Jackfruit Idli with Mango Chuteny

Jackfruit… There is something about jackfruit which fascinates me all the time. The huge spiky hard exterior which contains sweet golden yellow sheaths has always been one of my favorite fruits. I remember the days when my sister, brother and myself would always find some reason to stay away from volunteering to pare and seed the jackfruit. Once the sticky glue was removed and the golden flesh is separated, we kids would happily go and sit cross legged on the floor next to the big cane basket which would be filled with sweet jackfruits and happily eat one after the other. Amma would sit there peeling sheaths of fruit and tell us her childhood memories where she with her sisters and brothers and some dozens of cousins would gather and have fun while peeling jackfruit from its sticky sheaths and burn the jackfruit seeds in open fire. Although I am lucky to have many cousins, it is no where close to what my parents have. I can very well imagine the fun my parents had while growing up with their siblings and cousins in a large joint family.

My amma makes many dishes using both raw and ripe jackfruits. Apart from Kodhel(coconut based sambar from Mangalore), Majjige Huli(buttermilk based) and Playa(stir fried vegetables) the raw jackfruit is used in preparing pakodas and also they were preserved in salt water to make Rotti, Playa and Sambar and also a crunchy munchy called Undla Kalu. the ripe jackfruit is used to make Kottige(steam cooked rice cake using banana leaves), Payasa, Berati (Jackfruit Jam) and Papads. The seeds of the jackfruits were used in Palya and Laddu.

First when I heard about this months Jhiva ingredient I wanted to make traditional, authentic Mangalorean dish called Kottige/Kadubu which is very similar to Genasale, steam cooked rice cake with coconut and jaggery. I couldn’t find any banana leaves here and was not feeling very adventurous to use aluminum foil in place of them. So ended up making Jackfruit Idli. I used same ingredients used to make Jackfruit Kottige and steam cooked them in Idli stand. Served these sweet idilies with sour and spicy Raw Mango Chutney. Here is my entry for this month’s JFI-Jackfruit which is hosted by daring and darling couple Jai and Bee of Jugalbandi fame. I am contributing the recipe of Mango chuteny for this month's AFAM-Mango which is hosted by lovely Deepa of Recipes 'n More. Thank you Ashakka for reminding me:)

Jackfruit Idli with Mango Chuteny

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Jackfruit/Halasina Hannu Idli
Prep Time: 15-20 mins (excluding soaking time)
Cooking Time: 20-25 mins
Serves: 4-5

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Ingredients:
2 cups Rice
2 cups Jackfruit, cut into small pieces
½ cup grated Coconut
½-¾ cup Jaggery (Acc to taste)
¼ tsp Cardamom Powder (Optional)
¼ tsp Cooking Soda
½ tsp Salt

Jackfruit Idli with Mango Chuteny

Method:

Soak rice in water for 1-2 hours or overnight.
Grind the rice with freshly grated coconut, salt, cooking soda and jaggery to smooth paste. The paste should be of dosa batter consistency.
To this add chopped jackfruit and cardamom powder and mix well.
Now either you can steam cook using banana leaves or using Idli stand. If you are using banana leaves follow the steps showed for Genasale.
If you are using idli stand, grease the idli plate with oil/ghee and pour a ladle full of batter and steam cook them in pressure cooker for 10-15 minutes.
Let it cool for few minutes before serving the idlis with spicy mango chutney and ghee.

A closer look at Jackfruit Idli

Best side dish for these Jackfruit Idli is spicy and tangy Raw Mango Chutney. It's a marriage made in heaven. Here is the recipe for making Mango Chuteny.

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Mango Chutney
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: -
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1 small Raw Mango
1 tsp Mustard Seeds, lightly roasted
2-3 Green Chillies
½ inch Ginger
1 cup Grated Coconut
Salt to taste

Mango Chuteny

Method:
Peel the mango discarding its pit and cut it into chunks.
Combine all the ingredients and grind it to smooth paste.
You can add more chillies if you prefer very spicy chutney to go with sweet Jackfruit Idli.

Jackfruit Idli with Mango Chuteny

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Did You Know?
The jackfruit is believed indigenous to the rain forests of the Western Ghats of India.
Male and female flowers are borne in separate flower-heads.
Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world, reaching 80 pounds in weight and up to 36 inches long and 20 inches in diameter.
There may be 100 or up to 500 seeds in a single fruit, which are viable for no more than three or four days.
There are two main varieties. In one, the fruits have small, fibrous, soft, mushy, but very sweet carpels with a texture somewhat akin to a raw oysters. The other variety is crisp and almost crunchy though not quite as sweet. This form is the more important commercially and is more palatable to western tastes.
(Source:www.crfg.org)

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Jackfruit Idli with Mango Chuteny

See the picture here which I got from Kamat’s Potpouri where the members of joint family are seen cleaning the jackfruit.