Dhonas

 

Dhonas

We all know that mango is considered as the king of all fruits in India. But how many of us know that in Goa, jackfruit is considered as the king of all fruits. There is a festival in Goa that will give a clear picture about why jackfruit is considered as the king of fruits in Goa. The people residing in Goa also invented a famous dish out of jackfruit which is known as “Dhonas”. Dhonas is basically a jackfruit cake consisting of ripe deseeded jackfruit, rice, coconut and jaggery.

Introduction

In Goa two main varieties of jackfruits are found which are “Kappo” and “Rasal”. “Kappo” also known as “barkay” is a fruit which is juicy but with a stiff and a sort of crispy texture. “Rasal”, is the other jackfruit variety, as the name suggests has a lot of “raas” or juice in it. It is a variety of jackfruit which has a thick juice or “mohnv” as it is commonly known in Goa, which means honey as translated from Konkani.  Majorly “Rasal” variety of jackfruit is used as it is juicy, pulpy and soft, and so its juice can be easily extracted but one can also opt for Kappo variety. Before moving ahead with the preparation of Dhonas, lets know a bit more about the history of dhonas.

History of Dhonas

A festival in Goa shows that jackfruit maybe the king of all fruits. The indigenous and underappreciated jackfruit tree was celebrated in Goa as Ponsachem fest or jackfruit festival by people paying tribute to it by wearing costume’s inspired by the tree, eating and drinking the fruit in myriad forms. This festival is celebrated on June 24 which coincided with the Sao Joao festivities in the state. The jackfruit and the tree itself has many uses like jack wood timer and many dishes can be prepared from the jackfruit, right from when it is tender and immature, to its unripe, mature stage to when it is fully ripe. The dishes variety were taken out by Portuguese in the 17^th century and after the 19 century people started making more innovative dishes out of jackfruit. They started preparing pickles of jackfruit and later on added on by making jaffe which is a healthy coffee like supplement. Later on many dishes were prepared like jackfruit wine, kheer, pudding, stews, curries, etc. Then the idea of making rice cakes with jackfruit filling came up which was a very big hit dish in the 19^th century. It was names as “Dhonas” (jackfruit cake).

When we hear about Goa, the first thing pops up in our mind is a party. So try out this recipe and party in a traditional Goan style with their authentic dish.

Recipe

Ingredients

·         Jackfruit pods                   550 grams

·         Jaggery                              50 grams

·         Rice flour                          225 grams

·         Coconut milk                   120 ml

·         Grated coconut              100 grams

·         Cashew nuts                    50 grams

·         Cardamom powder         ¼ tsp

·         Water                               30 ml

·         Ghee                                 30 grams

·         Salt                                    5 grams

Method

·         Take a vessel and add coconut milk in it.

·         Add the jaggery to it and let it melt and mix uniformly with the milk.

·         Take rice flour and add the jackfruit pulp in it.

·         Then add the coconut and jiggery mixture to it.

·         Mix it well and later add the grated coconut along with cashew nuts, cardamom powder and salt. 

·         Preheat the earthen pot on wood fire for 8 to 10 minutes.

·         In a vessel place a banana leaf and grease it with ghee and pour the batter in it.

·         Then put the vessel filled with batter in the pot and cover it with lid.

·         On the top of the lid, place small pieces of coconut and keep it for steaming.

·         Steam it for around 20 minutes.

·         After 20 minutes take it out from earthen pot, remove the banana leaf and keep it out for 7 to 8 minutes.

·         To enhance the flavour of cake traditionally, it is roasted on a pan with ghee, from both the sides for 2-3 minutes. This gives a very nice texture and flavour to the cake.

·         Upturn the cake when slightly warm and cool completely before slicing.

Tips

·         Traditionally, the jackfruit is first deseeded and then the juice is extracted by squeezing the fruit by hand.

·         The coconut are kept on lid to estimate the time. As the colour of coconut changes to golden brown it gives an indication that the cake is ready.