Chakka Appam - The Wonder taste of Jack fruit and Jaggery

Chakka Appam is a yummy delight for evenings made out of Jackfruit. This tasty evening snack is a favorite among both kids and grownups. It can be made in many ways. Jackfruit can be used in the ripe form directly, or you can make chakka varatti, that is cooking jackfruit in jaggery and making it into the consistency of jam for giving sweetness to the appam. Here I have tried out the second technique, which consumes a lot of time.

The Chakka varatti has been prepared by me earlier and was stored in the refrigerator. So while preparing Chakka appam, I found it easier and less time consuming. The specialty of Chakka varatti is that it can be consumed directly. When I was a child, I used to love eating it a lot. So mom rarely made chakka appam because chakka varatti was consumed by both me and my brother. The aroma of chakka varatti is a real temptation and you cannot resist eating it. Chakka Varatti is made out of Ghee and jaggery cooked until the moisture content is dried off.


Chakka appam made out of chakka varatti can be considered as the tastiest of adas. Checkout the recipe and make sure you try out the popular delight of God’s Own Country.

Ingredients

·         Chakka varatti-  1 cup

·         Roasted Rice flour – 2 cups

·         Grated coconut- ½ cup

·         Cardamom powder – a pinch or two

·         Salt – a pinch or two

·         Water – For mixing

·       Plantain leaves or banana leaves – 1 large (should cut into smaller pieces)

Method

1.     In a vessel, add roasted rice flour and salt well

2.     Add water to the rice flour to form a loose consistency

3.     Now you may add chakka varatti and mix it well

4.     You may add cardamom powder and mix it well

5.     In a piece of plantain leaf, pour the rice flour mix and fold it by        covering all four sides.

6.     Keep the steamer on stove and add some water to it

7.     Now let the water boil

8.     There are chances of the mix to leak out, but you need to keep         the steamer ready with boiling water so that the mix gets                   cooked faster.

9.      Ps: Note that you must place the plate of the steamer so that the      chakka appam mix does not mix with the water.

1.    Close the lid of the steamer

11.  Let it cook in high flame for 10 min and then in low flame for           another 10 min

12.  Open the lid of the steamer after 20 min

13.  Take out the chakka appam out of the steamer and let it cool

14.  Serve with tea in the evenings

15.  Enjoy!!

Chakka appam has other varieties too. You can even cook in other different ways. I will be glad to give you the recipes of these varieties soon. Make your evenings warm and cozy with home-made chakka appam. I usually prefer this delight during a rainy evening. It is a real pleasure to have something warm during rainy days.