WE love phanas aka kathal also known as jackfruit in all its manifestations. It provides excellent kebab, biryani, korma and dopyaaza. Recently we sampled an absolutely delightful do rukha kathal at a beloved cousin’s house. She had first steamed it then draped it in corn flour, seasoned with Chinese five spice powder, then deep-fried it before napping it with a honey lemon sauce. Soft on the inside with a crisp exterior, it is a unique two-in-one delight.`A0We tried it at home but alas others didn’t take to it like the proverbial ducks to water. "Are these tikka? If yes, why flavour these Chinese?" were the most FAQs. Well, that set us thinking why shouldn’t good old kathal be utilised for tikka?

A few sessions of trial and error have resulted in what we share with you this time. To our mind, the tikka have turned out quite well. The beauty is that many Mother Dairy outlets and street corner green grocers have started selling peeled, cleaned and cut in cubes jackfruit in economical packs — just enough for a meal and gone are the days of drudgery when hours were spent oiling the hands and the kitchen knife.

Chef’s corner

Jackfruit (skinned, cut and cubed) 500 gm

Vegetable oil 3 tbsp

Bay leaf one

Cinnamon piece 1 inch

Cloves 2-3

Black peppercorns 

(freshly and coarsely ground) ½ tsp

Kashmiri red chillies one

Aromatic garam masala 1 tsp

Amchur powder 1 tsp

Dried ginger powder 1 tsp

Fennel powder 1 tsp

Black rock salt ¼ tsp

Salt to taste

Method
Steam the kathal pieces without pressure in a cooker for 10 minutes. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves to it. When these begin to change colour, put in the kathal cubes. Sprinkle all the powdered spices except fennel and dried ginger powder dissolved in 2 tbsp water to avoid scalding along with the salts. Stir delicately ensuring that the spices evenly coat the tikka but the pieces don’t break. Reduce heat to low-medium and pan grill for about five minutes. Drizzle over with fennel and dried ginger powdered. Raise the flame to high to give the tikka a slightly char-grilled appearance. If you are partial to a more robust tawa tikka replace the aromatic garam masala with the regular meat masala. A few drops of malt vinegar add a touch of the exotic. Tastes great wrapped in a hot phulka