The sweet aroma of jackfruits and jackfruit products wafted in the air at the two-day State-level jackfruit festival organised by the Brahmavar-based Krishi Vigyan Kendra and other organisations at the Narayanaguru Kalyan Mantap here on Saturday.
Sellers of jackfruits and jackfruit products from Udupi, Shivamogga, Doddabalapur, Kasaragod, Kannur had set up their stalls and many thronged them.
Besides the different varieties of jackfruits, various jackfruit products were also on display and sale. While some stalls charged, some others offered it for free. The jackfruit products on display and sale included jackfruit jam, jackfruit halwa, jackfruit sheera, jackfruit happala, jackfruit mambla, salted and dried jackfruit, jackfruit idli, jackfruit kadabu, and jackfruit patoli. Shankar Prabhu and his wife, Nandini Prabhu, who had come from Sanoor village from Karkala taluk, had displayed many jackfruit food items at their stall, among them being the sakkare bakke variety of jackfruit.
“We sell not only jackfruits produced in my garden but also jackfruit food items prepared at my home during the rainy season,” he said. “Even in our salted and dried jackfruit products or other jackfruit products, we do not use any preservatives,” said Ms. Nandini Prabhu.
Praveen, representing a private firm from Ulloor village near Kundapur, was selling items such as jackfruit chips, jackfruit raw chips, jackfruit chips powder at another stall. “Our products are sold not just in different parts of the country, but also exported,” he said.
Another stall, which attracted the most attention, was the one where jackfruit ice was being sold by a Kundapur based firm. Three women from a self help group – K. Purnima, Shobha Achar and Sujatha Sherigar, were selling jackfruit moolka, jackfruit sukka and jackfruit happala.
“We are participating in the festival for the first time. Some jackfruit eatables we brought, we gave for free, some we sold. Our aim is to make people aware of the various jackfruit cuisine of our area,” said Ms. Purnima.
Ananthamurthy Javali from Ripponpet in Shivamogga district had brought seven varieties of jackfruit saplings for sale and his stall was doing brisk business.
“I brought only seven varieties which are suitable for the coastal region. Actually I grow 20 varieties in my field,” he said.
Srinivas Murthy from Doddabalapur had displayed different varieties of jackfruits in his stall. “I have displayed sweet varieties here,” he said.
