Give the rice its soaking time. Wash the rice and soak it for 4 to 5 hours. Drain well. This is uncooked boiled or parboiled rice, rather than leftover cooked rice.
Start with the jackfruit. Blend the deseeded jackfruit, jaggery, cardamom seeds and peppercorns without adding any water. The peppercorns can be left out if preferred.
Add the rice. Add the drained rice and salt to the same mixer and grind them into the jackfruit mixture. Keep the water out at this stage too, so the batter stays thick.
Bring in the coconut. Add the grated coconut and blend again. This is the way we usually do it at Mom's and Amma's. For my mum-in-law's version, mix the coconut into the ground batter instead. To use it at both stages as I did in this batch, reserve a little of the measured coconut to stir in after grinding.
Check the consistency. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. It should be thick, much like medu vada batter, and hold a small mound rather than flow like dosa batter. If it needs thickening, mix in a little rice flour at a time. Stir in the white and black sesame seeds.
Fry small portions. Heat enough oil for deep-frying. Keep the heat at medium-low and carefully drop small, rounded portions of batter into the oil. Fry in batches, turning as needed, until golden-brown and cooked through. I also like taking a batch a little further, to a deeper brown. The two shades give a slightly different bite. Keep the portions small so the centres cook before the outside gets too dark.
Drain and let them cool. Lift the Garige out and drain on paper towels. Unlike many other fritters, I like these once they have cooled completely. The jackfruit sweetness seems even lovelier at room temperature.
