Last week, after a leading UK publication called the pungent ingredient a 'sensation,' desi foodies jumped in defense of the humble jackfruit. Chefs and experts hail the goodness of this 'superfood' that is married to India's culinary diversity
A strong stench used to fill up our home each year, cutting through the leftover sweetness of spring. Giant halves of the spiny fruit would be laid out on aluminum plates, exposing the juicy, sticky and light yellow flesh inside. But along with its overpowering odour, the putrid plant also brought in summer.
Jackfruit cutlet
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Call it kathal, phanas, or chakka, the jackfruit has been a part of the Indian kitchen for centuries, even though the rest of the world is waking up to it now. A leading publication in the UK reported that Kerala — where the fruit is ubiquitous and an intrinsic part of the cuisine — exported 500 tonnes of the "backyard fruit" (which even five years ago was just another "pest plant that grew in India"), in a bid to understand why this ugly and smelly fruit was finding its way into sliders, replacing pork in tacos and becoming a roaring hit among vegans and the health conscious. And wax lyrical as Westerners may about this humble ingredient, we needn't look beyond the local bhaji wala to understand its benefits and uses. It's a classic case of ghar ki murgi, daal barabar, as it was with coconut, drumsticks (moringa) and ghee.
Neeti Goel
On the topic of jackfruit being used as mock meat, possibly one of the primary reasons driving its popularity today, Sandeep Sreedharan, a Keralite and owner-chef of Curry Tales, (which re-opens at Hill Road in two weeks) says, "The world is revolving around finding substitutes for meat. But that's not something I agree with. Why should you treat it as a substitute, rather than having jackfruit for what it is?" For him, like most of us, it is simply a summer fruit. But in Kerala, it is used in all its avatars. "When it is kachcha, we make a sabzi out of it. When it's partly ripe, we make chips, or use the seeds to make a curry. And in its ripest form, we add coconut milk, jaggery and cardamom to make payasam," he explains.
Kadgi chakko
"I think it's a really good time for our cuisine because the world is warming up to it. But as Indians, we fail in taking pride in what we do, until someone from the West says, 'turmeric latte,'" jokes chef Amninder Sandhu of Arth — Restaurant and Bar, adding, "Indian cuisine is a sleeping giant. With the kind of techniques and ingredients we use, there's much to explore."
Prashant Pallath
At her restaurant, Deomali — an alpinia leaf-wrapped and bamboo-smoked jackfruit dish that is served with jasmine rice — is a vestige of her childhood food memories. Sandhu grew up in the Northeast, and as it happens, Deomali is a forest-village in Arunachal Pradesh. In that region, jackfruit is plentiful, and so, it finds its way into chutneys made with the seeds, bhajis and owing to its meaty texture, even curries.
Jackfruit poriyal
Speaking of curries, there's one that is popular among Mangaloreans, even more so today, on the occasion of Gudi Padwa. It's called chana gashi — a piquant mélange made with garbanzo beans, tender jackfruit and home-style masala. We learn about this delicacy from home chef Prabha Kini, who also tells us about kadgi chakko, a light mash made with steamed jackfruit, coconut, urad dal, roasted coconut and spices. "People say, 'quinoa', yeh woh. Humari khichdi ya rawa mein kya kharabi hai?" she asks.
Prabha Kini
Neeti Goel echoes this when she says, "The palates of people have changed over the years and the way jackfruit was cooked traditionally with methi seeds has taken a back seat. Now, restaurants are trying to use this magic vegetable to churn out dishes which are high on the health quotient and tasty on the palate."
Deomali
At her restaurant, Madras Diaries, the jackfruit poriyal is a dry Tamilian delicacy and a delicious mix of the tender fruit, curry leaves and urad daal. Similarly, at Tanjore Tiffin Room, which offers a peek into the myriad flavours of South India, jackfruit is served as a cutlet. Its owner, Prashant Pallath, tells us, "Jackfruit has always been part of the South Indian culture and it is as common as any other vegetable. Also, unlike the north, where it is only consumed when raw, we use it when it's ripe, too."
Amninder Sandhu
Pallath adds, that while global trends might be determining jackfruit's popularity, a chief reason why restaurants are offering it, is because the seasonal fruit is now available all year round. "We were only confident about including it in the menu, when our vendor said he could provide it through the year," he explains about a fruit that, for us, once used to signify the onset of summer; finding its way on our plates as fritters, chutneys, cutlets, and sweet treats, long before anyone learnt to say 'superfood'.
Sandeep Sreedharan
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