Chakka Kuru Pradhaman/ Jackfruit seeds pradhaman

Ideally this post must have come up in late January/ early February when I actually did make this dish. As you all must have figured out by now if there were a contest for laziness and procrastination I would top the list. Ask me to cook and click pictures I would do that without battling an eyelid. Ask me to write about it and I would sit on it for months. I am just so glad that I am making efforts this year to break the monotony during this lock down. 

Today I bring to you a recipe that is not so common yet so familiar in taste to the other pradhamans from Kerala. If you have been reading my posts on Instagram  you would know that we have a jack fruit tree in our apartment and year after year I tend to go over board with most of the jack fruits from that tree. Not many are fond of this fruit in reality and I wonder why. Many of the folks from the coastal areas themselves cannot stand the smell and taste after a certain stage of ripeness. But I love this fruit. I guess its because it is attached to fond memories of being at my maternal grandparents home and relishing them. I used to love cleaning this fruit along with the house helps at my grandparents home. There is so much joy and happiness when you sit with the locals and do stuff. Every year I bring home around 4/5 jack fruits. This year I made two batches of Chakka varatti (halwa/jam made from jackfruit pulp), two batches of chakka ada, chakka kuru mezhukuvaratti from the bounty I got my hands on. I also made the savory jack fruit thoran from the tender raw jack fruits. This is definitely a treat for a Malayalee living outside Kerala. 

When you end up with so many jack fruit seeds and not much of a place to store them for they need to be put under sunlight else they would decay quick its best to finish off the stock at the earliest or do a quick steam and freeze them for months. That is exactly what I did. I made some pradhaman with one batch and made mezhukkuvaratti with another batch. As everyone knows every part of the Jack fruit, Banana and Coconut tree can be used. Today I shall share with you the recipe for the pradhaman. Similar to the other pradhamans this also is made with jaggery , coconut milk and flavored with cardamom powder, ginger powder except that the seeds are steamed or cooked until soft before proceeding. This Indian dessert , sweet what ever you call can be made in this season when the seeds are plenty available. The seeds can also be powdered to make flour and used to make rotis, cookies etc. Someday perhaps I would attempt the lengthy process .

Ingredients	Quantity
Jack fruit seeds, retain the red layer - cooked upto 80% doneness	350 gms
Coconut milk – second press	300 ml
Coconut milk - first press	100 ml
Jaggery Syrup	150 to 175 ml
Dry Ginger Powder	1 tsp
Cumin Powder	1 tsp
Cardamom Powder	2 tsp
Fried Cashews and Raisins - Fry in coconut oil for vegan options	10 no’s each

My way of making 

1. Pressure cook the seeds to a soft texture so that it can be mashed with fingers.

2. In a heavy bottom pan, add the jack fruit seeds, jaggery syrup (start with 150 ml, gradually add as per your taste) and second press of coconut milk and let the seeds cook in the same. Stir continuously and let the mix get thick. Make sure that the seeds are well mashed by now.

3. After about 10 minutes add in the first extract of coconut milk, cook for a minute and switch off flame. Stir until well mixed. To this add in the cumin powder, cardamom powder and dry ginger powder. Mix well.

4. Garnish with fried cashews and raisins (optional). This is purely optional as most of the times we serve pradhamans without the add ons.

5. Serve hot or cool them down refrigerate and serve cold. This pradhaman keeps well for a week when refrigerated.

Notes

1. Do not use the seeds that are not cooked.

2. Do not forget to keep stirring once coconut milk is mixed.

3. If you do not have the powders ready, simply roast 1 tsp of cumin, dry ginger and grind them together.

4. For vegan options fry the cashews and raisins in coconut oil.