“Kadgi- Kabuli Chane Chakko (Raw Jackfruit- Chickpeas Curry)” ….chakko is a dish that needs no introduction to any amchi, this is a semi dry medium spiced side dish curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared usually with tender raw jackfruit when in season, though the same can be prepared with few other veggies ... here I have used kabuli chano (chickpeas/ davo chano/ white whole Bengal gram) along with raw jackfruit for a change … though it tastes best served with dalitoy- sheetHa (dal-chawal/ rice) it tastes equally good with Roti/ Chapati/ Dosa too ... Yummilicious ....
** Kadgi Chakko is a name that instantly makes one visualizes it prepared with raw jackfruit/ tarni kadgi though there are quite a few other veggies with which you can prepare them. I have shared a few of them already in the Blog, which you may browse through via common link shared at the bottom of this recipe. To read on more about this delicious dish “Chakko” which is almost every amchigele/ Konkani saraswats favourite, you can check out on those recipes as I will avoid repeating the same here again.
** I must mention here that this dish is prepared usually with single veggie except at times addition of tart veggies like ambado (hogplum), bimbul (tree fruit sorrel) etc. The difference here is I have added “kabuli chano (chickpeas/ davo chano/ white whole Bengal gram)” while rest of the recipe remains the same. Though in every amchi home it is served with dalitoy- rice, you can serve it with chapatti/ roti/ dosa too if desired. Do try this out and enjoy with your family and friends, it tastes awesome.
** Here is my recipe for “Kadgi- Kabuli Chane Chakko (Raw Jackfruit- Chickpeas Curry)” … my style, adapted from Amma’s traditional recipe …
** Cleaning of the jackfruit, be it raw or ripe is always a mess that needs patience and time. During childhood we never liked this job as it was sticky. However in Thane, where I live surprisingly I found to my relief that on purchasing they did clean it well and give us cutting it to large chunks and all we had to do was cut it with sharp knife into smaller pieces when using the same, truly thankful for this. But then for those of you who need to purchase it with the skin and all, I am sharing below the method and explain to the best of my ability, if still in confusion you can always check out some you tube demo.
** Remove outer spiked rough skin of tarni kadgi/ tender raw jackfruit until you get a smooth surface. Always apply oil to your left hand and the knife by which you are going to cut jackfruit so that the rubbery liquid does not stick to the knife and hands. Use newspaper to wipe away the sticky milky rubber-ish liquid that will ooze out while you cut the jackfruit. However do not be disheartened if the knife gets sticky. Just heat it directly on the gas top and rub off with a tissue paper and you knife will come out clean. But please do be careful, and keep hands on the handle far away. Cut the jackfruit further into quarters lengthwise and remove the center thick white sticky portion. Be careful as to retain a fine length of piece as the jackfruit with seeds cling to this and if you chop off core completely the pieces will fall apart. Cut the jackfruit into 1 inch x 1 inch thick pieces.
** Preparation of kabuli chano (chickpeas/ davo chano/ white whole Bengal gram) : Wash and soak 1 heaped cup of chickpeas in plenty of water for 6-8 hours or overnight. Drain off the water and rinse well using fresh water. Drain and add chickpeas into a pressure cooker pan adding sufficient water, say an inch above the level of chickpeas and pressure cook on medium heat to 2 whistle. Keep it aside for the pressure to be settled on its own, then open the lid and keep the cooked chickpeas ready aside.
** Cooking of raw jackfruit pieces: For this recipe, I have used about 6-7 cups of cut raw jackfruit pieces. Apply oil all round the inner surface of the pressure cooker, including the inner lid portion. This is a must step to follow to avoid the stickiness of jackfruit from being stuck to the cooker, which makes it that much more difficult and tough to be cleaned later on. Wash and add kadgi/ raw jackfruit pieces into the pressure cooker pan. Add in water, say to about 1/3 level of the ingredients. Do not add excess water as this is a semi dry curry and we need jackfruit to be perfectly crushed.
