Pelakai da Gatti
Pelakai da Gattis evoke lazy summer evenings in the chavadi (courtyard) of my grandparent's home, where a huge pot of cha is served with pelakai de gatti, steamed jackfruit cakes.
Ingredients
- 15-20 teak leaves
- 1.5 cups ripe jackfruit
- 1 cup grated coconut
- 1 cup parboiled or matta rice soaked for 6 hours
- 1/2 cup idli rice soaked for 6 hours
- 3/4 cup jaggery tweak this depending on how sweet the jackfruit is
- A handful of chopped coconut bits
- 4-5 pods of cardamom
- 8-10 peppercorns
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash the teak leaves and dry them well. Use young leaves as they are easier to fold, and leave a deeper orange stain than mature leaves. If substituting with banana leaves, wilt them gently over a flame.
- Grind the jackfruit, coconut. soaked rice, jaggery, half the peppercorns, salt and cardamom in batches to form a semi-coarse paste. Add very little water while grinding.
- Crush the remaining peppercorns roughly and add to the batter along with chopped coconut bits. You can fry the coconut bits in ghee, or add it straight to the ground mix. Mix well.
- Fill a steamer with enough water to last 45 minutes.
- Pour the thick batter in the middle of the teak leaf on the darker green/front side of the leaf. Fold from all sides.
- Stack these folded parcels in the steamer. It takes 45 mins to an hour to cook.
- Allow to come to lukewarm temperature before unwraping. Slice and serve.