With the state government recently announcing Jackfruit as the official fruit of Kerala, the giant fruit is now more popular than ever. In Kerala, it is known as Chakka – a delicious giant fruit. However, just like Papaya, since it is abundant locally, people did not give the importance it deserved. Now with this announcement on March 21, 2018, that might change for good.
Jackfruit Tree belongs to the family Moraceae and is the largest fruit-bearing tree. The huge compound fruits can be as heavy as 30 kilograms, or even more.
There are mainly two varieties:
- Varikka – its fruits are
more sweet - Koozha – fruits are softer and less sweet
Jackfruit is also the largest fruit born on a tree and is the third heaviest fruit of all. Its scientific name is Artocarpus heterophyllus.
The fruit is known as Chakka in Malayalam and the tree is called Plavu.

Table of Contents
The Structure of the Fruit
As a compound fruit, it has five main parts. The following are the Malayalam names of each of it:
- Karimadal – The outermost green covering. It has numerous small spikes on the surface.
- Koonji – Inside the green layer, there is a white hard part
- Chakini – Small coverings appearing on top of Chula
- Chula – The main fleshy part used as food. Each Chula is arranged in compartments inside the fruit.
- Chakkakkuru (seed) – Each Chula contains one seed covered in small white film-like layer (pada). The seeds are also used to make dishes along with rice.
Health Benefits
The yellow flesh of Jackfruit is sweet when ripened and rich in nutrients. Moreover, raw fruit before ripening has other benefits too. It is said to be good for diabetes as it contains low glycemic levels.
It is also rich in fibers and several micronutrients. So it is a superfood although often overlooked in places like Kerala.
Other Benefits of Planting Jackfruit Tree
- Provides shade: It is an evergreen tree that grows to nearly 30 meters of height found in rainforests also. Since the foliage is thick with multiple layers of branches, it provides great shade during hot summers.
- Controls summer heat & provides cooling: Especially in places like Kerala where the temperature often rises more than 35 degree Celsius, having this big tree in the premises gives a cooling effect.
- Great food: Since the fruiting season is during the Summer months, it acts as a great source of food when other crops are scarce.
- Supports birds & wildlife: Moreover, the sweet fruit is a favorite for birds and wildlife as well. So it plays a role in environmental protection too. A variety of common bird including treepies and woodpeckers depend on this tree for their food during summer.
- Preserves soil quality: Soil preservation is another important benefit. As I stated earlier, the thick evergreen foliage cover prevents the soil from over-heating. It preserves the moisture content and quality of the soil.
- Rich organic matter/
humus : The dry leaves also act as a good organic matter. This can be very useful when you want to plant vegetables or flowers in your garden.
Kerala Style Dishes
Jackfruit is great for preparing a variety of delicious dishes:
- Chakkappuzhukku – The chopped flesh of raw fruit is made to a sticky dish served alone or with rice
- Chakka Upperi – The sliced fruit is roasted in coconut oil
- Chakka Varattiyathu – A halwa-like dish made with jaggery and ghee.
Yes…It is very tasty.
Yum yum yum!! (kothi aavunnu).
Back home we make a steamed'palaharam' with jackfruit–they look like brown(coz of the jaggery) sweet idlis.
Nice pictures, Abhinav.
we call it kathal is bengali..and both the unripe and ripe versions have a lot of recipes in bengal!!
http://sushmita-smile.blogspot.in/
In north its very famous and we call it kathal and its very delicious whn we fry it and make it with lots of onion and other masala's…..loved it a lot
This is another Bengali guy speaking! So, I am in resonance with the last two comments! I love "kathal"
lovely images!
We have jackfruits in the eastern part as well. It's quite common in Odisha, where I am from.
That's most delicious and sweet! Your photos make it more elegant and inviting to eat! 🙂
Just love this fruit… 😀
Regards,
Angad Achappa
Indian Wildlife Photography
Hey Abhinav…sachmuch kafi bada hai! ;D
I've never heard of them before, juicy I hope. The photography is quite stunning. Thanks.
Kathal – thank you sharing another name for jackfruit, it is new to me.
It is more pulpy rather than juicy.
Thanks for the support.
@ Harinath
@ D.Nambiar
@ Seema
@ santuonline
@ magiceye
@ Ramakant Pradhan
@ Jeevan
@ AmitAag
@ Angad Achappa
Thank you so much.
Jackfruits ..in hindi we call it kathal …informative post!!
something we do not see here, for sure. although they remind me a bit of our bois d'arc tree fruits – also called osage oranges. 🙂
This is a very beautiful and interesting article
The most educating one i have read today!
GED Online
Nie widziałam jeszcze takich owoców. Na drzewie wyglądają jak jakieś wiszące worki, niesamowite. W środku też są ciekawe. Dziękuję za pokazanie ich. Pozdrawiam.
I have not seen yet such fruit. On the tree look like a hanging bags, amazing. In the middle are also interesting. Thank you for showing them. Yours.
Its called as Halasina hannu in kannada. And I love it!! 🙂
Hey Abhinav,
How are You doing?
I am profoundly pleased to honour you with "The Versatile Blogger Award" and it is by every inch an award which you deserve. Check it out here http://anupampatracontemplates.blogspot.in/2012/04/versatile-blogger-award.html and do the needful.
Really informative, you have inspired me to make a Jackfruit veggies this week itself.
Thank you very much Anupam for nominating me also.
@ Geeta Singh
@ TexWisGirl
@ John
@ Giga
@ Neha
@ Ekta
Thank you.
I don't know this fruit becoz I am eating this fruit always..ha.. ha..
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informative post.. nice pictures..
I don't ever recall seeing anything quite like it here in Canada.
Very interesting, and thank you for sharing this information.
Yummy!!! It is popular in coastal region of Maharashtra too. There we call it "Phanas".