Polos Ambula
Polos Curry (Young Jackfruit Curry)
Also known as Baby Jackfruit Curry
Polos curry is Sri Lanka's much-loved young jackfruit curry: firm, starchy chunks of green jackfruit slow-cooked in a dark roasted-spice coconut gravy with goraka, chilli and curry leaves until they are meltingly tender. Polos just means unripe or baby jackfruit in Sinhala, and that meaty, satisfying texture is why this naturally vegan curry has fans far beyond the island. You might also see it called polos ambula. It is rich, robust and properly craveable.
Sri Lanka's famous young jackfruit curry: meaty, slow-cooked chunks in a dark, spiced coconut gravy. Even meat-eaters love it.
- Total time
- 65 min
- 20 min prep · 45 min cook
- Serves
- 6 people
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice level
- Medium
- Country help
- USA · UK · AU · CA substitutes included
CeylonCooking
ceyloncooking.com/recipes/polos-curry
Polos Curry (Polos Ambula)
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Nutrition
Estimated values, per serving.
About This Dish
Long before the rest of the world caught on to jackfruit as a meat substitute, people in Sri Lanka were already turning it into polos curry. Polos is the young, unripe jackfruit, picked while the flesh is still firm, pale and starchy instead of sweet, and it gets treated as a vegetable. Slow-cook it and it turns dense and meaty, almost pork-like, and it soaks up spice beautifully. That is exactly why this curry is so satisfying that even committed meat-eaters go back for seconds.
This curry has real depth. The jackfruit simmers low and slow in a dark gravy built on roasted Sri Lankan curry powder, chilli, garlic and the sour, smoky note of goraka, with coconut milk to round things out. It takes its time, the polos needs to cook until truly tender, but what you get is a thick, intensely flavoured curry that tastes like it has been on the stove all day. It is everyday food and special occasion food at once, the kind of dish people ask for when they visit home.
Half the curiosity around polos is the jackfruit itself, the same fruit at three stages with three different names. Polos is the young, green, savoury one. Kos is the more mature, fibrous one. And varaka is the ripe, sweet fruit you eat fresh. For this curry you want polos, firm and starchy, and the trick is cooking it long enough that the chunks turn tender and drink up the gravy while still holding their shape. Get that right and you get why polos curry has so many devoted fans.
Polos, Kos or Varaka? The Jackfruit Explained
Polos is the Sinhala word for young, unripe jackfruit. In English it is simply young jackfruit, baby jackfruit or green jackfruit. Pick it while the flesh is firm, pale and starchy rather than sweet, treat it as a vegetable, not a fruit, and that dense, meaty texture is why it has become famous worldwide as a plant-based meat substitute. This is the stage you want for polos curry.
It helps to know the jackfruit's three stages, because Sinhala gives each stage its own name. Polos is the young, green, savoury fruit used in curries. Kos is the more mature, fibrous jackfruit, also cooked as a vegetable dish. Varaka is the fully ripe, golden, sweet fruit, eaten raw. For this recipe, reach for polos: fresh if you can find it, or, far more conveniently, tinned green jackfruit in brine or water, not the sweet syrup kind.
The stage matters nutritionally too, not just for cooking. Ripe varaka is a sweet fruit and behaves like one. Polos is picked before the sugars develop, so it's starchy and low in sugar, high in fibre, and low in fat, which is what lets it stand in for meat without standing in for the fat that comes with it. It also carries potassium and vitamin C. That gap between the young fruit and the ripe one is the reason polos turns up in Sri Lankan diabetic diets while varaka is treated as a treat.
What It Should Taste Like
Tender, meaty chunks of jackfruit in a thick, dark, glossy coconut gravy that is deeply spiced, smoky from roasted curry powder and tangy with goraka. Rich and robust, satisfying enough to stand in for a meat curry.
Ingredients
This recipe makes 6 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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Jackfruit
- Young (green) jackfruit / poloscut into bite-size chunks500 g fresh, or 2 tins drained
- Ground turmericfor par-boiling fresh polos½ tsp
- Saltfor par-boiling1 tsp
Curry
- Onionsliced1
- Garlicsliced4 cloves
- Gingergrated1 tbsp
- Green chilliesslit2
- Curry leaves1 sprig
- Pandan (rampe)1 piece
- Cinnamon1 small stick
- Sri Lankan roasted curry powder2 tbsp
- Chilli powder1-2 tsp
- Ground turmeric½ tsp
- Goraka3 pieces, or 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- Thick coconut milk1 cup
- Thin coconut milk or water1 cup
- Oil2 tbsp
- Saltto taste
Method
Follow these 5 steps. Each one explains not just what to do, but why it matters.
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- 01
Prep and Par-Boil the Jackfruit
If you're using fresh polos, oil your hands and knife to handle the sticky sap, peel and cut it into bite-size chunks, then boil with the turmeric and salt for 15-20 minutes until just tender. If using tinned green jackfruit, just drain, rinse and cut into chunks.
Fresh young jackfruit is lovely to cook with, but it's fiddly. It leaks a sticky, milky sap, so rub a little oil on your hands and knife before you cut it. That stops the sap gluing everything together. Par-boiling first softens the firm, starchy flesh, so the chunks cook through evenly in the curry and start to turn tender and meaty. Tinned green jackfruit is already soft, which is why it's such a handy shortcut.
