Holiday Hawaiian Papaya Recipes

The holiday season is the time of turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, pies, and other treats. Just because traditional meals are always around doesn’t mean you can’t have some healthy options. Hawaii Papaya is a great addition to many meals. It provides healthy nutrients and vitamins to make you feel a little better about yourself as you eat your third or fourth deviled egg. Here are a few ways you can incorporate this healthy tropical fruit into your holiday meals to get that added health benefit.

Hawaii Papaya is a very versatile fruit that is easy to add to a variety of dishes and drinks. Unlike traditional recipe websites, I won’t bore you with a long story, so let’s just dive into a few recipes you can add to your holiday dinners this year.

Simple Hearty Meals

Chicken curry is always a great meal when the weather gets cold. It’ll heat anyone up quickly from the inside out. Here’s a great recipe with fresh ingredients to make sure people don’t fall asleep before the last football game of the day.

Hawaiian Papaya Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken breast or thighs (cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 1 medium Hawaiian papaya (peeled, deseeded, and cubed)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tbsp coconut oil or vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece of ginger, grated
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2-3 curry leaves (optional)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (adjust to taste)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Fresh cilantro for garnish
• Juice of 1/2 lime

Directions:

1. Season the chicken with pepper and salt and half of the turmeric.
2. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Using a large pot or skillet warm the coconut oil. Add in the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let these start to sizzle a bit. About 30 seconds.
4. Add in the onions and sauté until translucent.
5. Add the garlic, ginger and curry leaves. Stir for a minute and let sit.
6. Mix in the remaining turmeric, coriander powder and chili powder. Stir and let sit. Stir as needed to keep it from sticking to the pan.
7. Add in the chicken and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until lightly browned. Once browned add the coconut milk and stir to combine the meat and spices. Bring the pot up to a slow simmer and let cook for 10 minutes.
8. Add the papaya and allow the pot to simmer for an additional 5 to 7 minutes until the papaya is tender but not mushy.
9. Once that is finished pull off the stove and finish the pot with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and adjust any seasoning if needed.
10. Garnish with cilantro or chives and it is ready to serve.

Serve this dish over rice such as jasmine rice and with a piece of warm naan to soak up the juices.

Side dish

This wild rice recipe will set you apart from other guests as the citrus taste and warm rice combines perfectly making a great dish to serve alongside the savory mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole and stuffing.

Wild Rice and Papaya Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 c wild rice, rinsed
• 3 c water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 large ripe papaya
• 1 c grated carrots (2 medium carrots)
• 1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish
• 3/4 c white rice-wine vinegar
• lettuce leaves (for serving)

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, combine wild rice, water and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 50 minutes. Drain any remaining liquid and transfer the rice to a large bowl; let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
2. Peel, seed and dice the papaya, Add it along with the carrots and cilantro, to the rice. Pour rice-wine vinegar over and toss gently to combine. Line a platter with lettuce leaves and mound the wild rice.

Salad dressing

Adding this dressing to any salad will spruce it up and give a bit of liveliness and help counteract the richness of the traditional meals.

Papaya Seed Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp salt
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp mustard seed
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
• 1⁄2 cup papaya seeds
• 1 cup walnuts (optional)
• 3⁄4 cup onion, chopped

Directions:

1. In a blender, mix salt, sugar mustard and vinegar.
2. Add oil gradually with blender running.
3. Remove to a serving bowl.
4. In blender, blend together papaya seeds, walnuts and onion.
5. Stir into oil and vinegar mixture.

Best served chilled over any type of tossed greens.

Yields 3 cups.

Cocktail

Just because the weather is cold doesn’t mean you can’t taste a bit of the Hawaiian beaches. This spicy papaya drink will get the part started in your home and wake people up after a nice meal of turkey and stuffing.

Spicy Papayaman Cocktail

Ingredients

• ½ papaya
• 1½ tbsp lime juice
• ½ cup coconut water
• 1-2 slices jalapeño (remove seeds unless you like it spicy)
• 1 tbsp agave maple syrup or agave nectar
• 2 oz. tequila (we used Reposado Tequila)

Directions:

1. Add to blender and blend with 1-2 handfuls of ice

Just because it is the holidays doesn’t mean you can’t have a bit of the summer in your life. Hawaiian papaya is a great addition to many meals and drinks that add a bit of flavor and a bit of healthy nutrients to any holiday occasion. Visit Hawaii Papaya Direct to find more recipes and learn how you can order  Hawaiian papaya.