Kumbilappam aka Chakke Ada aka Steamed Jackfruit Dumplings

spice of life: wholesome jackfruit dumplings in fragrant leaf wraps

My smell is spice. I love flavourful, fragrant foods. I love spicy perfumes. I like to think of myself as spicy! I come back from my visits home with packets full of pepper, turmeric, nutmeg, all kinds of masalas. Its not like you don’t get these things here… but my spices are home grown, organic and other than their inherent fragrance, they carry with them the smell of my earth.

Of all the smells that envelope my home, the more prominent ones are seasonal. The coffee blooms – can anything be more redolent than the smell of coffee blooms. Why hasn’t anyone bottled it yet? The orange blossoms, the mango blossoms, and the sickly sweet smell of overripe jackfruits bursting at the seams – these are the smells – just a few of the smells I’ve grown to savour.

Chakka Kumbalappam or Chakke ada – is a dish that takes taste, flavour and fragrance and combines it into an olfactory orgy that must be indulged in atleast once in your lifetime.

There is a long drawn process out there somewhere which I am not about to go into – my version is below. I returned from my last trip home with a bundle of sun dried Edana leaves – an experiment gone right!

sun dried Edana leaves

Edana is common flora in Kerala – the leaves have a spicy cinnamony smell. Its probably some distant cousin of the Tej Patta that we call Bay leaf in English. Some googling revealed that Edana is also called Vazhana and its scientific name is Olea dioica of the family Oleaceae – but its pictures on google image are so similar to Cinnamomum Verum of the family Lauraceae (Cinnamon) and the leaf itself smells so much like cinnamon, that I am very confused.

I found another Chakka ada recipe online at this aptly named blog Spicy Chilly. You can check that out as well – I love the detailing there.

You need – 1 generous bowlful of chakka varattiathu (jackfruit jam), 1 level bowl of rice flour, 1 tablespoon of coconut bits, 1 lump of jaggery melted to a thick sauce and 3 to 4 green cardamoms crushed.

Mix them all together to a really pliable, soft dough.


Fill them into edana leaf cones, and secure with the leaf tip.




Steam in the pressure cooker for 3 whistles. Remove from fire, open the cooker lid, close your eyes and inhale.

Kumbilappam aka Chakke ada aka Steamed Jackfruit dumplings

Feast your senses with each steamy parcel of this yummy treat!!