I’ve never cooked with boppayakaya (green papaya) until I had my son. It is supposed to be really healthy and good for nursing moms. Papaya tastes almost like sorakaya (doodhi) or bengaluru vankaya (chayote squash), but it does not have the crisp texture. Raw papayas can be a little hard to chop, but other than that they are very easy to work it. We get raw papayas in Indian stores and even in the farmers market here in NJ.
Boppayakaya Kura/ Green Papaya Curry
Pavani
A simple dry curry made with raw green papaya. It is very healthy and delicious dish to serve with either rice or roti.
3cupsPeeled and chopped Raw Green Papaya (1 small raw papaya)
¼teaspoonTurmeric
½~1teaspoonRed Chili powder
To tasteSalt
2tablespoonsSesame seeds*
2tablespoonsPeanuts*
1tablespoonDry grated coconut (unsweetened)
Instructions
Heat oil in a medium size sauté pan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and cook for 30 seconds or until the seeds splutter. Add curry leaves and green chilies and cook for 1 minute.
Add the chopped papaya, turmeric and salt. Cover and cook for 10~12 minutes or until papaya is fork tender.
In the meantime, in a small saute pan, dry roast sesame seeds and peanuts until golden. Turn off the heat and add dry grated coconut. Let the mixture cool slightly, then grind to a coarse powder.
Add the sesame-peanut powder to the cooked papaya, mix well and cook for another 3~4 minutes. Serve hot with rice and sambar.
Notes
Pre-cooking papaya expedites the cooking process. Steam or microwave until fork tender and then add to the curry, proceed as per the recipe.
Boppayakayakura also tastes yummy sautéed with the same way with just some curry powder.
Sesame-peanut powder is great to use in curries with potlakaya (snake gourd), beerakaya (ridge gourd) or sorakaya (bottle gourd).
Sesame-Chili powder: Dry roast 1/2 cup sesame seeds with 6 red chilies until they are slightly golden. Grind into smooth powder with little salt.
Pavani, I liked your Boppayakaya kura. In fact, I liked all your articles. I am trying now the green papaya curry and let you know… how it is tomorrow. Thanks.
Divya Vikram
havent tried this too..will try it soon..thanks for the recipe Pavani
Bhawana
Pavani, my mom cooks a vegetable with raw papaya u reminded me that dear.. nice one.
Jyothsna
My mom makes a raw papaya paratha, your recipe reminds me of that!
Bhavani
Very nice to know about papaya curry
Andrew Fetterly
Yummy and healthy recipe.. Thanks for sharing
ASK
Pavani, I liked your Boppayakaya kura. In fact, I liked all your articles. I am trying now the green papaya curry and let you know… how it is tomorrow. Thanks.
Hima Bindu Yanamandra
Raw papaya is good for diabetics and it reduces the sugar level and cholesterol level too.
Thank you for this recipe
Thank you 😊