Jackfruit- From Staple Food to Super Food.

This is ‘chakka puzhukk’, staple food of Kerala village people since old times and now a super food.

Among the benefits, discovered rather recently, the ability to reduce blood glucose levels hit the headlines.

I remember a time when one of the branches of our Jackfruit tree extending to panchayat land bordering the river on the other side, fell down due to heavy and excessive jackfruits on it.

Being on the river bank and so on common land, anybody could have taken 14 or so huge fruits. But nobody bothered as jackfruits didn’t have that demand those days.

But now it’s a much sought after commodity due to it’s tasty options and more importantly the health benefits.

Chakka puzhukk is the most common dish made from the flesh of raw Jackfruit and the ingredients are simple and locally available.

Finely chopped raw Jackfruit (3cups) mixed with some water, half teaspoon turmeric powder and salt are boiled till it’s cooked.

One and half cup of grated coconut, quarter teaspoon cumin seeds, three green chillies and two pods of garlic are crushed together (I used Nutribullet for mild dry grinding).

Add the ground mix to the cooked Jackfruit, mix and cook for a short time on slow fire.

Heat three spoons of coconut oil, put half red onion, 4 shallots, curry leaves and mustard seeds. When it’s brown and done well with bursting of mustard seeds, add the mix to the cooked Jackfruit and mix well.

The super food is ready.

My mother could assemble the finished product into a pyramid shape and make a crater on top with a wooden spoon used for mixing the food.

And then in the crater on the volcanic looking structure, a specially made chicken curry gravy is poured. The gravy is allowed to flow down like lava.

I made a pyramid and pressed the top with an Icecream cup. Instead of a pyramid looking volcanic crater, I got a crater resembling one where a spaceship has landed or a crater on the moon.