Kadgi Chakko (Tender Jackfruit Curry)

 “Kadgi” is the Konkani word for tender Jackfruit. In Hindi, it is known as “Kathal”. This is a seasonal vegetable and generally found in the south and coastal regions of India. In southern India you will find Jackfruit trees in almost everybody’s backyard. This “Kadgi” is home grown (no – not in my balcony garden! but in our apartment premises) and hence this “Kadgi Chakko” had more value and tasted absolutely delicious!

We “Amchis” (Konkani speaking) simply adore our “Kadgis” and when it ripens, the fruit (Ponos) too. We prepare a variety of dishes from this wonderful vegetable. In fact, we relish this vegetable in any form of curry. But “Kadgi Chakko” comes on top of the list. This is a very traditional "Amchi" dish.  I used only half of this vegetable to prepare the “Chakko”.  The other half I used in "Mooga Ghashi" (Sprouted Gram and Kadgi curry) and an “Upkari”.  Cutting this vegetable is tedious, messy and takes time but eating it, is easy, quick and delicious – no problem at all!!

I must mention here, that my spouse helped me in cutting this “kadgi” and thus saved a lot of my time.

 

Ingredients:

Tender Jackfruit	1
Coconut gratings	1 cup
Roasted Dry red chilies	5-6
Coriander seeds	3 tsps
Black Gram Dhal/Udad Dal	2 tsps
Tamarind	1 marble size
Jaggery powder	2 tsps
Salt	As per taste
Seasoning Ingredients
Oil	5-6 tsps
Mustard	1 tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig

How to cut the “Kadgi” / Tender Jackfruit :

All set to be demolished

Cut into half

Cut into pieces - ready for steaming

Before you start cutting the vegetable, spread a lot of newspaper and keep a bottle of oil ready. We generally use coconut oil. You can use any oil of your choice.  Apply oil on your palms and the kitchen knife and wear an apron.  As soon as you cut the vegetable, it oozes a lot of gooey substance which is very sticky and can also stain your clothes. Hence, remove the gooey substance with newspaper taking care that your hands are well smeared with oil (you may have to do this frequently). Then remove the skin and the shaft inside. Then cut them into medium size pieces along with the seeds which are tender. Once this is done, you are ready for preparing the “Chakko” or curry.

Just for your info, the cutting of ripened jackfruit (Ponos) is also done in a somewhat similar fashion. I have already written about this in my earlier post. If interested, you may see it here.

Method:

1. Cut the “Kadgi’ into medium size pieces and and pressure cook it for about 15 mins. You can also cook it in water in which case, do not throw away the excess water.
2. Next roast coriander seeds and black gram dal /udad dal with a little oil till lightly browned and keep it aside.
3. Now grind coconut gratings, roasted red chilies and the roasted black gram and coriander seeds with tamarind to a stiff coarse paste.
4. Prepare seasoning in a pan with oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves.  As soon as the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the cooked pieces of tender jackfruit.
5. Next add salt, jaggery and the ground masala and mix well. Sprinkle a little water if necessary. (If you have boiled the jackfruit pieces in water, then you can add the water at this stage). Let it simmer for a few minutes till all the masala has been incorporated.
6. Remove from flame and serve hot.

 

Udad Dal and coriander seeds being roasted

Getting ready for grinding the masala

Coarsely ground masala

 

Seasoning with oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves

Cooked "Kadgi" pieces added to the seasoning

  Lastly - masala, salt and jaggery being added

Preparation time : 30-40 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves : 4-6 persons

Note:

• I used only half the tender jackfruit for this recipe.
• This is a semi-solid curry and goes well with Rice and dal or with chapattis.
• Use of Red chilies can be altered as per taste.

Ragi and Mixed Vegetable Roti

Ragi, or finger millet as it is also known as, is a very nutritious cereal. It is used extensively in the southern part of India and more so in Karnataka. It is specially known for its famous dish “Ragi Mudde” i.e. Ragi balls served with sambhar. I am not a fan of this particular dish but I do try to incorporate Ragi flour in dosas or chapattis as Ragi has a lot of health benefits.

Now this dish is neither a dosa i.e. you cannot spread it with a ladle nor is it a chapatti as you cannot roll it out with a rolling pin. Hence it is named "Roti". Well, you have to make use of your fingers to spread it on a dosa pan /skillet. The dough or the batter should not be stiff nor should it be watery but should have enough moisture in it. You can spread it as thinly as possible and this has to be done a bit quickly as ragi cooks very fast and spreading it will be difficult if the pan/tawa is very hot.  Thinner the rotis, crispier and tastier it will be.  Keep the flame low and every time a new roti is to be spread, sprinkle water so as to cool the tawa/skillet temperature. Another point to note - a food processor will do the job of grating all the vegetables in a jiffy. Keeping these tips in mind, you will have a perfect roti.

This recipe was given to me by my aunt. I tried this recently and it tasted really good.  It is an ideal and a healthy breakfast dish. However, it is advisable to prepare the batter the previous day and keep it in the fridge to avoid the morning rush!

 

Ingredients:

Ragi Flour	2 cups
Cucumber (grated)	1 large
Radish/Mooli (grated)	1 Medium
Simebadnekayi/Chayote (grated)	1 Medium
Carrot (grated)	1 Medium
Onion (chopped finely)	1 large
Green chillies (chopped)	1 - 2 or as per taste
Coriander leaves (chopped)	1 small bunch
Salt	As per taste
Oil	For shallow frying
Water	A small bowl for dipping fingers

Method:

1. Grind or Crush green chilies with salt and place it in a large bowl.
2. In the same bowl, add the chopped onions, all the grated vegetables and the chopped coriander leaves. Mix them well with your hand.
3. Now combine Ragi flour into this mixture. As the vegetables will leave a lot of water, it is not necessary to add any additional water. Mix it well so that no lumps are formed. The mixture or the batter should be semi-solid.
4. Now heat a skillet/griddle on a low flame. Smear it with very little oil. Take a handful of the prepared mixture and spread it on the skillet as thinly as possible using your fingers. If it sticks to your hand, dip your fingers in the water bowl and then spread it.  Dribble a little oil all around the roti. Turn it over and let it cook on the other side for another minute and remove when done.
5. Follow the same procedure for the remaining batter.
6. Serve hot with a dollop of homemade white butter.

Ingredients

All ready to be mixed

All the chopped and grated ingredients combined in a bowl

  

Ragi flour combined with the vegetable mix - the batter

 

The batter spread on the tawa/skillet

 

The roti being cooked on the other side

Preparation time: 15-20mins

Cooking time :    15 mins

Makes : 10-12 rotis depending upon the size.

Note:

• This is a great breakfast dish. As it’s spicy, needs no chutney. However, it tastes wonderful with a dollop of homemade white butter.
• Addition of chilies in the recipe is as per your taste.
• The rotis need very little oil while shallow frying.
• Any vegetables that has lot of water content can be used in making this dish.
• See here:  Simebadnekayi/Chou-Chou/Chayote - for yet another recipe of this vegetable.