Queen of Jackfruit Recipes: Geethakka This housewife can make 300 jackfruit products!
How many recipes can anyone make from world's biggest fruit -- the jackfruit? We don't know. But what we can vouch is that Geetha Narasimha Bhat (46) of Sagar, Karnataka -- Geethakka for her closer circle - can make well over -- hold your breath -- three hundred! Born in a GSB (Gowda Saraswath Brahmin) family of Hebri near Udupi, she grew up eating jackfruit in different ways. Her mother Sushilabai knew a lot of recipes. GSBs, as a community, are very fond of jackfruits. After her marriage to a farming family of Sagar 22 years ago, Geetha continued this tradition. Though she made many traditional recipes and many more of her creations, she never counted the number of recipes she knew until an interesting incident. It was about eight years ago. Activists of Krushi Prayoga Parivara, a local NGO had visited her. Amidst talks, those youngsters threw a friendly challenge to Geetha. They wanted to see how many recipes she could do for that day's lunch. It was ten in the morning. The plantain leaf on which lunch was served three hours later was full with jack preparations. One youngster exclaimed: "Geethakka, there are 37 items!" A team from ETV -- Kannada visited her and shot her preparing jackfruit recipes for three days continuously. It was the second time when she was made to count her recipes -- the number touched 130! The programme that was telecast for two weeks had demonstrated 45 to 50 recipes. Leading Kannada weekly, Tharanga asked her to write all these. She submitted 220 items -- out of which the magazine chose to publish 110. Thereafter she started writing all her recipes. She has already written 250. If you ask Geethakka which one of her recipes are her favorites, she can't pinpoint any. "Each one has a different taste", replies she, "It is only jackfruit that permits you to cook in amazingly diverse ways." In the jackfruit season that lasts for four months -- March to June -- very few days pass without the jackfruit cooking. "If I cut a jackfruit, I make something out of it for breakfast, 2-3 curries to go with lunch and one more snack for the evening coffee", she points out. Though she doesn't count, each year she must be making at least hundred different items from jackfruit for her family to eat! Unfortunately, though they are farmers, Geethakka doesn't have a yielding jackfruit tree till now. Every year she plants a few, but monkeys and wild boars destroy it. Now, two plants have grown into trees, but they are yet to yield. During the season, her brother brings a few jackfruits from Hebri. Neighbors present her with another few. "Still, if I had my own fruits, I would have utilized it more", she says with some regret. Her daughter Shobha, now studying in the first year B.Com also knows almost all these recipes. Shobha does some more experimentation of hers. All three children -- sons Vinayaka Bhat and Yogesh Bhat and Shobha -- are fond of jackfruit. Whenever mother plans to cook something, they too join hands by helping. Geethakka has given demonstration of her cooking in a few Jack Festivals in Sirsi, Thirthahalli etc. There are more invitations. But due to her family commitments, she is not able to travel far. Mamatha Bhat, a Sirsi housewife has learnt to make hundreds of jackfruit products from this recipe queen. It would have been a great contribution to the society if Geethakka's Jackfruit recipes are published in all south Indian languages and in English. Unfortunately this idea has not stuck to any publisher or organizations so far! Contributed by: Espi - yes...@gmail.com SOURCE http://panasamwonders.blogspot.com/2011/02/queen-of-jackfruit-recipes-geethakka.html Geetha N Bhat: (08183) 231950 (9 to 10 pm only)