Chakkai/ thenga paayasam (Jackfruit kheer)

Name: Palaa thenga paayasam (Jackfruit coconut kheer)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 tbsp raw rice; 1/2 cup grated coconut; 2.5 cups water (3 if you don't want a thick consistency); 2 tsp ghee; 1 cup jaggery (We like it extra sweet in our house & added an extra 1/4 cup); 3 nos jackfruit pieces; 1/2 cup grated coconut (mentioning it purposely repetitively); 1 tbsp raisins; 2 tbsp cashews; 2 tsp ghee

Published April 29, 2019 · Updated April 29, 2019

Days like this when I wish my dad were alive. He lovedddddddd chakkai aka palaa aka jackfruit. He had diabetes & naturally was banned from gorging on this. Despite all of the restrictions, I distinctly remember him enjoying this every summer. I also distinctly remember my mom getting a few cholais (pieces) from the roadside vendor near her bus stand that she would place in her cleaned lunch dabba/ box when she came back home in the evening (one round stainless steel dabba which would have typically carried some curd rice) and getting it for us. More dad than us since I don’t think I ever relished jackfruit that much. I don’t think those pieces lasted for more than a few minutes after it entered our house :D. I never associated these tiny acts between my parents as love. Now when I write about it I am reminiscing those scenes in my mind & having a smile on my face. Dad, wherever you are this blog post or rather the fact that I made this dish is gonna get your cheeky grin on for sure :).

Adya was sleeping one afternoon on me. Mil said she’ll get all the stuff portioned out & ready for me to make this (She had made it a few days back & I loved it so much I knew I needed to blog this) and then let me know when I could take over. Right when mil was about to be done with getting the stuff ready for me Adya woke up, started crying & wasn’t going to D. Mil swooped in & took him. Once he settled with her, I took out Adya’s slate/ chalkboard & noted down the procedure to do this. So far whenever I have tried out a dish of mom’s or mil’s, I have always had them standing next to me and when they stand next to me, they can never keep physically quiet. They always end up helping me :D. It felt a bit awkward that I was going to make a paayasam purely based on instructions without having her stand next to me. I was a bit hesistant but we didn’t have too many options. It gets tough or rather it feels unfair to devote time blogging when Adya is up & running and ready to play with us. So I always try & utilise the weekend afternoons when he’s napping. So I dutifully executed the instructions I had noted down & my god, it turned out sooooooooooo well. I was really really happy. That’s when I realised how less I try out Indian stuff, specifically Indian sweets & unlike baking where you need to get your measurements right.. stuff like kheer/ paayasam are so not like that. You can add/ reduce with the flow & based on your taste/ preference. Loved it & loved the fact that it was actually very easy to make this. So overall a very happy me & a mind filled with my appa :).

Palaa thenga paayasam (Jackfruit coconut kheer)

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Passive Time

30 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 3 cups

Ingredients

3 tbsp raw rice
1/2 cup grated coconut
2.5 cups water 3 if you don't want a thick consistency
2 tsp ghee
1 cup jaggery We like it extra sweet in our house & added an extra 1/4 cup

Jackfruit coconut puree

3 nos jackfruit pieces
1/2 cup grated coconut mentioning it purposely repetitively

For garnish

1 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp cashews
2 tsp ghee

Instructions

Wash & soak the rice in a small vessel. Let it soak for a 3-4 hours.
After 3-4 hours, drain the rice. In a mixer jar, add the rice, grated coconut & 1/4 cup water. Grind till smooth.
Transfer this coconut rice puree into a heavy bottom vessel (We used our vengala uruli), add 2.5 cups water & bring the mixture to a boil in a low flame.
Make sure to stir it every now & then to ensure the mixture doesn't burn/ doesn't form lumps.
Add 2 tsp ghee at this stage which will aid in the process of avoiding the bottom portion getting burnt.
Meanwhile, we can get the jackfruit coconut puree & the garnish ready. This step can also be done prior to starting the whole process.
Heat a small pan/ kadai with some ghee. Once heated, add broken cashews & roast.
When the cashews start to change colour, add raisins. Saute till cashews brown & raisins fluff up. Transfer the nuts to a plate.
In the same pan/ kadai with the leftover ghee, add chopped pieces of jackfruit & saute till it starts to change colour. Transfer to the mixer jar.
Along with the roasted jackfruit pieces, add some grated coconut, 1/4 cup of water & grind till smooth. Add an extra 1/4 cup water & grind once again to get a smooth watery puree. Set this aside.
Meanwhile, the coconut rice mixture would have thickened in the uruli/ vessel (there will be big bubbles spurting out in the vessel).
Add broken pieces of jaggery at this stage & wait for the jaggery to dissolve.
Make sure to stir every minute or so to ensure there are no lumps nor the base getting burnt.
The mixture will once again become watery & start to thicken.
When the mixture starts to thicken once again (typically takes 5-7 minutes), add the ground jack fruit coconut puree.
Mix well & wait for the kheer/ paayasam to come to boil.
Once the kheer/ paayasam starts to boil, allow it do so for a good 2 minutes.
Turn off heat & add the roasted nuts. Mix well.
Cover with a lid & let it sit for a few minutes before serving.
Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

The steps to roast the nuts & roasting/ grinding jackfruit and coconut can be done before starting the process of making kheer/ paaysam.
It takes a while for jaggery to cool down. So make sure not to burn your tongue :).
The paayasam/ kheer will thicken a bit after you turn off the heat. So turn off the heat a bit before it reaches your actual desired consistency.
I like mine super thick as is evident from the pictures.

Stepwise pictures

Wash & clean rice in a small vessel & let it soak for 3-4 hours.

Drain the rice into a mixer jar along with some grated coconut.

Grind till smooth by adding 1/4 cup water.

Add this puree onto a heavy bottom vessel (we used our brass urn/ vengala uruli), 2.5 cups of water.

Bring this to a boil on low flame. Keep stirring every now & then to make sure the surface area doesn’t burn/ form lumps.

Meanwhile, you can get started on getting the garnish & the jackfruit puree ready (this can also be done before starting the whole process). In a small kadai/ pan, heat some ghee & add broken cashews.