Tip: Tinned green jackfruit in brine or water is the easiest option by far and it tastes great. Just avoid the ripe, sweet jackfruit in syrup. That one is for desserts.
- 02
Build the Spice Base
Heat the oil and fry the onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli, curry leaves, pandan and cinnamon until soft and fragrant. Then stir in the roasted curry powder, chilli powder and turmeric for a few seconds.
That dark, deeply flavoured base is what gives polos curry its character. Take your time here. Let the onions soften and the whole spices perfume the oil. Bloom the roasted curry powder and chilli in the hot oil for a few seconds. That wakes up their toasty, smoky depth before any liquid goes in. Roasted dark curry powder is the one you want, not the milder unroasted kind.
Tip: Use a proper Sri Lankan roasted curry powder. It gives the curry its dark colour and smoky depth, and it makes all the difference.
- 03
Add the Jackfruit and Goraka
Add the jackfruit chunks, the goraka (or tamarind) and the thin coconut milk or water. Stir to coat, and bring it to a simmer.
Coat the par-boiled jackfruit in that spice base before the liquid goes in. It helps every chunk take on the flavour. Goraka brings the sour, smoky note that defines polos ambula, and it cuts the richness of the coconut. Thin coconut milk gives the curry room to simmer and reduce. Make sure the jackfruit is just covered, so it can braise gently.
Tip: If you're using goraka, that dark soaking water adds extra colour and sourness. For tamarind, stir the paste in to taste.
- 04
Slow-Cook Until Tender
Cover and simmer gently for 25-30 minutes, until the jackfruit is meltingly tender and has soaked up the gravy. Top up with a little water if it gets too dry.
This slow simmer is where polos curry is made. The jackfruit needs time to turn truly tender and take on that meaty, gravy-soaked quality. The flavours need time to meld and deepen into something rich and dark. Keep the heat low and gentle, so it braises rather than boils. The longer and slower, the better. That's why many cooks make it well ahead.
Tip: Press a chunk with a spoon. It should feel soft and yielding, not firm or fibrous. If it still has some bite, give it more time and liquid.
- 05
Finish with Thick Coconut Milk
Stir in the thick coconut milk and simmer gently for a few more minutes, until the gravy is thick and glossy. Taste for salt, and serve.
The thick coconut milk goes in near the end, and you want to treat it gently. Hard boiling can split it. It rounds the curry into a rich, creamy gravy with a deep colour that clings to the tender jackfruit. Let it reduce until thick and glossy. That's when the flavours have concentrated and the oil starts to glisten at the edges. In a Sri Lankan curry, that's a sign it's properly done.
Tip: Like most robust Sri Lankan curries, polos is even better the next day. Make it ahead if you can.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using ripe, sweet jackfruit (or the tinned syrup kind). It's for desserts, not this savoury curry.
- Not cooking the jackfruit long enough. It stays firm and fibrous instead of tender and meaty.
- Using a mild unroasted curry powder. The curry then lacks that dark, smoky depth.
- Turning the heat up too high once the thick coconut milk is in. That is what splits the gravy.
Serving Ideas
- As the main curry on a rice and curry plate, next to a sambol and a dhal.
- With pol roti or bread, because that dark gravy needs mopping up.
- As a filling vegan main that meat eaters happily go for too.
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 for 3 to 4 days in the fridge and actually gets better, so make it ahead if you like. Reheat it gently, no boiling, so the coconut gravy doesn't split. It freezes well for up to a month too, because the jackfruit keeps its meaty texture.
Two Ways to Cook It
Use tinned green jackfruit in brine, drained and rinsed, and you can skip all the prep. Fry the spice base, add the jackfruit, tamarind and tinned coconut milk, then simmer until it is tender and thick. This version is hard to get wrong.
Use fresh young jackfruit, oil your hands before you handle it, par-boil it, then cook it with goraka for sourness, freshly pressed coconut milk and a proper roasted curry powder. Let it slow-cook in a clay pot until it is dark, thick and tender.
Lighter and Healthier Version
Polos curry is already plant-based and built around a vegetable, so it starts out lighter than a meat curry while still being a proper main. A few small tweaks keep it that way without losing the rich flavour.
A Meaty Plant-Based Main
Young jackfruit is low in fat and high in fibre, and its meaty texture does the job of a meat curry, so it makes a genuinely filling vegan and vegetarian main.
Lighten the Coconut
Use light coconut milk, or do half coconut milk and half water, to cut the fat without losing that dark gravy colour. The roasted spices bring the flavour.
Go Easy on the Oil
A tablespoon or two of oil is all you need to build the spice base. The depth comes from the roasted curry powder and goraka, not from a lot of fat.
Vegan and Gluten-Free
There is no meat, dairy or wheat in it, so polos curry suits vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free eaters just as it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Polos is the Sinhala word for young, unripe jackfruit. In English it is called young jackfruit, baby jackfruit or green jackfruit. The fruit is picked while it is firm and starchy, not sweet, so it gets cooked like a vegetable. That meaty texture is why it works so well as a plant-based meat substitute.
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