I absolutely love the rich sweetness of jackfruit. Whenever I’m consuming copious amounts of the fruit, I always remember this one jackfruit seller near my old house. We’d only buy jackfruit from him. As a child, if I was accompanying my parents on their regular shopping trips, this man would always threw in a few extra pods because he knew how much I love the fruit!
The fruit is also completely fascinating – I’ve always wondered how people discovered it was edible. Covered in a hard, gummy shell with small pimples with hard, hexagonal spikes, one jackfruit can weigh anywhere between 10 and 25kg. Each fruit can have between 100 and 500 seeds, and a mature tree can produce 200 fruits a year and older trees can produce up to 500!
Cutting open a jackfruit is a labour of love – it secretes extremely sticky latex that gets everywhere. This can only be combated by coating the hands and the knife used in oil. Once the individual pods of flesh have been retrieved, however, joy is imminent.
Raw jackfruit can be used to make a number of curries, and is now commonly used as a vegan substitute for meat. Ripe jackfruit can be enjoyed as is, or can be made into a heavenly caramel (the recipe for which can be found below!). The seeds of a ripe jackfruit are also edible, and my grandmother makes a delectable sambhar that is perfect with hot rice.
Speaking of my grandmother, I cannot write about jackfruit without quoting the Kannada gaade she mentions every time we have the fruit at home: “Hasidu halasina hannu tinnu, undu maavina hannu tinnu”, which translates to “eat jackfruit on an empty stomach, but eat mango after consuming a meal”.
The above advice is possibly because Jackfruit is heavy, and can be difficult to digest. If consumed in excess, it can lead to indigestion. Eating the fruit before a meal is supposed to minimise the chances of that happening. I’ve followed this since I was young, and this advice has never failed – no matter how much of the fruit I ingest.
Coming to the recipe, it is a twist on a jackfruit halwa. Additionally, because I used coconut oil instead of ghee to cook the jackfruit pulp, it becomes a vegan caramel. You can use this to top desserts, mix into oatmeal, spread onto toast – the possibilities are endless. But if I’m being honest, you’re more likely to just eat this straight out of the jar like I did!
If you enjoy the sweet aroma and rich flavour of jackfruit, give this recipe a try!
JACKFRUIT CARAMEL
Makes: 1 cup
Ingredients:
Ripe jackfruit pods – 15-20 (depending on the size)
Jaggery, powdered – 1/3 cup
Coconut oil* – 1tbsp
Salt* – to taste
Method:
After deseeding the jackfruit pods, pressure cook the fruit for 3 whistles with about 2 cups of water.
Allow to cool completely. Alternatively, you could boil the jackfruit until soft.
Drain the water, but reserve some of it to use during the cooking process, and blend the cooked jackfruit to a fine pulp.
In a non-stick pan over medium heat, add the jaggery and about 2tbsp of the reserved jackfruit water. Stir till melted.
Add a pinch of salt, then add the jackfruit pulp and mix well.
Add the coconut oil, and keep mixing.
After about 10 minutes, the mixture will thicken. When it no longer sticks to the pan, it is ready!
Once the caramel is cool, transfer to a jar and refrigerate. It tastes best when it’s cold!
*Notes:
Ghee can be used instead of coconut oil, but I like the depth coconut oil adds to the flavour.
A pinch of salt is enough if you want a sweet caramel. Add some more if you prefer a salted caramel!
Enjoy this luscious vegan caramel, and do send me photos @mosmusingsblog if you try the recipe!
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