From salad to halwa: 8 ways to consume raw papaya to improve gut health

While ripe papaya often makes its way to our breakfast bowls, have you ever tried making gut-friendly dishes with raw papaya? Yes, you read it right! We are talking about adding raw papaya to daily meals. Raw papaya contains enzymes like papain and chymopapain that help break down proteins and support gut health. It is also rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, potassium, and fiber, which boosts immunity, improves digestion, promotes glowing skin, and aids in weight management. Interestingly, it is low in calories yet high in antioxidants, making it a great addition to a healthy diet. The study mentioned that unripe papaya contains antioxidants such as quercetin, kaempferol, and caffeic acid, which help combat oxidative stress and inflammation and protect the human body from various chronic diseases. Here are eight ways of adding raw papaya to your daily meals to keep the gut healthy.

This is a famous North Indian dish where raw papaya is diced and then cooked in a tempering of oil, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, green chilli, salt, and pepper. It is a dry dish and is best served with dal and roti.

To make this kofta curry, you need to grate raw papaya, combine it with besan and spices and deep fry or air fry into kofta balls. Next, dunk them in an onion-tomato curry and simmer. Serve hot with roti or rice.

This is one of the innovative halwas, where grated raw papaya is sauteed in ghee and then seasoned with milk, sugar and nuts, and is cooked until it is aromatic and tasty. It is best served with a garnish of cardamom powder.

This one is rich in fiber and very light and is made with grated papaya cooked in a veg stock and then blended into puree and cooked along with carrot puree to make an indulgent soup, which is good for gut health.

This makes for a healthy snack. To make it, you need to shave the raw papaya into thin stripes, then air fry them and top with paprika powder and salt

To make this breakfast dish, simply grate raw papaya, add spices to it along with flour and knead a soft dough. Roll out parathas and cook them on a preheated tawa using ghee or oil. Serve hot with curd and pickle.

This is a famous Thai salad. To make it, you need to grate raw papaya, and add roasted peanuts, lemon juice, salt, and pomelo to it. Mix well, top it with some honey and enjoy it fresh.

It is a lightly spiced stir-fry dish made with grated papaya, cooked with coconut, curry leaves, and mustard seeds and is perfectly served with steamed rice.