“Chop it, smash it, boil it, spice it up and savour it”. Well, not exactly, but just an outline of how Kerala’s very own chakkapuzhakku is made. Keralites call the jackfruit, as it is known by the rest of the world, lovingly as chakka and use it widely in their cuisine. “Got it? Then, spare nothing” is the attitude of its Keralite consumers.
Apart from the green spiky hard outer covering of the fruit, every other part of the fruit: its mushy yellow flesh, rags and even the seeds are used in various recipes across Kerala. They are used to make desserts, fritters, chips, drinks and what not?
The jackfruit is not a stranger to the rest of the world as well. Once considered as a mysterious tropical fruit, it is now widely used in the West as an alternative to meat. The rags or the finger-like projections found inside the fruit resembles the ‘pulled pork’ used across America as fillings for burgers and patties. This, thus, serves as a boon for the vegans who could now relish this ‘fruit meat’ with their burgers without any hesitation. The fruit hence was termed the ‘vegan sensation’ in 2019 by The Guardian.
But, don’t judge this fruit by its humble looks and function for this is not just another tasty fruit; It is a storehouse of nutrients! A researcher even called it the ‘miracle’ fruit considering its health benefits. This fruit contains no saturated fat or cholesterol and is rich in antioxidants and fibre and is low in calories. Further, the seeds are rich in protein. No wonder why including this food to our diet could improve our vision, immune system, digestion, skin health and bone strength. This fruit could also prevent cancer and help maintain blood pressure, heart health and even reduce ageing.
The whole world is fascinated by its incredible nutritional quality and strong flavour but how grateful are the youngsters or urbanites in Kerala for having this fruit within their reach? With busy lives and living in thickly populated cities, having these large trees bearing these large fruits are a whole lot of work and mess to many.
Too often, even in the rural areas where these trees are found in abundance, they are harvested only when in need or left ignored. It’s funny when Starbucks serves it in wraps and Pizza Hut tosses them on their pizzas as toppings, the busy Keralites leave them to rot on the trees! It wasn’t our state official fruit until 2018 and commercialization of the fruit is still not at par with that of other fruits.
Its strong flavour may feel pungent and its smell stinky to many of the young generation today, who are not very used to the fruit, living in the cities. But, it’s high time to understand its myriad health benefits and bring it on the dining table of every Keralite. They could be made in different ways with different tastes by drying, frying, seasoning or drizzling various sauces on them. Thus, they could be made even tastier or appealing to the young generation who are obsessed with junk food. Let’s once again relish our mighty, humble chakka proudly as our forefathers did.