Jackfruit Mulka - Sweet and Spicy versions for RCI Mangalore-Udupi

When I returned home in the evening tired and hungry, my MIL and FIL were in the kitchen, preparing something that I couldn’t guess. There was a variety of ingredients like soaked rice, jaggery, green chilies, coconut and most importantly jackfruit! Jackfruit is another fruit that I love so much, that I can eat it as a meal! Especially if it is a juicy and sweet one, just ripe enough, with aroma filling in the entire home.....

And I was apprehensive about preparing something with this great fruit, fearing that a portion of the fruit will be reduced for eating as is. On enquiring what’s being cooking, FIL enthusiastically replied that he’s getting Mulka prepared, which is a popular snack in South Canara, Mangalore and Malnad regions. And he explained to me how nice a snack it makes for a rainy evening like that. I was still wondering why there was this green chili and coriander leaves for a sweet dish made out of a fruit, and got myself involved in the undertaking. I did not take too long for me to realize that there were two variants cooking one sweet and one spicy. I was kind of relieved by now.

What came out in the next few minutes were platefuls of aromatic, mouthwatering, hot snacks, just perfect for the cold, rainy evening! Had enough of them, and became quite a fan of this and now want to spread a word about this Jackfruit delicacy.

What else can be beetter than this to enter the event RCI-Udupi, Mangalore, hosted by Sia of Monsoon Spice...

Sweet Mulka

Sweet Mulka

Preparation time : 10 min, apart from soaking time Cooking time : 15 min Serves : 6 - 8 Ingredients: Jackfruit - 1cup, deseeded, cut into big pieces Coconut - ½ cup, grated Rice - 1½ cups Jaggery - 1-2 Tbsp, depending on how sweet the jackfruit is Oil - for deep frying Method: • Soak rice in water for about 2 hours • Peel, deseed and cut the jackfruit into 1 inch pieces • In a food processor or mixer, grind soaked rice, jackfruit pieces, coconut and jaggery into a smooth paste • Add little water and keep the batter thicker than dosa/idli batter • Heat oil in a frying pan • Once heated, drop a spoonful of the batter into the oil, in a round shape • After half a minute, turn around and fry till golden brown Tips n Tricks: • If jaggery is used is of darker color the Mulka also turns darker, but doesn’t affect the taste. • Don’t soak the rice for too long, since it absorbs more oil when fried • For a low-calorie version, the Mulka can be shallow fried on a tawa, but the taste is best when fried!

Spicy Mulka

Spicy Mulka

Preparation time : 10 min, apart from soaking time Cooking time : 15 min Serves : 6 - 8 Ingredients: Jackfruit - ¾ cup, deseeded, cut into big pieces Coconut - ½ cup, grated, 2 tbsp cut into small pieces Rice - 1½ cups Green chilies - 3-4, depending on taste Ginger - 1” cube, grated Salt - ½ tsp Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, chopped Oil - for deep frying Method: • Soak rice in water for about 2 hours • Peel, deseed and cut the jackfruit into 1 inch pieces • In a food processor or mixer, grind soaked rice, jackfruit pieces, coconut and green chilies into a smooth paste • Add little water and keep the batter thicker than dosa/idli batter • Mix in coconut pieces, chopped coriander, grated ginger and coconut pieces • Heat oil in a frying pan • Once heated, drop a spoonful of the batter into the oil, in a round shape • After half a minute, turn around and fry till golden brown Tips n Tricks: • The addition of chopped coconut pieces gives a nice crunchy taste to the Mulka • Don’t soak the rice for too long, since it absorbs more oil when fried • For a low-calorie version, the Mulka can be shallow fried on a tawa, but the taste is best when fried!

Event : RCI - Udupi & Mangalorean Cuisine - Neer Dose & Goli Baje

When I saw this post about an event “RCI - Regional Cuisines of India” at Sia’s Monsoon spice a few days back, I was quite excited. Wanted to take part in this event, with some Mangalore /Udupi cuisines. The only ones that I could think of, which I can boldly say I am an expert in were Neer Dosa and Goli baje. But I had already posted both of them, and was not sure what to do.

This is what I asked her -
“Hey Sia! I'd love to take part... since i'm a newbie to food blogging, this will be my first RCI...Wanted to know if i can send out entries for posts that i've already posted in my blog... I can give a link to this announcement page and RCI logos... or do i repost them this month, with RCI logo, announcement, etc??”

And immediately came the response -
“Sum, u can either link to announcement page from ur old post or repost them :) But I do hope that u get time to cook something more dishes for RCI and enjoy participating :)”

Okay! I thought. Before I can think of another special cuisine that I can cook and send to the event, I can send these two old ones as well. And here they are, ready for the event.......

Neer Dose - The smoothest and lightest dosa

Goli baje - A famous evening snackHoping to learn a loadful of Udupi & Mangalorean recipes from fellow bloggers....
Cheers,
Sum.

Mango Mania : Mavinakai Hasi Gojju - Another tantalizing Raw Mango gravy

Ok, you’ve made a wonderful dish, now what else can you do with almost the same set of ingredients? Well, a totally different looking and tasting competitor for the former! And it’d be difficult for anyone to judge which is the better one of the two since both are equally tempting and awesome tasting. And what more, even the ingredients are the same! But they taste so very different from each other!

Well, the former here is the Mavinkai (raw mango) gojju which I posted some days back. And the latter is again a mavinkai gojju, but a totally different one! The ingredients are almost the same, except for the color of chilies, er I mean green chilies instead of dry red. But of course the method of preparation is quite different, which is what makes the difference.

Trust me; this is also a heavenly gravy that you can make in the mango season. And it multiplies your appetite too! But this one doesn’t have a long shelf life like the former one; it can be kept refrigerated for just a couple of days. Anyway, you wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation and save it!

Mavinkai Hasi Gojju

Preparation time : 10 min Cooking time : 15-20 min Makes : A bowlful Ingredients: Raw Mango - 2 medium sized, sour variety Green chilies - 10 -12 Curry leaves - 10 - 15 Coriander leaves - a small bunch Fenugreek seeds - ¾ tsp Channa dal - 1 tsp Coconut - 2 cups, grated Cooking oil - 1 tsp Turmeric - a small pinch Jaggery - 2-3 big marble sized lumps Salt - 1 tsp, vary acc to taste For tempering: Cooking oil - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Sesame seeds - 1 tsp Curry leaves - 15-20 Method: • Boil the raw mangoes in water for 10 -15 minutes, till they are cooked soft • Allow to cool and squeeze out all the juice from it. • Meanwhile, in a separate pan, roast channa dal, fenugreek seeds, green chilies and curry leaves for 1-2 minutes in a tsp of oil till they become aromatic • Allow to cool slightly and grind with grated coconut, salt and jaggery, adding water if required • Transfer this ground paste to a serving bowl and mix in the mango juice extracted • Add water if required to maintain gravy/chutney like consistency For tempering • Heat oil in a small skillet • Add mustard seed and allow to splutter • Add curry leaves and stir till they become crisp • Add sesame seeds and switch off the flame after a few seconds; Do not allow the sesame to get overly fried • Transfer this tempering to the gravy prepared • Serve with rice or akki rotti or dosa, etc Tips n Tricks: • Choose sour mangoes for better taste