Jackfruit Idli is the urban version of the traditional South Canara delicacy – Jackfruit Katti / Jackfruit Gatti. It is basically a Tuluva (a Coastal Karnataka community) recipe with an original name, “Pelakkai Gatti” or “Pelakkai Katti”. “Pelakkai” in Tulu means “Jackfruit”. This dish is traditionally made using Teak leaves which gives the perfect aroma and colour. As the leaves are not readily available in the cities, few people even use the Banana leaves. When both the leaves are unavailable, one can still enjoy this dish, which is what we are going to look at, today in this recipe – Jackfruit Idli. Where the leaves are used, the batter should be thick enough to be wrapped.
Total time : 5 hours
Preparation time : 4.5 hours
Cooking time : 30 minutes
Servings : 32 Idlis
Ingredients :
Jackfruit carpels : 4 cups
Rice : 3 cups
Jaggery : 1.25 cups
Grated Coconut : 1.5 cups
Salt : To taste
Method :
- Soak rice for about 4 hours
- Grind jackfruit to a smooth paste and keep aside
- Grind the soaked rice coarsely (Grind with less water. It should be thicker than the dose batter)
- Add grated coconut, jaggery and grind to a smooth paste
- Add salt and mix the jackfruit paste with the batter
- Grease the Idli moulds (You may use ghee for the same)
- Pour the batter into the moulds, pat it slightly and steam cook in medium flame for about 20 minutes (I use the normal rice cooker for the same and in medium flame, it takes about 20 minutes to cook properly)
- Remove the idli moulds out of the cooker and let it cool for a while. With the help of a knife or spoon, carefully unmould the idlis
- Serve it with a dollop of ghee and if required, honey.
Jackfruit Idli Stories:
Cakes, I am sure, is a favourite among all the kids and of course, many of us too. Jackfruit Idli, as I call it here, is a kind of cake. Jackfruit Idli can also otherwise be called as “Jackfruit Steamed Cake”. It is no less than a wonder that people in the pre-bake-oven days, baked idlis, or the so called ‘cakes’, using leaves as moulds, which also imparted the cakes a distinct fragrance, colour and aroma. Cut to present situation, these characteristics are now individually substituted by way of various artificial agents readily available in the market.
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