PaNsa MuLka : Jackfruit Fried Snacks

PaNosu is Jackfruit. You will see at least one Jackfruit tree in any Konkani backyard. And it is used to make so many things, idli, dosa, muLka, papad, kachre, sukki and so on ... Like mango jackfruit is so much used in konkani cuisine.

MuLka is one of my favorites. It is a must cook on Ganesha Chaturthi, a festival where Hindus worship Lord Ganesha. I still remember ... when I was young my family used to visit my grandparents in Kumta, a small town in coastal Karnataka, India. There used to be very big family gathering, ceremonies and food. And the ceremonies used to take long time and I used to get hungry. When all elders were busy with the ceremony, me and few of my cousins used to sneak inside and steal muLka from the kitchen.

MuLka are very simple to make, very few ingredients to use. Only difficult thing is getting hands on the jackfruit. I bought canned jackfruit. But, the fresh jackfruit gives wonderful taste.

Ingredients :
1 can jackfruit (8 deseeded bulbs)
1 cup fresh grated coconut
1 cup grated jaggery (as a substitute I think brown sugar can be used)
1 cup sooji
Pinch of salt
Oil to deep fry

The jackfruit flesh is in the form of yellow soft bulbs around the seeds.

Jaggery is unrefined sugar. It is solidified sugarcane juice which has not undergone the bleaching process. In India usually it is sold as a solid block.


Method :

Grind jackfruit bulbs, grated coconut and jaggery together adding little water. Add salt and mix well. Add sooji little by little and mix. If you add all of sooji at once, there might be lumps. And also the mixture might get very dry and hard. Make a mixture of thick consistency so you can make small balls.


Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Use a tablespoon to take small portion of the mixture and deep fry in the hot oil until golden brown.


Can be used as apetizers or dessert or just a snack to munch!