1-in-3 Jackfruit

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Jackfruit – Aptly called as ‘Gentle Giant’ by Indira. You should be aware that I was on a jackfruit hunt sometime back. Yes, I did make that dreadful trip to the Asian store. Though I couldn’t find incense sticks in the nearby aisles, I went on with the search. All for this month’s JFI hosted by Jugalbandi. I was being modest and searched the freezer section for frozen jackfruit pieces. Nope, no luck. Alright, no JFI entry from me this month :-(.

Suddenly a tap from my husband. I find him pointing his finger in one direction. To my surprise, there it is – A whole jackfruit. I was enthralled by what I was looking at for two reasons. One, I will be able to participate in this month’s JFI. Two, its been a long time since I had jackfruit. Armed with the 15-pound fruit and few cans of green jackfruit, I came home with a triumphant smile. I can now post not 1, but 1-in-3 on jackfruit. Gini, I hope this answers your question :-).

I didn’t know that there were two types of jackfruit until I read Injipennu’s post. Luckily, the fruit I bought was the varikkachakka variety, it was sweet as honey. Working on the fruit was fun too (Of course, with gloves on). The whole house was filled with the sweet smell of jackfruit.

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I am not going to give you the specifics about jackfruit, its all here. I want to thank Jai & Bee (not only for the incense sticks idea) for instigating me to go look for Jackfruit. If not for you I wouldn’t have had even stepped in that direction. Thanks guys!

My entry for this month’s JFI is Jackfruit Halwa. This recipe is from my cookbook encyclopedia Samaithu Paar by Meenakshi Ammal. This halwa is not the typical chewy type, but a slightly crunchy one due to the sugar syrup, yet tasty.

Ingredients

Jackfruit – 1 cup, cubed into small pieces
Sugar – 1 ½ cups
Cashew nuts – ¼ cup, halved
Ghee – 2 tbsp
Saffron
Elaichi or Cardamom – ½ tsp, powdered
Edible camphor – A mustard seed size

Method

Mix sugar and ¼ cup of water and make a sugar syrup until it reaches one-string consistency. Add the jackfruit pieces and stir until the fruit gets cooked and blends with the sugar syrup. The mixture should be thick if you want to make pieces.

Roast cashew nuts in a tsp of ghee until golden brown. Add this to the jackfruit mixture along with the rest of the ghee and saffron. Take the halwa off the stove and mix elaichi and camphor.

Grease a plate with ghee and pour the halwa onto it. Cut into pieces while it is still warm.

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25 comments:

Viji said...

Beautiful photos and recipe Suganaya. Really tempting. Viji

ushaprashanth said...

Hi suganya!
Photos are lovely as usual...what is the shelf life for this sweet? seeing the picture of halwa i think it will be over in a day..

TNL said...

Gorgeous Photgraphs...you've captured the Essence of the mighty Jackfruit.

trupti

FH said...

I agree with Viji,great photos and fabulous Halwa.Lucky you to get the real thing!!:)

bee said...

this is truly scrumptious - the pics and the recipe. am waiting for the other two.

Anonymous said...

Well done,Suganya. And there are 2 more to come! I can't wait.

Priya said...

You are so damn lucky to have got hold of a fresh Jack fruit. I looked for them in our international market here and just got the canned ones. I have no clue what I will do with them. Just enjoying them as is for now. Need to come up with something soon !
I have been away from blogging for sometime now. I think I am back, not sure though ;-)

Jyothi said...

Really wonderful jackfruit pics. Your recipe looks yummy and tempting. thanks for sharing such a nice recipe and pics too.

Suganya said...

Thank you everyone. I know I am 'very' lucky to have gotten the real deal (Can't stop grinning at that :D)

Usha, I don't know about the shelf life. It got over the very next day. Should probably be around 2-3 days, bcoz it is fruit based.

Priya, I know how it feels. For a moment I had the same feeling too. But, Hey, you atleast got the canned ones. I was about to ask abt yr blogging break. Its a good thing. But do come back. Am patiently waiting :-)

Sia said...

gorgeous picture suganya... and i can very well understand how u must have felt to get hold of "real" fresh JF;) its worth all that "stinking" walk down the asian store;)
cant wait to see next 2 posts of JF...

Anonymous said...

great pictures...I love the colours...gotta try the recipe...thanks for sharing

Viji said...

Very different recipe.I never tasted jackfruit halwa!!!And very nice pic's Suganya.

Kribha said...

Nice pictures Sugi. My mouth is watering already. Will try this when I'm in India. Looks so yummy.

Coffee said...

I m not a JF fan...... but those pics look inviting!!! :)

Suganya said...

I wouldn't mind taking that 'stinking' trip again if I could get another JF, Sia :)

Thanks Dilip, Kribha!

Even I haven't tasted JF halwa before Viji. But this was a super hit in my house.

Coffee, I know JF's scent is repulsive to some. But the halwa was very mild.

Roopa said...

wonderfull photos suganya!halwa with JF looks very inviting.

Inji Pennu said...

your pics are ublvable!Wow! Are you a pro?

(Answer to your question: I have posted a separate post on how to make banana flower thoran. If you put the outer leaves it will turn bitter)

Sharmi said...

hey awesome looking pics. simply fabulous !! the recipe looks out of this world. I wish I could get fresh jackfruit.

Suganya said...

O o this is a lovely dish...It is a tempting recipe...Love it...

Cynthia said...

Suganya, in a world - BEAUTIFUL. Everything is - the post, the pics, everything.

Suganya said...

I am not a pro Injipennu :D. I am kid with a new toy - Photoshop elements. BTW, my question was about artichokes. I am not sure which part of it is edible. Thanks for taking time to answer though :)

Sharmi, Cynthia, Sukanya, Roopa - Thanks :-)

Prema Sundar said...

The jackfruit and the halwa pictures are stunning Suganya... halwa looks perfect with a professional touch.

Bong Mom said...

Wow 1-in3 or 3-in-1, its a Five Star. Gorgeous pic

A, mama of twins said...

Suganya
I am going to have to try this recipe after all I am in love with JF too! gorgeous photos.

Archana

Anonymous said...

Dear Suganya,

I am a college student working with farmers I met in India last summer to get one of their jackfruit products into stores here in the U.S. Your photo of jackfruit bulbs with a quarter of a jackfruit is gorgeous. Is there any way that I could use it in packaging? I just subscribed to your blog, so I believe you have my email address, starting with aeryu. Hope to hear from you soon!

Annie

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