.
Like much Sri Lankan home cooking, this curry builds in layers. Onion, garlic, curry leaves and pandan soften in oil. The spices get bloomed so their fragrance wakes up. Then the breadfruit goes in to simmer first in thin coconut milk, then in thick, so the gravy reduces around the tender chunks into something rich and glossy. A little goraka or lime keeps it from feeling heavy. The base is vegan, though plenty of cooks add a pinch of Maldive fish for a savoury, smoky depth.
Breadfruit and jackfruit are cousins from the same botanical family, and people often muddle them, but they are different fruits and different curries. Breadfruit (del) is the rounder, starchier, milder one. It behaves like a potato. Jackfruit (kos or polos) is the larger, more fibrous one, and it turns meaty and stringy when cooked. If you have made polos curry and liked it, del maluwa is the gentler, creamier sibling to try next.
What Is Breadfruit (Del)?
Breadfruit, called del in Sinhala, is a large, round, green fruit that grows on tall tropical trees. You eat it as a starchy vegetable, not a sweet fruit. Cut one open and the pale flesh is dense and starchy, much like a potato or a chunk of bread. That is exactly where the English name comes from: roast or boil it, and it takes on a soft, bread-like texture. For curry, you want it firm and mature but not soft-ripe, when the flesh is still starchy and holds its shape. Left to ripen fully on the tree, it turns soft and sweet, which is lovely for desserts but mushy and wrong for a savoury curry.
Breadfruit and jackfruit are close relatives in the same family, the genus Artocarpus, which is why people mix them up, but they are genuinely different fruits. Breadfruit (del) is rounder, smaller, smoother-skinned, starchier and milder, with no large fleshy pods inside. Jackfruit (kos when mature, polos when young) is much larger, more knobbly, more fibrous and stringy, and full of distinct fruit pods. In the kitchen breadfruit behaves like a potato, while young jackfruit pulls apart into meaty shreds, so the two make quite different curries even though both simmer happily in coconut milk.
What It Should Taste Like
Soft, starchy breadfruit chunks sit in a mild to medium spiced coconut sauce that is nutty, faintly sweet and rounded out with curry leaves and a hint of sour goraka. The chunks are creamy in the centre and gravy-soaked at the edges. It's comforting and filling, a little like a coconut potato curry but with its own gentle, nutty character.
Ingredients
This recipe makes 4 servings. Change the number and every amount below updates with it. Substitutes for hard-to-find items are in the sidebar.
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Breadfruit
- Breadfruit (del)firm and mature, not soft-ripe; peeled, cored and cut into bite-size chunks1 medium, about 500-600 g prepared
- Ground turmericfor par-boiling½ tsp
- Saltfor par-boiling1 tsp
Curry
- Oil or coconut oil2 tbsp
- Onionsliced1
- Garlicsliced3 cloves
- Green chilliesslit2
- Curry leaves1 sprig
- Pandan (rampe)1 small piece
- Cinnamon1 small stick
- Sri Lankan curry powderunroasted or mild, or roasted for a darker curry1.5 tbsp
- Chilli powderto taste1 tsp
- Ground turmeric½ tsp
- Gorakaoptional2 pieces, or 1 tsp tamarind paste
- Thin coconut milk or water1.5 cups
- Thick coconut milk1 cup
- Maldive fish flakesoptional; omit for vegan1 tbsp
- Saltto taste
Method
Follow these 7 steps. Each one explains not just what to do, but why it matters.
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- 01
Peel and Cut the Breadfruit
Rub a little oil on your hands and knife, then peel the breadfruit, quarter it, cut away the spongy central core, and chop the firm flesh into bite-size chunks. Drop the chunks into a bowl of water as you go.
