Halasina haNNina muLka(Jackfruit Fritters)

Halasina haNNina muLka or Jackfruit Fritters are a very common evening time snack in the MalenaaDu and South Kanara regions of Karnataka. With almost every house having a Jackfruit tree in its backyard, people have made this fruit a part and parcel of their daily life.

This is the first time I ever made these. When I asked my mom for the recipe over the phone, the first question they asked me was " Do you get Jackfruit there in Wisconsin?". Back in India, I never felt the need to make them. Hubby is not a big fan of these...for him Fritters are to be read "savoury/spicy". He had not even heard of these until he saw them at my mom's place. So, I didn't bother preparing them, as I got my share of muLkas whenever I visited Shimoga, and I was quite happy with that. When I saw Lakshmi's post announcing AFAM-Jackfruit, I knew I wanted to these. My son loves Jackfruit. When I made these and placed them before him, he was curious and wary. After the first one though, there was no stopping him. He just Loved it! I could not be any happier. Thanks Lakshmi, for this event. :-) I enjoyed a wonderful Mother and Son moment, as we sat happily snacking away on the muLkas, until the last of the batch was GONE!

Recently when my dad sent me some pics from back home he also thoughtfully sent me a pic of the fruit bearing jackfruit tree in his small garden. My son couldn't wait to get back there and taste the fruit. That simple picture opened a floodgate of memories and made me want to go back all the more...The Jackfruit tree at my parent's place, in Shimoga

Ingredients:

For the muLka(Fritters):
1/2 cup Rice
1 and 1/2 cups of fresh Jackfruit chopped into small pieces
OR
1 8 oz can Jackfruit in syrup(This is what I used as I wasn't lucky enough to get fresh ones)
1/4 cup fresh/frozen grated Coconut
1/4 cup light colored,powdered Jaggery or Light Brown Sugar
Oil for deep frying

For the Chutney:
1/2 cup fresh/frozen grated Coconut
2 pods of Cardamom
1 teaspoon Sugar

Method:

1. Dry roast the rice on low flame until it turns light pinkish in color.
2. Once the rice cools down, grind it to a fine paste along with the jackfruit(discard the syrup if using canned ones), coconut and jaggery. Do not add any water while grinding.
2. Heat oil for deep frying in a wok/kadai. Once hot enough, drop about one tablespoonful of batter per muLka/fritter and deep fry on medium heat until golden brown. You can fry upto 8 muLkas/fritters at a time.
3. Drain and take out on a paper towel.
4. Grind all the ingredients for the chutney to a fine paste.
5. Serve the fritters with the mildly sweet coconut chutney. You can also try serving it with ghee and honey.


This plate of muLkas goes to Lakshmi of Taste of Mysore who is hosting the event AFAM-Jackfruit. Also I will be sending my other Jackfruit dish - Banana-Jackfruit Halwa over to this event too. AFAM is the brainchild of Maheshwari. Great event idea Lakshmi and Maheshwari, thanks for hosting it. I can't wait to see what others have to offer. :-)