Jackfruit (Ponos)

It’s raining Jackfruits in Bangalore now!! It’s the jackfruit season and one jackfruit also landed in our house!!

In southern India Jackfruit trees can be found in the backyard of almost every house.

Raw and tender jackfruits ( ‘Kadgi” in konkani “Kathal” in hindi ) are used as vegetable in curries, and various other dishes.

In konkani, the ripened jackfruit is known as “Ponos” and jack plums are known as “Gharaw”. It is a very aromatic fruit and sweet to taste. Sometimes the aroma is quite overpowering. One thing is certain - no one can steal and eat it without being caught !

Frankly speaking, cutting a jackfruit is an art and needs certain type of skills as well as certain amount of physical strength for a neat job to be done. My husband geared himself up for this Herculean task! For this, you will need a lot of newspapers to be spread on the floor (it’s best done this way) as it can get quite messy if one does not take proper precautions. Smear your hands as well as the knife with coconut oil ( mind you no other oil will do as far as konkani people are concerned !) to avoid the gum like sticky secretion coming out from the core stem and then proceed with the cutting of the fruit.

We got 61 “Gharaus” or jack plums from this one Jackfruit! We distributed most of it among our friends and relatives and kept a few for ourselves.

Jack plums are also eaten as a fruit. However, it is advisable to eat this early in the morning (for breakfast) as it takes time to digest. Traditionally, it is also recommended to take a teaspoon of honey after eating it to aid in the digestion.

Various sweet dishes are prepared from the ripened jackfruit.

Watch out for the sweet dish recipes in the next few posts.