Jackfruit Toffee (फणसाच्या गऱ्यांची वडी)

Mangoes are very popular in Maharashtra but not many know about the unique flavors of Jackfruit. Jackfruit always reminds me about the greenery of Konkan region and the delicacies made from it like Jams, Chips, Kheer, Curries, Biryani, Idlis, Sun dried Jackfruit known as SaaTha (साठ ), etc. The dish I have made today is not that commonly made. Since I had some excess quantity of fresh Jackfruit, I decided to make Vadis which have a longer shelf life.

Servings: Around 30 pieces

Approx. Time:  Preparation time – 10 mins, Cooking time – 30 min

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pulp of Jackfruit flesh (गरे)
• 1 cup fresh scrapped Coconut
• 1 cup Sugar
• Ghee for greasing

Method:

Take a heavy bottom non-stick pan and add Jackfruit Pulp, fresh scrapped Coconut and Sugar. Mix it well. Cook it on medium flame by stirring it continuously. After 15-20 minutes the mixture will start coming together to form a ball. The mixture will start caramelizing and will start becoming thick. Turn off the flame when the mixture starts coming together.

Take a plate and grease it with Ghee. Transfer the Jackfruit-Coconut-Sugar mixture onthe plate and roll it evenly with a rolling pin or with the help of a Katori (cup with flat surface). Mark equal squares when the mixture is still hot. Once completely cooled, separate the pieces and store in an air-tight container.

Notes:

There are two types of Jackfruits ‘Kaapa’and ‘Barka’. Preferably, you should take Barka Jackfruit for this recipe since it is a juicy variant as compared to ‘Kaapa’.

Stepwise Pictures:

Anarasi Pohe

I found a passing reference of Anarasi Pohe in Durgabai Bhagwat's article. According to her, when sugar powder is sprinkled on deep fried Poha, it is called Anarasi Pohe. Since the recipe was not clear, I tried searching it and finally Ms. Vinaya Prabhu from Konkani Aamchi food helped me with this recipe. I slightly modified the recipe by adding roasted dry coconut and Poppy seeds to it. This recipe has simple and very few ingredients but the taste is divine. 

Serving:  1 large Bowl 

Approx. Time:  15 minutes 

Ingredients

1 cup flattened Rice (Poha)

1/4 cup Sugar

1/4 cup grated dry coconut

1/4 tspn Poppy Seeds (Khaskhas)

1 Cardamom Pod seeds (or a pinch of Cardamom Powder)
1/4 cup fried Cashews
Ghee (for frying)

Pre-preparation

a. Grate the dry Coconut and dry roast it for 2-3 minutes till it starts changing the colour. 

b. Dry roast the Poppy seeds for a minute and set it aside. 

Method

Take Sugar, Cardamom, dry roasted grated Coconut and roasted Poppy Seeds in a grinder jar. Grind it into a coarse powder and set it aside.

Heat Ghee in a frying pan. Turn the heat to medium. Deep fry the flattened rice in small batches. (fry each batch for approx. a minute). Ensure that Ghee is adequately hot, otherwise flattened rice will not rise and not become fluffy. Once fried, transfer the batches on an absorbent paper. 

In a mixing bowl, mix together fried flattened rice and the powder. Also add the fried Cashews. Serve immediately. (It is recommended to prepare and serve it immediately.)

Notes

1.The shelf life of Anarasi Pohe is nearly a week, however there are chances of it becoming soggy.
2. The flattened rice used should be thick or medium thick. 

Stepwise Pictures

Thin Poha Chivada

Traditionally in Maharashtrian homes, Poha Chivada is made in two ways, viz. one by deep frying the thick Poha and one by dry roasting Thin Poha, which is also a low fat version. It is generally served with Tea or during afternoon snacking. It is a must in Maharashtrian homes during Diwali. 

Approx. Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
For the Chivada
1 Kg Thin Poha (Flattened Rice)
1 cup Peanuts
1 cup Roasted Gram (Dala/Daliya)
1 Cup Dried Coconut slices
1/4 cup Cashew Nuts
1 tspn Sugar
Salt to taste

For the Tempering:
Half cup Oil
1 tspn Mustard Seeds
1/2 tspn Asafoetida
1 tspn Turmeric Powder,
12 finely chopped Green Chilies
2 springs Curry Leaves

Method:

Take Poha in a pan and dry roast it on medium flame till it becomes crisp. Stir continuously to avoid buring. Alternatively, you may microwave small lots of Thin Poha for approx. 1 + 1 minute for each lot. Transfer it in a bowl and allow it to cool. The Poha will become crispy after some time. 

Then take oil in a pan and heat it on medium flame. Simultaneously fry the Peanuts, Roasted Gram, dried Coconut slices and cashew nuts in the oil. Drain and transfer it to other bowl. 

Now in the same Oil add the Mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add asafoetida, Turmeric Powder, chopped Green Chillies and Curry leaves. Saute it for a minute and add fried Peanuts, Gram, Coconut Slices and Cashews. Mix well and add dry roasted Poha to the mixture. Turn the flame to low and mix well. At the end add Salt and Sugar to the Chivada. Cool it and store it in an airtight container. It can be stored outside refrigerator for approx. a month. 

Notes:
1. Sun-drying of Poha before making Chivada helps in reducing breakage of Poha during dry roasting.
2. Sugar should be added in the end only to avoid caramalization.
3. The Chivada can be flavoured with Garlic by adding finely chopped Garlic in the tempering. You may also add a pinch of Garam Masala / Coriander- Cumin Powder to the tempering.
4. You may also add Puffed Rice to Chivada. It should be dry roasted and to be added along with Poha.

Stepwise Pictorial:
Stepwise Pictorial is not available for this post.Regret for the same.

Minty Potato Mixture

Minty Potato Mixture is a good tea time dry Farsan and can be stored for days. 


Ingredients :
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup Gram flour (Besan)
1 tspn Chaat masala
Salt to taste
1 tspn Pepper powder
1 tspn Black salt (Kala Namak)
1 tspn Asafoetida Hing
2 tbspn Oil

Other Ingredients:
1 cup Mint leaves
1/2 cup Peanuts
1 No chopped green chilly
1 cup Salted Boondi 
1 tspn Red chilly powder
Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method:

To make Potato Sev:

Mix mashed potatoes, Gram flour, salt, pepper powder, black salt, asafoetida in a bowl. Add some oil to the mixture and make small cylindrical shapes of the dough. Place the cylindrical shape into Sev maker mould. 

Take a pan and heat some oil. Pass the dough through the Sev maker and let the Sev drop in the hot oil. Fry the Sev on medium flame till the Sev turns golden brown and place it on tissue paper.  Now fry mint leaves, peanuts and green chilly separately in the same oil.

To make Minty Potato Mixture:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Add the Boondi into it and mix well. Sprinkle some red chilly powder and salt to taste. Store it in an air tight container. 

Notes:

The above mixture can be stored for approx 20 days.

Ensure that while frying, the water content from mint leaves and green chilles gets totally evaporated.

Stepwise Pictures:

Sending this entry to  Nivedhanams Joint event - Only - Crazy for Potatoes conducted in association with  Foodelicious,