Mangaluru :

Jackfruit is all set to dispel the notion that kebabs can be made only from meat. The chunky jackfruit aril makes tasty kebabs and also tasty machurian.

The many avatars of jackfruit, like idlis, kadubu, sheera (kesaribath), cake, appam, vada, wild jackfruit juice, were on display at the jackfruit mela that was held at Fisheries College in Mangalore on Saturday.

Demonstrating the making of kebabs and manchurian, Shankar Prabhu, a progressive farmer, said: “Jackfruit has changed my life. Though it’s available only during the monsoon period, its shelf life can be extended to about six months with ready-to-cook and pre-packed ready-to-eat food processing techniques.

A grocery store owner at Sanoor, said: “This fruit has made my life. The prosperity I could not achieve from my grocery shop business of two decades was made possible through jackfruit in seven years. I regularly participate in such melas once a week.”

He added that at a recent two-day mela at Kumta, he made a transaction of Rs 1 lakh. “The products we brought disappeared within a day. There was a long queue for the food we prepared using jackfruit,” he said. For six months in a year, he embarks on this journey of popularizing jackfruit during the monsoon season in the city.

Raghava and Vijayalaxmi, a couple from Dharmasthala, have been dabbling in jackfruit delicacies for a year. They make dry jamoon and other jackfruit-based condiments like garige, unduga, pickle, pappad, tender jackfruit in brine etc.

Muralidhara Prabhu from Bantwal, who started the Halasu Preemi Okkoota (Jackfruit Lovers Federation) a year back, said: “Though there are 75 varieties of jackfruit, mostly in Kerala, in the district, however, we have not more than 10-12 varieties.”

His sale at Pilikula a few days back earned him Rs 30,000 in a day. “Not every jackfruit can be used to make all dishes. For finger chips, pappad and garige, we use a particular variety. If you use the wrong kind, the chips will be hard or go soft within a day. Pappad prepared from a wrong variety of jackfruit can make it tasteless,” said Prabhu.

On display were more than 20 varieties of jackfruit, including the red, fleshy jackfruit. So much was the attraction that red jackfruit bulbs were selling at Rs 30 to 40 a dozen.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangaluru / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / June 28th, 2015