How a Kochi restaurant is promoting jackfruit dishes through the year

One doesn’t have to wait for summer to eat some chakka puzhukku (a spiced raw jackfruit mash), or jackfruit biryani for that matter. Baruma Food Court at Nucleus Mall offers three jackfruit dishes, including the ever-so-popular kumbilappam (a jackfruit dumpling) even during off-season. 

The idea is to promote jackfruit and its health benefits, says Anjana Sreedharan, who handles Baruma. An initiative of the Mithrakulam Trust, a Kerala-based non-governmental organisation that works towards empowering marginalised communities through sustainable initiatives and support systems, Baruma aims at providing balanced nutritious meals. 

While traditionally, raw jackfruit is part of a Malayali’s diet, often eaten as stir fries and the seeds used to make curries, it is not always found in a restaurant setting. “Raw jackfruit has innumerable health benefits, and we are attempting to promote a local fruit in the best way possible,” adds Anjana.

While chakka puzhukku is old world, but much loved, chakka biryani is a relatively new experimental dish, which has takers. The kumbilappam is a sweet addition, a traditional ‘4’O Clock’ snack made of rice and a jackfruit-jaggery pulp steamed in a bay leaf. 

Kumbilappam
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The raw jackfruit used at Baruma is preserved using a technique called blasting (a method of reducing temperature of food below freezing point) in order to preserve its quality. “It is frozen at -18 degrees Celsius, which ensures that every cell of the fruit is frozen. This is how the fruit remains fresh,” adds Anjana. 

Opened seven months ago, Baruma boasts a menu that does not include dishes which contain refined flour, sugar and salt. Brown sugar and pink salt are used instead. The atta used for the breads is made from sprouted wheat. “We are also constantly experimenting with ingredients to come up with natural and healthy versions of foods. Protein powder, for instance. We are trying a protein smoothie made of jackfruit seeds.” One can buy a healthy lunch for ₹80 here. “Everything here is prepared fresh,” adds Anjana.

For queries, call 8714198430.