A sweet surprise awaits

Pushpesh Pant

Kathal, also known as phanas (and jackfruit in English), is a versatile vegetable; actually a fruit. It is used all over the land to prepare spicy dry vegetables, gravy dishes and biryanis. While in North India it is almost always cooked, along the western coast and in the South, it is relished as a fruit and consumed uncooked when ripe.

There are many regional recipes that have a distinct character. Ranging from piquant verde (green) curry to the enchorer kalia in Bengal. In North, it is mostly served as a dry vegetable; in peninsular India, dishes with gravy are more common. Kathal’s meaty texture makes it a popular choice for creating flavourful delicacies that mimic no vegetarian delights for the shakahari. However, during a visit to Jharkhand recently, we were surprised by a halwa made from kathal. We have had kathal pickle, kofte and kebab fashioned out of its ‘flesh’, but this was something totally new. We share the recipe that many may like it to try out. The original recipe uses gur that can be substituted with sugar if you wish to have a more ‘refined’ dessert. We also discovered that it taste better with raisins.

Kathal ka halwa

Ingredients

Jackfruit 200gm 

(skin removed and cut in cubes)

Raisins 50gm

Jaggery/sugar 200gm

Ghee 2tbsp

Method

Pressure cook the jackfruit with one cup of water on medium flame till three whistles. Let the pressure come down on its own. Uncover, drain the water and mash the jackfruit to a pulp. Heat ghee in a thick bottom pan. Add the jackfruit and jaggery/ sugar along with the raisins. Keep stirring on medium-low flame till the fat leave the sides. Garnish with slightly fried sliced jackfruit seeds in place of almonds. Enjoy.