Khatta Meetha Papeeta: Sweet and Sour Green Papaya

2 Jan

What do you do when you peel a papaya and find that a lot of it is hard and green?

Try out my papaya rescue recipe – khatta-meetha papeeta, a light and flavorful accompaniment for an Indian meal. You could make khatta-meetha papeeta using green papaya or parts of a semi-ripe papaya.

Green Papaya Stir Fry

You Need:

  • Green papaya or semi-ripe papaya – 1 medium
  • Green chilies – 1 or 2
  • Lime juice – 1 teaspoon
  • Coriander leaves – 1 tablespoon, grated
  • Salt – 1/2 teaspoon or to taste
  • Sugar – 1/2 teaspoon or to taste
  • Panch phoron (Bengali five spice mix)* – 1 teaspoon
  • Vegetable oil – 1 teaspoon

How To Make Khatta Meetha Papeeta:

Peel, cut open and scoop out the seeds (if any) and white coat from the insides of the papaya. [Note: If the papaya is raw and small-sized, it may not have seeds at all.] Cut and set aside the ripe/juicy portions of the papaya; retain the raw and semi-ripe portions for this dish.

Fresh Papaya

Grate the papaya.

Grated Green Papaya

Finely chop the green chilies.

In a non-stick pan, heat a teaspoon of oil and add panch phoron to it. When panchphoron crackles, add grated papaya, finely chopped green chilies, sugar and salt.

Toss on high flame for a couple of minutes till the papaya softens. Stir in lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves. Khatta-meetha paratha is now ready to eat. Tastes great with parathas and a spicy curry.

My meal today (picture below): sweet and sour green papaya with rice, toor dal and eggplant tomato curry.

Khatta Meetha Papeeta

Notes:

*Panch phoron is a whole spice mix most commonly used in Bengali cuisine. It contains fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds and fennel seeds, typically in equal parts.

2 Responses to “Khatta Meetha Papeeta: Sweet and Sour Green Papaya”

  1. Upasini January 24, 2021 at 5:52 PM #

    This recipe was perfect when I opened a papaya to find only half of it was sweet and ripe. It came out similar to a pumpkin sabzi. I had it with tomato bath, and some left over Kadala curry

    • S January 24, 2021 at 10:40 PM #

      Hi Upasini, So happy to hear your positive feedback for my semi-ripe papaya recipe. With tomato bath and kadala curry…blissful combination!

Leave a Reply