Breadfruit looks intimidating, but it's cut much like a large potato. The thick green skin peels away to reveal pale, starchy flesh, and the soft core in the middle (where the seeds sit in some varieties) is best trimmed out because it stays spongy. The bowl of water does two jobs: it stops the cut flesh from browning in the air, and it keeps the chunks from sticking together. Aim for even, bite-size pieces so they cook at the same rate, just as you would for a potato curry.
Tip: Pick a breadfruit that's firm and heavy, with smooth, green to yellow-green skin. If it gives under your thumb or smells sweet, it's ripened too far for a savoury curry.
- 02
Handle the Sap
If the cut surfaces leak a sticky, milky sap, keep your knife and hands lightly oiled and rinse the chunks under running water before cooking.
Like its jackfruit relatives, breadfruit leaks a sticky white latex when cut, especially if it's on the younger side. It's harmless but gluey, and it'll gum up your knife and fingers if you ignore it. A thin film of oil on the blade and your hands stops it clinging, and a quick rinse washes the sap off the chunks so it doesn't cloud the curry. Older, more mature breadfruit leaks far less, which is another reason a firm, just-mature fruit is the easiest to work with.
Tip: If sap dries on your knife mid-prep, wipe it with an oiled paper towel rather than water. Oil dissolves the latex, water just spreads it.
- 03
Par-Boil the Chunks
Drain the breadfruit, put it in a pot with the turmeric, salt and enough water to cover, and boil for 10-12 minutes until the chunks are just tender at the edges but still firm in the centre, then drain.
Breadfruit is denser and starchier than it looks, so a short par-boil gives it a head start and means it'll turn evenly creamy in the curry rather than staying hard in the middle while the gravy overcooks. You're not trying to cook it through here, just to take the raw edge off, so stop while a knife meets a little resistance in the centre. The turmeric seasons the flesh and lays down that warm golden colour before the chunks ever meet the spices.
Tip: Don't boil it to mush here. Over-soft chunks will fall apart later and turn the curry to porridge. Aim for just-tender edges and a firm centre.
- 04
Build the Spice Base
Heat the oil and gently fry the curry leaves, pandan and cinnamon for a few seconds. Then add the onion, garlic and green chilli and cook until soft and golden.
This aromatic base is the backbone of a good del maluwa. The curry leaves and pandan crackle the instant they hit the hot oil, and the whole pot smells incredible. The cinnamon adds a warm, woody note underneath all that. Letting the onion soften slowly until golden builds a gentle sweetness that balances the spices to come. Take your time. A rushed, pale base leaves the curry tasting flat no matter how good the breadfruit is.
Tip: Coconut oil gives the most authentic flavour, but any neutral oil works. Fry the whole spices first so they bloom in clean oil before the onion goes in.
- 05
Bloom the Spices
Stir in the curry powder, chilli powder and turmeric and cook for 30-60 seconds, just until fragrant. Then add the goraka and Maldive fish if using.
Toasting the ground spices in the oil for under a minute wakes up their aroma and rounds off any raw, dusty edge before the liquid goes in. Keep the heat moderate and keep them moving. Ground spices catch and burn in seconds. Goraka brings a gentle sour, smoky note that cuts the richness of the coconut. A little Maldive fish, if you eat it, adds a savoury, almost smoky depth that's very traditional. Leave both out and the curry is still excellent and fully vegan.
Tip: Mild unroasted curry powder keeps del maluwa light and golden. Swap in roasted (dark) curry powder if you prefer a deeper, smokier curry closer in colour to polos.
- 06
Simmer in Thin Coconut Milk
Add the par-boiled breadfruit and the thin coconut milk or water. Stir to coat every chunk, bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook for 12-15 minutes until the breadfruit is tender all the way through.
This is where the breadfruit finishes cooking and starts to drink up the gravy. Coating the chunks in the spice base before the liquid goes in means every piece carries flavour. The thin coconut milk gives the curry room to simmer and reduce without splitting. As it cooks, the starchy breadfruit thickens the gravy from within, same way a potato does. Keep the heat gentle so the chunks stay whole rather than breaking up.
