Chakka Pradhaman / Jack fruit Payasam

Sweet Jack-fruit preserve is mixed with coconut milk and then garnished with nuts and fried coconut.
Yummy yum!

Made using Chakka varatti, this was a sort of 'instant' sweet / payasam of the old days!
The fact that it still takes nearly an hour to prepare, makes it non-instant in today's modern world!!
Watch the vlog made on making this tasty payasam.

Chakka varatti

I always have 'chakka varatti' / jack-fruit jam at home, thanks to my mother and for this year's Vishu (Kerala New Year) , I made Chakka Prathaman.

Ingredients:
Chakka Varatti - 1/2 kg
Coconut milk - 3 cups thin and 1 cup thick **
Jaggery - 1 cup

Garnish:
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp
Dry coconut (copra) cut into pieces - 2 tbsp
Elaichi ( I avoided) - 2, powdered

**To make the coconut milk:
Grate 1 large coconut or 2 small ones.
Put this into the blender and grind using 1/2 cup water.
Pour the ground mixture into a sieve and press to remove 1 cup of thick milk. Keep this aside.
Put the squeezed coconut into the mixer again and now another 1 cup of water.
Blend it and strain again to extract milk.
Repeat till you get 3 cups of thin coconut milk.

Method:
Start by melting the jaggery and sieving it to take out all the stones / debri.
Then add the chakka varatti to it.

Now mix this chakka varatti well till the mixture becomes smooth.

Cook this mixture for 5 minutes and then add the second thin coconut milk to it.

 (notice the color difference)

Now you must cook the mixture till it becomes quite thick. 

You cannot cook after adding the first thick coconut extract.

So the trick is to cook down the mixture till it becomes quite thick. Thick enough that if you add 1 cup of liquid, it will become dilute but not too runny.

When the coconut milk and chakka varatti cooks down to your desired consistency, add the first coconut milk and turn off flame.

Garnish with fried coconut and cashew nuts.