As a 2nd grader, I used to be very happy every time my grandmother announced at breakfast that she would be leaving for the zoo shortly and that my sister and me must get ready should we want to go there.
Initially I used to wonder what she meant by that.
Did she at her age like to visit the animals at the zoo? Sure she was a young grandmother, still in her forties but the zoo was a little too much for me to understand. Well, happily my sister and I used to get into the car along with her and she would let us out near the lion cage and continue ahead with instructions to meet in an hour at the same place.
Very very mysterious!!!
On one such visit to the zoo I got out of the car in front of the lion's cage and greeted him with a roar.
And he in turn, did the same. I fled at top speed to the safety of the car, which was just 2 steps away but felt like two miles, and refused to get down.
And soon the mystery was unravelled.
I found my grandmother with two men in tow, standing at the bottom of huge Jackfruit trees with large-sized, beautiful fresh green coloured unshapely fruits hanging along the tree-trunk, pointing upwards towards one fruit. One of the men climbed up the tree with a sickle hanging from his waist and cut the prized fruit off the trunk and threw it down where the second man picked it up and put it into our car trunk- a word oft used in our home, inspite of 200 years of British rule, the result of grandfather's education in the United States of America.
This was the only way we used to get our jackfruit- from the trees at a zoo.
Thus, via one trunk to the other these lovely jackfruits travelled home right into the hands of a special chef named Parthi who would cook them, out in the open as no onions and garlic could enter my grandmother's kitchen.
I would deligently watch him peel the tough and rough skin off and cook this lovely dish.
Over the years I have tried to recall all the ingredients and have finally arrived at this recipe.
Funnily, up until a few years ago my friends and I used to pluck our fruit from trees which were luckily not tall and the fruits were much lower along the trunk. We used our own knives to take them off the tree and much to the surprise of my grandmother did all the cutting and peeling ourselves.
An absolute favourite with my family and friends and is never enough.
It is the vegetarian dish I have mentioned in my earlier post My Protest Salad.
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| Parthi's jackfruit |
PARTHI'S JACKFRUIT
Ingredients:
.Jackfruit, raw..................................400gms., peeled
.Oil...................................................1 1/2 Tbsp.
.Oil...................................................for frying
.Coriander leaves.............................2 Tbsp, finely chopped for garnish
.Cumin seeds....................................1 tsp.
.Garlic..............................................1 clove, finely chopped
.Cinnamon stick................................1 small
.Pepper corns...................................5
.Cloves.............................................2
.Bay leaves.......................................1
.Black Cardamom.............................1
.Water...............................................3 cups
For the gravy:
.Onion..............................................1 cup, sliced thinly
.Garlic.............................................2 tsp., finely chopped
.Ginger.............................................1 tsp, grated
.Small red chili(chili padi)...............1 tsp, finely chopped
.Yogurt..............................................1 Tbsp.
.Tomato.............................................1/4th cup, finely chopped
.Tomato puree...................................6 Tbsp.
.Coriander powder............................2 tsp.
.Turmeric powder..............................1/4th tsp.
.Red chili powder..............................1/2 tsp.
.Garam masala powder......................1/4th tsp.
.Cumin seeds......................................1 tsp.
.Salt....................................................to taste
Method:
How to remove the skin:
.Apply oil on the palms of your hands and a large chef's knife.
.Cut 1/2 inch thick round slices of the young raw jackfruit (along with the skin).
.Cut each round into 6 to 8 segments.
.Cut off the skin.
.You may need to repeat the oil application on palms and the knife a number of times.
.This is the easiest way to remove the tough skin.
.Wash and drain and set aside on a clean kitchen cloth to air dry for 15 minutes.
To prepare the raw fruit for further use:
.Heat oil for frying in a deep wok.
.Fry all the jackfruit pieces in batches, till crisp and lightly coloured*.
.Drain on a kitchen paper towel.
For the gravy:
.In a mortar and pestle pound together onion, garlic, salt, red chili, ginger, cumin seeds, coriander powder,
turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, and tomato to make a rustic paste.
.Add the yogurt and mix well.
OR
.Alternatively grind together in a blender onion, garlic, ginger, green chili, cumin seeds, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, tomato, yogurt and salt.
How to proceed:
.Heat 1 Tbsp ghee(clarified butter)*in a pressure cooker.*
.Add cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, garlic, bay leaves, cloves, black cardamom, black pepper corns
.Add the onion paste and on low to medium heat fry till dry.
.Add the tomato puree, fried jackfruit and salt to taste. Mix well.
.Add water, and pressure cook for 30 minutes on low to medium heat.
.Check after the steam has released. If still undone, cook for some more time till it melts in the mouth*
but does not disintegrate.
.Serve hot with rice or naan or any Middle-Eastern or Indian breads.
Note:
*A whole fruit will yield a lot more than required for this recipe, hence at this point all the remaining
jackfuit can be deep fried and frozen.
.Alternatively pre-peeled and cut jackfruit is available in Asian stores and can be bought as required.
*Frying the bay leaves, cloves, black cardamom, black pepper corns and cinnamon stick in ghee(clarified butter) makes them very flavourful as compared to frying them in oil.
*Pressure cooking reduces the time taken to cook.
*Choose a very tender raw jackfruit.
.Choosing the right jackfruit: It should be hard, green on the outside and should not have it's
characteristic odour if buying whole. If available in pre-peeled cut form it should white not yellow
coloured.
.The seeds of this young fruit are edible and tasty.
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| parthi's jackfruit |
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