Chakka Varatti (Jackfruit Preserve)

- Submitted by Dahlia

(Chakka Varattiyathu, Jackfruit Preserves, Palapazha Jam)

Chakka Varatti is a type of preserve or jam that is prepared in Kerala. During the Jackfruit season, plenty of fruits are available. Most houses have their own jackfruit trees. Usually our grandparents make this varatti with an entire fruit or even two. It is made in a huge vessel called 'uruli'. It is quite a labor intensive process and takes a long time (about 3-4 hours). In villages, there are usually people to help in these preparations. It is made in bulk and then stored for the rest of the year to prepare other dishes using this.

Staying in cities, we often buy jackfruit in small portions. So practically, these days most of us make in small portions. Here I have given the measurements for making with just 2 cups of jackfruit. It takes just half an hour to prepare this. Kids love to eat it like halwa or have it with chapatti. I will also share other ways of using this varatti soon. Do try this age old recipe and share your feedback.

Recipe for Chakka Varatti

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes: 1 cup

Ingredients

• Jackfruit - 2 cups (crushed)
• Jaggery - 1 cup
• Ghee - 2-3 tbsp
• Dry Ginger Powder - 1/2 tsp

Method

1. Take the jackfruit, de-seed them and keep only the yellow flesh. 
2. Coarsely crush the jackfruit pieces in a blender.
3. Melt the jaggery with just 3-4 tbsp of water. Strain the melted jaggery to remove any impurities.
4. Take 1 tbsp of ghee in a pan and add the crushed jackfruit. Saute it for couple of minutes.
5. Add the strained jaggery to this. Keep cooking for the next 25-30 minutes on low flame stirring every now and then. 
6. Add some ghee if you feel it sticks to the bottom. After about half an hour, the varatti takes a deep color and forms a thick mass. 
7. Once the varatti comes together as a single mass and leaves the pan, add the dry ginger powder. Mix everything well and switch off.

Detailed Steps for making Chakka Varatti

Deseed the jackfruit pieces and just take the yellow flesh.

You can either chop it in small pieces or crush it in the blender and make the varatti. I like to chop it roughly so that it will be easier to crush it in the blender. After roughly chopping, coarsely puree the jackfruit pieces. I prefer some texture in the varatti. If you like it smooth, make a fine paste. 

Some other people like my mom like to make the varatti with chopped pieces itself. As it cooks, it almost breaks down by itself.

First melt the jaggery with very little water. Bring to a boil. If you are using high quality jaggery with no impurities, you may skip this step.

In the meantime, take 1 tbsp of ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and add the crushed jackfruit. Saute it for couple of minutes. 

Add the melted jaggery to this. The amount of jaggery may increase or decrease depending on the sweetness of the fruit.

Continue cooking for the next 25-30 minutes on low flame. Keep stirring often so that it doesn't get stuck to the bottom.

Add some ghee whenever it sticks to the bottom. Once the varatti forms a thick mass, add the dry ginger powder. You can also add cardamom powder but not really necessary.

Mix well till it forms a ball like mass and has a glossy look to it. It will get a dark color. The color also depends on the type and quality of jaggery used but the taste will be the same. Switch off and cool before storing.

Serving Chakka Varatti

• This halwa can be served as a dessert. To make it attractive, toast some cashews and add it to the halwa while serving.
• This can be served with bread, chapatti etc.
• This is also used to make chakka ada, pradhaman, unniappam etc.

More Jackfruit Recipes

Chakka Pradhaman	Jackfruit Seeds Sabzi	Eral Palakottai Kuzhambu	Fruit Custard
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