My food blog, finally! - Starting with something sweet, literally! - Chakka Pradhaman

Hi, am Mittu the parrot ( not really!!). I didn’t know how else to start this first post of mine and I remember a friend telling me that’s apparently how I introduced myself to her the first time we met! After a lot of persuasion, perspiration, procrastrination and melodrama, here I am starting my food blog.  I must thank all my friends, family and fans (??) for having faith in me taking this initiative before December 21, 2012 - the end of days. I have also shared a brief set of memorable experiences and valuable learnings in acknowledgement to all the people that have inspired me here.

It is a part of our South Indian tradition to start (and end) a meal with a sweet. On that note, since this is the beginning, I would like to start my food blog with describing the making of a sweet... chakka pradaman / jackfruit pudding. Jackfruit is revered and hated with the same passion for its unique smell, taste and texture. I am a big fan of jackfruit! and have always wanted to make a variety of dishes with it! While growing up, however, my brother sponsored a hate club for a few food items and this would make consuming Jackfruit a very painful process if he was in the same room ( what a brat!!). Well, that did not stop me from stuffing my self with honey soaked Jackfruit when it was in season!. Just the thought of it almost is taking me back to my childhood.  This recipe is pretty simple and flexible, so here goes...

Chaka Pradaman / Jack fruit pudding:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh de-seeded, chopped up Jackfruit (tinned works too) 
• ¾ cup Jaggery (reduce to 1/2 cup if you don't have a sweet tooth like me)
• 1 cup Water
• 1 - 1½ cup Coconut milk
• 1 tbsp ghee

For garnishing:

1 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp cashew chopped

1 tbsp almonds chopped

1 tbsp raisins


Steps:

1. Puree the jackfruit in a blender.
2. Combine the Jackfruit , ghee and the jaggery in a nonstick saucepan, on medium heat.
3. Now cook the mixture till the jaggery is dissolved. Stir in regular intervals to ensure that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the saucepan.
4. Add 1 cup of water and cook the mixture further till it thickens and continue stirring.
5. Add coconut milk and turn off the stove.
6. Garnish with roasted cashews, almonds and raisins.

Notes- As a person with a severe case of sweet tooth-ism, I loved it at the sweet levels produced by the above recipe. It may be too sweet for those not used to this particular dish :). You can reduce the quantity of Jaggery if your Jackfruit is very sweet, or alternately if you prefer a more subtle sweetness. Also, if you want to reduce the calorific content (generally, there’s not much of escaping that with South Indian sweets!), you can cut down the amount of coconut milk added, and replace it with regular or almond milk.