** Note : You can drain the chickpeas cooked water and use in the cooking of jackfruit too.
** Now pressure cook to 2 continuous whistles on medium heat. Remove and keep it aside to let the pressure in the cooker fall on its own. When able to open the lid say in a period of 10-15 minutes, do so and allow the heat to cool say for another 5 minutes. Remove the lid and drain the water if any, do not discard it, you can use it for grinding masala. Now with the help of a weight/ masher crush them slightly. Prepare and keep this ready aside while we go ahead and prepare the masala to be ground.
** For masala to be ground : Heat a small pan with 1 tblsp of oil (tel/ tela), add 1 tblsp of urad dal (black gram dal without skin) and fry till colour changes slightly, then add 2 tsp of coriander seeds (kothambari/ dhania) and continue frying together till light brown, add 4-5 kashmiri red chillies (kumte mirsanga/ byadgi mirchi) and further fry for another few minutes, say 1-2 minutes only. Remove and let cool a bit and then grind to a semi- fine paste with 1 heaped cup of freshly grated coconut (soyi/ nariyal) along with a marble sized piece of tamarind (chainchama/ imly). You can use the strained jackfruit/ chickpeas cooked water for grinding the masala if available, which is what I do. (Remember to not grind the masala to a very fine paste, it should be slightly coarse).
** Note : For the curry you can use any one of the tart tasting fruit/ veggies mentioned like, bimbul (tree sorrel fruit), ambado (Hog Plum), karmbala (carmbola/ starfruit), ambuli (raw mango), harvo tomato (raw- green tomato), dried kokum, kudampuli etc. as is available. In case you do not have access to any one of them or they are not available or again, if you do not want to use them for any reason, do not worry, you can add a small marble sized piece of tamarind (chinchama/ Imly) while grinding the masala which is what is followed in GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine.
** For preparing the chakko curry : Heat 2 tblsp of oil (tel/ tela) in a thick bottomed kadai, add in the ground masala and a small piece of goda/ gud/ jaggery (Jaggery is optional, you can add if you like, I do not add it as I prefer chakko on spicier side). Cook on low heat until bubbles appear. Add water if necessary to make it like a very thick gravy (It thickens out once you add in the jackfruit pieces so do not worry).
** Note : You can add ¼ tsp of methi seeds while frying the urad dal and coriander seeds for the masala if desired as in some place this method of including methi is followed. However I do not add them as my Amma never added them and I just follow her recipe. Also addition of jaggery/ goda/ gud is also optional as mentioned above, in my home we do not like the sweet tinge so I do not, its individual choice.
** When the masala is thoroughly boiled add in the prepared and kept cooked mashed raw jackfruit, cooked chickpeas, salt (namak/ meeta) to taste and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat, stirring and mixing it often to avoid being stuck to the bottom of the kadai. You should cook this well for say about 10-15 minutes. In between if you find that the masala is too dry, or if the jackfruit pieces are being stuck to kadai, then add some water. Remember this is a dry curry so be careful with addition of water.
** For Tempering/ Tadka/ Pannaka : Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil (nariyal tel/ narlel tela) in a small pan, add 1 tsp of mustard seeds (sasam/ rai), when it begins to crackle add 8-10 fresh curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu) and fry a bit. Now pour this hot seasoning over the cooking curry and mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes, remove from fire and keep it aside covered and let rest for about 10-15 minutes. This helps the flavors to be well infused into the curry and make it that much more tastier.
** “Kadgi- Kabuli Chane Chakko (Raw Jackfruit- Chickpeas Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Traditionally it is served hot topped with a teaspoon of coconut oil, but you may serve it as it is too, which is what I do, as I try avoiding too much oil. Tastes best served as side dish with Dalitoy (spiced tuvar dal) and sheetHa (steamed rice) along with a papad, pickle or any other upkari/ bhaji during meals which is what most of us from southern parts of India especially Mangalore do. You can also serve it with roti/ chapati if desired as it tastes equally good with the same. Try out this simple yet tasty side dish when raw jackfruit is in season and enjoy with your family and friends.
** Sharing a common link below to all “Chakko” recipes in the Blog, you may browse through in leisure for more information and details along with a few step by step pictures. There are plenty of recipes from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine shared in the Blog, that are all tried and tested in my own kitchen. They do taste scrumptious served during meals, remember home cooked food is one the best gift you can give to your family for a healthy lifestyle. It will also encourage coming generation to form a habit of the same …
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