Chakkakuru Mezhukuparetti | Jackfruit Seeds Stir Fry (Step by Step Pics)

Little did our great ancestors have knowledge about nutrition and nutritional benefits unlike today's world, but they incorporated these veggies in their daily diet and were much healthier than today's generation. These seeds were then preserved and eaten when fresh jackfruit wasn't available. Jackfruit seeds are rich in protein and carbs and low in fat. 

Chakkakuru mezhukuparetti is a simple, healthy stir-fry that everyone loves at my home. This requires some good extra time to clean the jackfruit seeds, and so I usually end up doing this the previous night, watching TV. Earlier I used to peel the white skin and scrape the brown inner skin too. But recently read an article that says the brown skin is highly nutritious and need not be thrown out. So I have started scraping less of the brown layer. Once the cleaning is done, the cooking and stir-frying is quite simpler and can be done in few minutes. These taste excellent if you get hold of good variety chakkakuru(jackfruit seeds) and good matured jackfruit seeds taste best. I know it's not the jackfruit season yet, but soon they are going to be available too. My post is an old one from our last year's share of jackfruit. Try these out if you like this stir-fry !

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Preparation time ~ 30 minutes
Cooking time ~ 25 minutes
Serves ~ 5-6
Author ~ Julie
Ingredients
chakkakuru /  jackfruit seeds 20-30
thenga kothu / coconut bits 2tbsp
turmeric powder / manjal podi 1/2 tsp
chilli powder / mulakku podi 1 tsp
garam masala 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
coconut oil 2tbsp
curry leaves a sprig

Method

• Peel the outer white skin of jackfruit seeds and then scrape the brown skin (usually the skin is totally removed, but these days the brown skin is nutritious, so I left it here and there).

• Now cut each jackfruit seeds in halves and quarters and thin strips. Add this to a bowl with water. Drain the water completely once they are all cut. Rinse until the water runs clear. Add in 3/4 cup water, turmeric powder and salt. Put this on flame and cook until the pieces are tender and just cooked (don't overcook as the stir-fry turns mushy then). Drain off excess water and keep aside.

OR If you live in a place where fresh jackfruit seeds are not easily available, then you may find the cooked ones in the freezer isles in Indian stores. We used to buy it when we were in US. In that case, you can omit all the steps mentioned above and proceed further as below after thawing the seeds, quite simple way. They don't taste the exact same way as preparing from the fresh ones, but you may always enjoy.

• Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add the curry leaves and coconut bits. Sauté until the coconut bits turns slightly browned.
• Now, add in chilli powder, garam masala and salt if needed. Add in the cooked jackfruit seeds and continuously stir-fry until it turns brown and crisp.
• Add a little more oil if the jackfruit seeds look very dry. Serve warm with rice.

NOTES

* It's good to add crushed shallots and garlic, as jackfruit seeds cause gas and bloating. So I add this too in my stir-fries now, it's an optional step as the traditional way is listed above.

* You can add chilly powder or chilly flakes.
* Add enough salt for cooking jackfruit seeds, as this is absorbed in the seeds while cooking. It's hard to get the salt right once it's cooked.
* Adding garam masala imparts a special flavour, omit if you don't like.

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