Mango, Jackfruit and Banana Salad / Mukkaniyum Thenum

On a routine evening, when our entire family sits over a light evening snack, we had a chat over the upcoming election in India. The topic then slowly diverted to the food culture nowadays and the foods of 1960’s. The discussion turned very interesting and I got to know many very old, forgotten golden dishes. With the help of my mother-in-law, I started collecting the archives about those wonderful dishes.

As a first step, I am sharing the “mukkaniyum thenum” recipe which is prepared with well known fruits.

Mango, Jackfruit and Banana are known as mukkanigal in tamil (Maa, Pazhla, Vazhai as spelt in Tamil).

Mukkanigal = Moondru+Kanigal which translutes Tri-fruits = Three+fruits

These three fruits take a prominent position in Tamil’s royalty as tamil literature says. Among these three, Mango is even more special and comes first place. Mango with its nutritional values nourishes the heart (lowers the cholesterol), increases the appetite, reduces liver disorders and provides necessary Vitamin A. Jackfruit comes second. It increases immunity, avoids constipation, prevents anaemia. Banana comes third and It aids digestion, strengthens the bones and regulates blood sugar.

Both mango and jackfruits are seasonal during the summer and banana is available throughout the year. A first and single try of this salad changed us to try it everyweek for dessert instead of Fruit custard this summer. Also, I thought it is an apt dish for Ugadi. Happy Ugadi!!!

Basic Information:

Preparation Time: <10 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Mango / Maa – 1 cup, chopped

Jackfruit / Palaa – 1 cup, chopped

Banana / Vazhai – 1 cup, chopped

Honey / Then – 1/2 cup or as required

Method:

1) Peel the skin of mango and cut it into cubes. Measure one cup and keep side.

2) Remove the seeds from the jack fruit and cut it into square or strips. Measure them as one cup and keep it aside.

3) Cut the banana into round slices. Measure one cup and keep it aside.

4) Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Toss well.

5) Add honey and toss again. Serve it with a topping of honey.

Notes:

1) The salad tastes good when more honey is added . However, you can adjust the honey as per your taste. If you use ripe and very sweet fruits to make this salad, you may require only less quantity of honey.

2) You can also soak all the fruits in honey for 3-4 hours or overnight and serve.

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