Today is Onam, and what better way to start off the recipes on this blog than with the recipe for Chakka Varatti. I cannot think of an English equivalent for the same - to call it 'Jackfruit Jam' would be sacrilege - almost as horrible as calling payasam 'Pudding'!I can't really put this under 'Desserts' because the term did not exist, I think, in the Malayali vocabulary of those days. When we were children, we took every opportunity of eating chakka varatti - irrespective of the time. So, I shall file this under a general 'sweet tooth' heading, for want of anything better.
I must confess, though, that living in the US, I really have not made chakka varatti for a long time. This is the general recipe I remember from my childhood days, and as far as my ammachan was concerned, I don't really think he bothered with measurements. He knew instinctively what should be used, how much, and when.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, we spent hours deseeding the jackfruit pods. They were cooked in huge bronze uralis with very little water. Only when the pods were cooked through, would ammachan add the jaggery. This was melted, again with very little water, and strained to remove any impurities. Now came the hard part. The jackfruit pods would have become almost mashed, and to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the urali, one had to constantly stir it. I was too young to do anything much, but if I remember right, my sister used to help my grandfather. The heat given off the wood stove was immense, and stirring large quantities of hot jackfruit-jaggery mixture on a hot summer day, was not a task for the fainthearted. As the mixture thickened, it became that much more difficult to stir. By this time, judicious amounts of ghee were stirred in, little by little, and the mixture cooked, and ammachan and my sister stirred until it seemed like they could not stir anymore without their arms dropping off their shoulders. What resulted was pure ambrosia. Cooled down, it was transferred to huge bharanis and added to the groaning kalavara shelves.
My mother, living in a city as she did, proceeded to streamline the process, using the pressure cooker to cook the jackfruit pods, and then proceeded to mash them using the mixer. It probably did not taste as good as it did when cooked in an urali, but it saved a lot of time and trouble.
I must confess, though, that living in the US, I really have not made chakka varatti for a long time. This is the general recipe I remember from my childhood days, and as far as my ammachan was concerned, I don't really think he bothered with measurements. He knew instinctively what should be used, how much, and when.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, we spent hours deseeding the jackfruit pods. They were cooked in huge bronze uralis with very little water. Only when the pods were cooked through, would ammachan add the jaggery. This was melted, again with very little water, and strained to remove any impurities. Now came the hard part. The jackfruit pods would have become almost mashed, and to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the urali, one had to constantly stir it. I was too young to do anything much, but if I remember right, my sister used to help my grandfather. The heat given off the wood stove was immense, and stirring large quantities of hot jackfruit-jaggery mixture on a hot summer day, was not a task for the fainthearted. As the mixture thickened, it became that much more difficult to stir. By this time, judicious amounts of ghee were stirred in, little by little, and the mixture cooked, and ammachan and my sister stirred until it seemed like they could not stir anymore without their arms dropping off their shoulders. What resulted was pure ambrosia. Cooled down, it was transferred to huge bharanis and added to the groaning kalavara shelves.
My mother, living in a city as she did, proceeded to streamline the process, using the pressure cooker to cook the jackfruit pods, and then proceeded to mash them using the mixer. It probably did not taste as good as it did when cooked in an urali, but it saved a lot of time and trouble.
Chakka Varatti
500 gms Jackfruit (de-seeded, cooked and mashed)
500 cups jaggery
200 gms ghee (melted)
Place the jackfruit pods in a heavy bottomed vessel with very little water. Raise heat to high, and when the water starts to boil, lower the heat and cook, covered until done. When cooked through, mash using a potato masher. (Quick Fix: Pressure cook the pods with very little water, cool the cooked fruit, and use your mixer to mash the fruit.)
In the meantime, add a little water to the jaggery, and melt it over low fire. Be careful, since you do not want the jaggery to form a syrup, or worse, burn.
Add the melted jaggery to the cooked fruit, and stir, until the mixture starts to thicken. Gradually, add melted ghee, a little at a time, and continue to stir. The jackfruit mixture will start by absorbing the ghee. Continue adding ghee and stirring, until the mixture turns a deep reddish brown, and starts to leave the sides of the vessel. At this point, the ghee will separate from the mixture.
Remove from the fire immediately, as it will continue to cook until it cools.
What is important is that you must continuously stir the mixture, otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the vessel.
Quick Fix 2: Fresh Jackfruit is available in the Chinese stores in the New England area. When not in season, the canned/tinned jackfruit pods available at most Indian grocers are a good substitute. Drain the pods, wash them well, and drain them again. Proceed as above. Cooking time will be cut short when using canned jackfruit.
In the meantime, add a little water to the jaggery, and melt it over low fire. Be careful, since you do not want the jaggery to form a syrup, or worse, burn.
Add the melted jaggery to the cooked fruit, and stir, until the mixture starts to thicken. Gradually, add melted ghee, a little at a time, and continue to stir. The jackfruit mixture will start by absorbing the ghee. Continue adding ghee and stirring, until the mixture turns a deep reddish brown, and starts to leave the sides of the vessel. At this point, the ghee will separate from the mixture.
Remove from the fire immediately, as it will continue to cook until it cools.
What is important is that you must continuously stir the mixture, otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the vessel.
Quick Fix 2: Fresh Jackfruit is available in the Chinese stores in the New England area. When not in season, the canned/tinned jackfruit pods available at most Indian grocers are a good substitute. Drain the pods, wash them well, and drain them again. Proceed as above. Cooking time will be cut short when using canned jackfruit.
© 2008 Anuradha Warrier
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1 comments:
In Mangalore a sweet was amde with jackfruit, where it was amshed with semolina and jaggery and then the balls were deep fried. It was called muluku. Wow, my mouth waters even now, when I think of it!
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