Pansache Dhonas- Goan Jackfruit Cake

Pansache Dhonas is a traditional Goan-style steamed jackfruit cake made with a delightful combination of jackfruit, semolina, and other ingredients. This recipe blends the natural sweetness of jackfruit pulp with semolina, grated coconut, and jaggery, which are then steamed to create a moist and flavorful cake. While some variations of the recipe include milk or coconut milk, I opted not to use these, as I had ample jackfruit pulp that provided enough moisture and richness on its own. Traditionally, the cake is steamed and then fried in ghee to enhance its flavor, but I chose to skip the frying step, finding the cake incredibly delicious without it. The aroma of the jackfruit wafting through the kitchen as it cooks is simply irresistible.

Inspiration and Recipe Development

After preparing Chakka Varatti, a jackfruit preserve, I received more jackfruit from my neighbor. Eager to try something different and avoid repeating the same dish, I was inspired by my Mango Semolina Cake and thought, “Why not bake a cake with jackfruit?” This idea led to the creation of Pansache Dhonas. Goa is known for its steamed cakes, with Tavsali being one of the most famous varieties. These steamed cakes are not only healthy but also relatively easy to make.

Additional Jackfruit Recipes

If you’re interested in exploring more ways to use jackfruit, here are some other traditional recipes:

• Jackfruit Preserve (Chakka Varatti): Popular in Kerala, this preserve allows you to store jackfruit for over a year. It can be used in various recipes such as Chakka Pradhaman (a jackfruit kheer) and Ela Ada (steamed jackfruit and coconut dumplings).

• Idichakka Upperi: A dry sabzi made with raw jackfruit, offering a flavorful and nutritious side dish.

• Chakka Kottai Podimas: A dish featuring jackfruit seeds, providing a unique texture and taste.

• Chakka Puzhukku: Made with half-ripened jackfruit, this dish combines jackfruit with spices for a savory treat.

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• Jackfruit preserve

It is very popular in Kerala. Using this you can preserve the jackfruit for more than an year. Also we can make recipes like Chakka Pradhaman -kheer made with Chakka varatti, Ela ada etc if you keep this ready in hand.

There are also dry sabzi made with

1. Raw jackfruit  – Idichakka upperi
2. Jackfruit seeds – Chakka kottai podimas
3. Halfripened jackfruit – Chakka Puzhukku

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Pansache Dhonas- Goan Jackfruit Cake

Niranjana Sankaranarayanan

Pansache Dhonas is a Goan style steamed jackfruit cake made with Jackfruit, Semolina and other ingredients.  The jackfruit pulp is mixed with semolina, coconut, jaggery and then steam cooked.  Some add milk or coconut milk but I didnot use it as I had more jackfruit and was able to get enough pulp for the recipe. Usually the cake is steamed and then fried in ghee on the pan. But I didnt fry it in the ghee as the cake was super delicious without that step. You can feel the aroma of the jackfruit when it is getting cooked. There are so many  steam cooked cakes from Goa, the famous one being Tavsali. These are healthy and easy to make. 

Check my post on

Jackfruit preserve

It is very popular in Kerala. Using this you can preserve the jackfruit for more than an year. Also we can make recipes like Chakka Pradhaman -kheer made with Chakka varatti, Ela ada etc if you keep this ready in hand.

There are also dry sabzi made with

Raw jackfruit  - Idichakka upperi

Jackfruit seeds - Chakka kottai podimas

Halfripened jackfruit - Chakka Puzhukku

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Resting time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Cake, Dessert

Cuisine Goan, Indian

Servings 3 medium tins

Equipment

• Pressure cooker
• OTG

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups Jackfruit puree
• 1 cup Shredded fresh coconut
• 1 cup Jaggery
• 1 cup Semolina
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 tsp Ghee
• 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder

Instructions

 

• Take jackfruit, remove the seeds and the white skin inside it. Then grind it to a fine puree without adding water. I took around 30 to 35 jackfruit bulb or the fruit pods. It should be a fine puree.
• In a bowl, add coconut, jaggery, semolina,Jackfruit puree or Jackfruit pulp.
• Mix well and allow it to sit for 20 to 30 minutes. This helps the semolina to absorb the liquid content and the batter will become soft.
• Once the batter has become soft, add the baking soda and ghee into it. Ghee enhances the flavour of the cake.
• Grease the pan with ghee or butter.
• Add the batter into the pan and fill it 3/4 th.  Donot fill to the top.

