Jack Fruit Ada | Chakka Ela Ada | Steamed Jack Fruit Rice Dumplings | Vazhayila Ada

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Hello Everyone!!

I know there was a no-show from my end for 10 days!! But hey, I have got reasons and this time, it's so genuine!! Remember how in my last post I had mentioned I had something to share with you all. This is it!! We have finally(finally!!!) moved to West Coast. And let me tell you all we cannot be happier anymore. We saw sunlight, and went bonkers about it. So, here i am in California!!! New place, new job and the move kept me really busy and exhausted. I have been dying to write a blog post from as long as I remember. Oh, by the way, let me tell you guys, I realized how difficult it is to get your internet connection transferred from one state to another. Seriously, it's rocket science as per the customer care representative.

Today's recipe was not cooked after the move. I made them and took these pics while in Boston, during our last 2 weeks stay there as we only had rice flour and some very basic items left. This is called Ela Ada. Ela means leaf in Malayalam and Ada means, well Ada!! Mostly ada is made out of some flour and stuffing inside. Usually, ada is made with just jaggery filling. On my last trip to our Indian store, i was able to get delicious, ripe and sweetest jackfruit i have ever tasted. Along with it, we bought frozen banana leaves and decided to make these delicious snack/ breakfast / eat-whenever-you-want item...

Ada is gluten free, vegan and steamed. You can always adjust the amount of jaggery depending upon how sweet you would like it to be.

I have taken around 10-12 jackfruit pieces and cut them finely.

This is around 2 inch piece of jaggery.

Mix the jaggery with around 1/2 cup of water and let it boil. Once completely melted, turn off the flame. Add 1 cup grated coconut, 4-5 cardamom pods crushed and mix well.

Knead 1.5 cups of rice flour along with 1 cup of water or as needed into a soft dough.

Banana leaves have a tendency to tear off while handling them. So, in order to avoid that, lightly heat them on top of the flame. Be careful not to burn it, just heat it for few seconds till you see the color change.

Take a ball size of the dough and spread it onto the banana leaf. Place the jaggery coconut mixture, jackfruit pieces and close the leaf by sealing the edges. There was some dough extra , i made balls out of it and placed the stuffing inside. Now, steam these for around 15-20 minutes. Let it cool down a bit and enjoy with a hot cup of tea.