Tip: Press a chunk against the side of the pot. It should yield softly, like a cooked potato. If it still has a hard centre, give it a few more minutes and a splash more liquid.
- 07
Finish with Thick Coconut Milk
Pour in the thick coconut milk, season with salt to taste, and simmer gently for 3-5 minutes until the gravy is creamy and lightly thickened. Don't let it boil hard.
The thick coconut milk goes in at the end and gets treated gently. A hard boil will split it into oily flecks. Stirred in over low heat, it turns the curry into a pale-golden gravy that clings to the tender breadfruit. Let it warm through and thicken just until the oil starts to glisten at the edges. That's the sign a coconut curry is properly done. Then taste and adjust the salt and sourness before serving.
Tip: Like most coconut milk curries, del maluwa is even better the next day once the flavours settle and the breadfruit fully soaks up the gravy.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- An over-ripe, soft, sweet breadfruit is a mistake. It goes mushy and loses the savoury, starchy quality the curry needs.
- Skipping the par-boil means the breadfruit stays hard in the centre while the gravy overcooks.
- Boil it too long or stir it too hard and the chunks break down into porridge.
- Boil hard after the thick coconut milk goes in and the gravy splits into oily flecks.
- Ignoring the sticky sap means the cut flesh and your knife gum up. Keep them lightly oiled.
Serving Ideas
- With rice as the main curry, alongside a sambol and a dhal.
- Serve it with red rice, pol sambol and a green leaf mallum for an everyday plate.
- Serve it with bread, roti or string hoppers so you can mop up every bit of that creamy coconut gravy.
- As a filling vegan main that eats like a coconut potato curry.
Building a whole plate around it? Start from our vegetarian rice and curry menu, which sets out what to cook alongside it and in what order.
Storage and Make-Ahead
It keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge, and the flavour actually deepens, so it's a great make-ahead curry. Reheat gently, don't boil it, or the coconut gravy will split. Loosen it with a splash of water or coconut milk if it's thickened. It freezes for up to a month, though the breadfruit softens a little after thawing.
Two Ways to Cook It
You can make this with frozen or tinned breadfruit chunks, no peeling or sap to deal with. Fry the spice base, add the breadfruit and tinned coconut milk, simmer until tender, then finish with a little more thick coconut milk. Skip the goraka and Maldive fish. That's about as easy as it gets.
For the proper version, start with a firm, just-mature fresh breadfruit. Peel and cut it by hand with an oiled knife, then par-boil it. Use goraka for sourness, a pinch of Maldive fish for depth, fresh-pressed first and second coconut milk, and cook it in a clay pot for an earthier finish.
Lighter and Healthier Version
Del maluwa is naturally plant-based and built around a vegetable, so it's already a wholesome, filling main. A few small tweaks keep it light and still creamy.
A Filling Plant-Based Main
Breadfruit is naturally low in fat and a good source of fibre and complex carbohydrates. That starchy texture means del maluwa is a genuinely filling vegan and vegetarian main with no meat needed.
Lighten the Coconut
Swap in light coconut milk, or use half coconut milk and half water, to cut the fat but keep the gravy creamy. The breadfruit's own starch helps thicken it anyway.
Go Easy on the Oil
You only need a tablespoon or two of oil to build the spice base. The flavour comes from the curry powder, curry leaves and goraka, not from a lot of fat.
Vegan and Gluten-Free
If you leave out the optional Maldive fish, the curry has no meat, dairy or wheat, so it works for vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free eaters exactly as it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Breadfruit is called del in Sinhala. It's a large, round, green tropical fruit, but you eat it as a starchy vegetable, not a sweet fruit. Cut it open and the pale flesh is dense and starchy, a bit like a potato. When cooked, it turns soft and bread-like, which is exactly how it got its English name. In Sri Lanka, it's most often turned into del maluwa, a coconut milk curry.
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