Chakka Varatti / Jack Fruit Jam

There is none to be born who hates Jackfruit!!! At my Achan’s hometown we use to get lot of jackfruits especially in the month of jan-feb followed by May and June. It drops often from the trees and can be collected from our doorsteps too. They taste heavenly and now are the Jackfruit season in my place, so thought of sharing some of the unique recipe made out of jack fruit.
 

The taste of a jackfruit is incredible that too if it made as a jam just think!! Omg here come the most traditional and the tasty dish of Kerala-Chakka Varatti. Jack fruits are rich in taste and it is used in making different dishes in Kerala. The surprising fact of using jackfruit in kerala is even the seeds of jack fruit is also edible and can be used in making curries as well, which I’ll be sharing it very shortly to you all. The making of chakka varatti is not tedious until you make it with proper measures of jaggery. We use to make this varatti in a uruli. It’s a traditional vessel used in Kerala to make most of the payisam. If you don’t have you can use the large broad vessel as I used as I don’t have an uruli here with me :(

 

This jam can be stored in a air tight container for about 2-3 months in a refrigerator and it can be used in making several dishes like Chakka Varatti payisam, elai appam, unniappam and lot of dishes which I’ll be sharing with you soon. You can have this with bread as like a jam also.

 

Ingredients:

• Jack Fruit Pieces- 2 Kgs
• Jaggery-1 Kg
• Ghee- 5 Tspn
• Dried Ginger powder/Chukku-1 Tspn(Optional)
• Cardomom Powder- 1 Tspn
• Water- Less than a ¼ Cup

Method:

• Grind the jack fruit pieces coarsely (Not as a smooth paste) in a blender and keep aside.
• In a Uruli or a broad pan, pour ghee and add the jack fruit pieces and stir continuously for about 5 minutes until it becomes soft.
• Now, add the jaggery powder and stir continuously until the color of the jack fruit turns dark brown i.e. from yellow to dark brown usually it will take about 10-15 minutes for that. Below is the picture which is taken in the middle of making it.

• At one point it becomes very hard and now you can add the dried ginger powder and the cardamom powder and switch off the flame. The way to find the correct texture is pour a scoop of the jam and drop it down and should not fall down easily from the spoon.

• Let it set cool for some time so that it will becomes tighter and then you could store it in refrigerator in a air tight container as said.