Chakka Varuthathu

Kerala jackfruit chips: strips of mature unripe jackfruit fried in coconut oil until crisp and golden, salted in the pan with a splash of brine

Origin: Kerala, India

From the journey of Jackfruit.

Chakka varuthathu, also called chakka upperi, are Kerala's jackfruit chips: the bulbs of a mature but unripe fruit, cut into strips and fried in coconut oil until crisp. They are made in the season, when the fruit is plentiful, from jackfruit picked before it ripens and fried the same day or the next, and they are a fixture of Vishu, the Keralan new year, and of the tins of snacks kept for guests. The firm-fleshed varikka makes the best chips, because its thick bulbs hold their shape and fry crisp, and the soft koozha is left for other things. They are salted the way Kerala salts its banana chips: a spoonful of brine is sprinkled into the hot oil just as the chips turn crisp, so that the water flashes off and leaves the salt behind on every piece.

Ingredients

  • 1 kg mature unripe jackfruit bulbs, preferably firm varikka, seeded
  • 1.5 tsp salt, dissolved in 3 tbsp water
  • 0.25 tsp ground turmeric, stirred into the brine (optional)
  • 1 litre coconut oil, for deep-frying

Method

  1. Oil your hands and knife. Remove any seeds and fibres from the bulbs and cut each bulb lengthwise into strips about 1 cm wide.
  2. Heat the coconut oil in a wok or heavy pan to about 170°C.
  3. Fry the strips in batches, stirring now and then, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the bubbling in the oil dies down and they turn golden and crisp.
  4. Just before each batch is ready, sprinkle a teaspoon of the brine into the oil and stir.
  5. Lift out, drain on paper, and leave to cool completely before storing in an airtight tin.

Notes

The jackfruit must be mature but unripe: a fruit that has begun to ripen gives chips that brown too fast and turn chewy. Kerala's banana chips, made from the nendran plantain, are fried and salted in exactly the same way; the atlas carries them too.

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