Gharayi (Jackfruit Payasam)

In my last post, I had written about Jackfruit and had promised you all some sweet dishes using this fruit as the major ingredient. The first such dish is "Gharayi" which is commonly used as a dessert.

“Gharayi” (payasam /sweet dish) is derived from the konkani word "Gharaw" i.e. jackfruit plums. This is a very tasty sweet dish and is prepared during weddings or any religious festivals or during the jackfruit season!!

Generally coconut milk required for this recipe, is prepared by grinding the freshly grated coconut with water and squeezing out the juice. Ofcourse it gives a better flavour when prepared this way. But as you know, I always take the easier way out i.e. buying the coconut milk in tetra pack – it saves a lot of time.

Ingredients:

Jackfruit plums	8
Coconut milk	1 cup or 150 ml
Ghee (clarified butter)	1 tsp
Semolina (fine sooji)	¼ cup
Jaggery (powdered)	2-3 tbsps
Raisins	8-10
Cardamom powder	1 tsp
Water	3- 4 cups

Method:

1. Chop Jackfruit plums into cubes and set aside.
2. Roast Semolina (fine sooji) with ghee for about 5-7 minutes and set aside.
3. Boil water and add to it the chopped jackfruit plums. Cook on medium flame till they are soft.
4. Add roasted semolina. When semolina is cooked, add powdered jaggery.
5. When jaggery (molasses) is dissolved, add coconut milk and bring it to boil.
6. Add raisins and cardamom powder. Stir well and remove from flame.
7. Serve hot.

Serves : 4

Note:

• Jackfruit plums cook quickly so do not over cook it.
• It is always advisable to soak raisins in cold water first for 10-15 mins and then squeeze out the water completely before adding to the payasam.
• If the payasam consistency is thick, add more water.

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.