PONSA GHARAI - RIPE JACKFRUIT DESSERT

 PONSA GHARAI - RIPE JACKFRUIT DESSERT

A very commonly available fruit in India is the jackfruit which we call Ponas in my mother tongue, Konkani. This is called Hallasinu Hannu in Kannada, Phanas in Marathi and Gujarati, and Chakka in Malayalam.

It is encouraging to know that apart from being so yummy, jackfruits have many health benefits too! 

Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for dishes made with jackfruit such as:-

• Ponsa Polo (Jackfruit Dosa) 
• Ponsa Appo (Jackfruit Appo) 

Today's recipe is for a popular dessert made with jackfruit in our GSB Konkani community called Ponsa Gharai. It is like a payasam, served after a meal. This dessert can be served hot or refrigerated as per your preference. 

Please remember the amount of jaggery you add will depend on the inherent sweetness of the jackfruit you use and your individual taste. The number of jackfruit bulbs used will also depend on their size. In this case, I have used 8-10.

Do let me know if you like this item for dessert.

Ingredients:-

• Ripe Jackfruit, 8-10 bulbs
• Fresh Coconut Gratings, 1 cup
• Jaggery, grated, 1/2  cup heaped 
• Ghee, 2 tbsp
• Cashewnuts, broken into halves, 6-8
• Cardamom Powder, made from 4-5 cardamom pods
• Rice Flour, 2 tsp 

Method:-

Cut open the jackfruit bulbs, remove the seeds from each of them 

Chop the jackfruit bulbs into small pieces

Heat the grated jaggery in a pan along with 3 tbsp of water until it melts

Strain the jaggery liquid to remove the impurities, if any, and keep aside 

In a mixer, grind the coconut gratings with 1 cup of water. Strain this through a muslin cloth to get the first (thick) extract of the coconut milk . Keep aside.

Put back the ground coconut gratings in the mixer jar, add 1 cup of water and repeat the process to get the second (thin) extract of the coconut milk. 

To this thin coconut milk extract,  add 2 tsp of rice flour and mix well so that it does not form any lumps. This helps thicken the texture of the Gharai. 

Heat the ghee in a thick bottomed pan. Roast the cashew nuts on medium heat till they turn slightly golden. Keep aside. 

In the same pan, add the chopped jackfruit pieces and saute till they are almost cooked

To this, add the melted jaggery syrup, mix and bring to a boil

Now add the thin milk extract, mix well and bring to a boil 

Lower the heat, add the thick milk extract, mix well and once again bring to a boil

Switch off the gas. Mix in the cardamom powder and garnish with roasted cashewnuts.

Transfer the Ponsa Gharai to a serving bowl

Serve hot or refrigerated, as per your preference