Cooking the Pansache Dhonas- Goan Jackfruit Cake

• We  can cook this Goan Jackfruit cake in two ways. Traditionally it is steamed, but we can also bake.

Steaming

• Add water in the cooker. Place a small katori with water inside the cooker.
• On the top of the katori, place the cake tin filled with batter.
• Close the lid of the cooker but donot place the weight since we are going to steam cook it.
• Steam for 15 to 20 minutes in high flame. Mine got ready in 15 minutes.
• Insert a knife or toothpick to check it it is done. If it comes out clean, then the cake is ready.
• Remove from the cooker and allow it to cool completely.
• Then with the help of the knife, remove from the sides.
• And place a plate and tilt it upside down. The cake is ready.
• We can shallow fry or roast this cake in ghee or can eat it without that step.

Baking

• Pre heat the oven at 180 degree Celsius for 3 minutes.
• Place the tin filled with batter into the oven.
• Bake at 180 degree Celsius for 25 minutes. The temperature and the timing will vary from oven to oven.  So take care while baking it.
• Insert a knife or toothpick to check it it is done. If it comes out clean, then the cake is ready.
• Remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
• Then with the help of the knife, remove from the sides.
• And place a plate and tilt it upside down. The cake is ready.
• We can shallow fry or roast this cake in ghee or can eat it without that step.

Texture & Taste

• The texture of the baked and steamed ones were slightly different.
• The baked ones were slightly browned on the top whereas the steamed ones were not.
• But the taste and the flavour of both baked and steamed ones were same.
• Goan style Jackfruit Cake is ready.

Video

Keyword Goan Jackfruit cake, Jackfruit cake, Pansache dhonas, Steamed cake

INSTRUCTIONS

• Take jackfruit, remove the seeds and the white skin inside it. Then grind it to a fine puree without adding water. I took around 30 to 35 jackfruit bulb or the fruit pods. It should be a fine puree.
• In a bowl, add coconut, jaggery, semolina, Jackfruit puree or Jackfruit pulp and cardamom powder.

• Mix well and allow it to sit for 20 to 30 minutes. This helps the semolina to absorb the liquid content and the batter will become soft.
• Once the batter has become soft, add the baking soda and ghee into it. Ghee enhances the flavour of the cake.
• Grease the pan with ghee or butter.
• Add the batter into the pan and fill it 3/4 th.  Donot fill to the top.

Cooking the Pansache Dhonas- Goan Jackfruit Cake

We  can cook this Goan Jackfruit cake in two ways. Traditionally it is steamed, but we can also bake.

Steaming

• Add water in the cooker. Place a small katori with water inside the cooker.
• On the top of the katori, place the cake tin filled with batter.
• Close the lid of the cooker but donot place the weight since we are going to steam cook it.
• Steam for 15 to 20 minutes in high flame. Mine got ready in 15 minutes.
• Insert a knife or toothpick to check it it is done. If it comes out clean, then the cake is ready.
• Remove from the cooker and allow it to cool completely.

• Then with the help of the knife, remove from the sides.
• And place a plate and tilt it upside down. The cake is ready.

•  We can shallow fry or roast this cake in ghee or can eat it without that step.

Baking

• Pre heat the oven at 180 degree Celsius for 3 minutes.
• Place the tin filled with batter into the oven.
• Bake at 180 degree Celsius for 25 minutes. The temperature and the timing will vary from oven to oven.  So take care while baking it.
• Insert a knife or toothpick to check it it is done. If it comes out clean, then the cake is ready.

• Remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
• Then with the help of the knife, remove from the sides.

• And place a plate and tilt it upside down. The cake is ready.

•  We can shallow fry or roast this cake in ghee or can eat it without that step.

Texture & Taste

• The texture of the baked and steamed ones were slightly different.
• The baked ones were slightly browned on the top whereas the steamed ones were not.
• Both baked and steamed ones tasted the same and they had similar flavour.
• Goan style Jackfruit Cake is ready.

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