Like every other kid, I always looked forward for school vacation times, not only because of the break from the school but also because it was lot of fun to spend time with the grandparents, cousins and the rest of the extended family. My paternal family live in a beautiful, lush green (summers are very hot though) country side near Udupi, a coastal city in the southern west part of India and visiting them was also an opportunity to be away from busy city life that we were living in.

I think my expectations from these vacations have changed over the years and in my recent vacation, apart from the usual fun & frolic, I got to get an insight (I honestly think it was more of an accident than a plan!) on something that interests me, viz., cooking habits and the some interesting recipes of the people in the rural areas. I thought of writing about it not just because it’s about recipes and cooking but also because of the creativity and the human adaptation element which fascinated me behind some of these amazing dishes prepared locally.

It all happened when was served a dish by one of my aunts which I bet neither did I remember eating it before nor could figure out what was it made of. It was simply out of this world and I couldn’t resist myself but to ask my aunt for the details, ie., what is it made of and how it is prepared. She said it was dish made out of brined raw jackfruit kernels (it’s called ‘gare sala’ in Konkani, my mother-tongue and ‘uppad pachhir’ in Tulu, a dialect widely spoken in that region). The information that got from her and also from my parents fascinated me more for the very idea behind this dish rather than the dish itself and therefore, I am first going to write a bit about the background, ie., the thought behind and the process of brining of the raw jackfruit kernels and then obviously about the recipe.

Jackfruit is one of the many fruits widely available in the Udupi region and it is used as a fruit as well as a vegetable.  Being in the Tropical Monsoon climate, at least for 3 months of the year, it rains heavily in this place which makes it impossible to grow any fresh vegetables during that period. Hence, although vegetables are of-late available in the market which are grown elsewhere and supplied from those regions thanks to the efficient logistical capabilities nowadays, in the earlier days, I was told, there used to be the scarcity of fresh vegetables during the monsoon season. Therefore, I am sure someone had ‘invented’ this idea of brining seasonal fruit like raw jackfruit to ensure availability of vegetables during the monsoon season. Quite impressive, isn’t it?

Brining is a very simple process of preserving fruits and vegetables by soaking the in a salt water solution. During the summer season, kernels of matured (but not ripe) jackfruit are removed, cleaned, de-seeded and put in a clean container filled with salt water solution prepared by mixing table salt with boiled and cooled potable water. Care is taken to make sure the kernels are totally submerged in the salt water solution in the container.

The container mouth is tied with cloth and stored in a dark and cooler place and left for fermentation. In about 4 to 6 weeks the jackfruit kernels are ready for usage. However, occasionally, it important to check the container to clear the yeast layer that normally forms at the top of the solution in the container and also to check if nothing untoward has happened to the contents!

Now to the fun part of cooking this! I was told that every household has its own way of cooking this (looks like every family in these places has its own ‘secret’ recipe for every dish!) and following is the one that I liked the most (out of what I got to taste):

Ingredients:

• 2 cups brined jackfruit kernels
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp  jaggary
• 1 tbsp freshly  grated coconut
• 1 tbsp of cooking oil (olive, sunflower, coconut etc)
• For preparing masala (mixture of spices)
  • 1 tsp black gram splits (urad dal)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 ½ tsp coriander seeds
  • ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 7 whole red chilies
  • 1 tsp of cooking oil (olive, sunflower, coconut etc)
• Few curry leaves
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Directions:

• Wash the brined jackfruit kernels thoroughly with water at least 2 to 3 times to completely remove the salt.
• Roughly chop the brined jackfruit kernels.
• For preparing masala, roast all the ingredients listed above for preparing masala in cooking oil. After cooling, grind it dry.
• Take cooking oil in a pan. Add mustard to it. Once it starts spluttering add curry leaves.
• Add chopped onion. Cook it till it becomes soft.
• Add chopped brined jackfruit kernels and sauté for a min.
• Add the ground masala already prepared with coconut & jaggary and stir well. Add very little water which will avoid the dish becoming dry.
• Cook it on low heat for 10 mins with covered lid. (I like the dish to be little moist so, I keep checking time to time if water is required).
• Generally, salt is not required to be added since the jackfruit kernels are brined and therefore, enough salt contents will be present in them.
• Finally, garnish with coriander leaves & it’s ready to serve.
• A variant of this is the preparing this with curry (ie., Indian style sauce) instead of sautéing  which can be done by wet grinding the masala ingredients (instead of dry grinding as mentioned above) along with the grated coconut (instead of adding separately in case of sauté  as narrated above). Other steps remain same as narrated above.

Perfect companion for all types of Indian breads or even with a bowl of steamed rice!

There are other fruits/vegetables like mango, wild jackfruit (scientific name: Artocarpus Hirsutus), colocasia stem etc. which are locally available in plenty are also brined and used as vegetables during rainy season. I haven’t had a chance yet to taste these; but am sure, one day, I will.

A bit of research tells me that the fermentation is one of oldest (and of course, simple & cost effective) forms of food preservation technologies and is still being followed even today in several parts of the world, mainly in the developing countries. It is indeed quite impressive to know about these simple yet effective techniques people invented and followed before today’s highly tech-advanced world that we live in! Hats off to our ancestors who are so intelligent and lived a simple life in perfect harmony with the Mother Nature!