THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Good news for food buffs! A variety lunch awaits you at the ongoing jackfruit festival being held on the Kanakakkunnu Palace premises.Jackfruit meals, the latest addition to the festival, is getting good response, according to the organisers. The time for lunch is from 12 noon to 3 pm. On Monday, the meals were sold off by 1.30 pm.
“We’d prepared food for 500 persons. But the food got exhausted within one-and-a-half hour. From Tuesday onwards we plan to stock more food,” they said.The meal comprises of twenty side dishes made of varikka chakka. The servings include chakka upperi, chakka sambar, chakka pulissery, chakka parippu curry, chakka perattu, chakka chammanthi, chakka varatti and chakka chilli. The meal is served on plantain leaves in the traditional style.
Those interested can also order a chakka soup before the meal. The soup has medicinal properties and is good for those suffering from diabetes and less immunity.Chakka biriyani is another hot selling item at the festival. Within a short time the festival has become a hit in the city with the average number of visitors a day running into thousand.The chakka aravana sold at the festival is getting huge number of takers. Navara payasam is another highlight.
The porridge is made of organic Navara rice brought from Palakkad.
Another feature of the festival is a chakka shaappu modelled like a rural toddy shop. Here spicy food peculiar to toddy shops are available. Kudumbashree workers run the shop where food is cooked and served in earthen wares. Organisers said they were getting good response for the sale of different varieties of jackfruits. Popular varieties are sindoora varikka, then varikka and chembarathi varikka. Economic packs of ready to cook jackfruit petals are also sold.
Other items available at the festival are chakka masala dosa, chakka pazham pori, chakka baji, chakka mixture, chakka ada, chakka kottappam, chakka chips, chakka ullivada, chakka manjoori, chakka modakam, chakka madhurachilli and chakka cutlet.The festival is organised by the Jackfruit promotion council. The festival will conclude on July 9. The timing is from 11 am to 9 pm.