Chakka varattiyad (jackfruit jam)

To take down a Jackfruit from the tree is a herculean task. Even more tuff job is to cut open the fruit.You will need a big sword for that. Then take out the fruits, deseed them...its a long procedure. But after all this hard labor you could enjoy the honey-sweet and juicy fruits. I am rather lazy to do all this. So I wait for mom to do all this cleaning part.There is whole lot of other items you can make with jackfruit like puzhukku, thoran. I love to eat the ripe fruits. Other than that, i love chips and jam made out of it. . 

 Ingredients

Jackfruit- 2 cups of jackfruit paste

Jaggery- 1 cup

Cardamom powder- 1 tablespoon

Dry ginger powder- 1 tablespoon

Cumin powder- 1/2 tablespoon

Ghee-  2 tablespoon

Procedure

Chop the jackfruit into small pieces. Add 1/2 cup water and pressure cook it for one whistle. Allow to cool. Make a fine paste in a blender. Add equal amount of jaggery powder. Melt jaggery in a heavy bottomed vessel and strain it. 

In a non-stick vessel, mix the jaggery with the fruit paste.Also add in cardamom powder, dry ginger powder and cumin powder. Blend well and cook on a low flame. Keep stirring in between to ensure that mixture doesn't stick to the bottom. Add half of the ghee when partly done.

Keep cooking till almost all the liquid is gone, you can then  switch off the burner and let the jam cool and solidify.At this stage add the remaining ghee and mix it well.Remove and transfer to a bowl. If refrigerated this can be kept for even one year. 

Many delicacies can be used by using this varatti/ jam as base. One my moms favorite is 'pradhaman'-jackfruit kheer in coconut milk. You can also make pothi palaharams/ kozhukkatta and ada with these. Adding the spices in the varatti helps in digestion as jackfruit can sometimes be harsh on the stomach.