Puttu |
|
| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | India |
| Region or state | India (Kerala, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu), Sri Lanka |
| Dish details | |
| Main ingredient(s) | Rice flour, Coconut |
Puttu ( Tamil: புட்டு, பிட்டு , Malayalam: പുട്ട്, pronounced [ˈputtu]) is a South Indian and Sri Lankan breakfast dish of steamed cylinders of ground rice layered with coconut. It is popular in the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as in areas of Sri Lanka, where it is also known as pittu. Puttu is served with side dishes such as chickpea curry or banana.
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Puttu means 'portioned' in Tamil and as the dish is prevalent in Tamil-speaking areas in South India and Sri Lanka this is the likely origin of its name.
Puttu has been mentioned in works of Tamil literature, including:
Puttu principally consists of coarsely ground rice, grated coconut and water. It is often spiced with cumin, but may have other spices.[1]
Puttu is made by slowly adding water to ground rice until the correct texture is achieved. It is then spiced, formed and steamed with layers of grated coconut.
Puttu is usually cooked in a metal puttu kutti vessel with two sections. The lower section holds water and the upper section holds the puttu - where the rice mixture is inserted with layers of grated coconut. Perforated lids separate the sections to allow the steam to pass between them. In older times, people in Kerala used bamboo pieces instead of the metal upper section of the vessel.
An alternative steaming vessel is the chiratta puttu made of a coconut shell or of metal shaped similarly to a coconut shell.
Further alternative cooking vesels include a pan similar to an idli pan with small holes in the bottom, pressure cookers and, mainly in Malaysia, hollow bamboo stalks.
Puttu is frequently served with various breakfast dishes.In Kerala with papadum, yellow Kerala plantain, fish curry, jackfruit, mango, chicken curry and kadala curry. In the Kottayam / Kanjirapally region of Kerala people eat puttu with black coffee and sugar. In Tamil Nadu it is served with grated coconut with either palm or sugarcane jaggery or else with sweetened coconut milk.
Some variations of puttu use other grains such as wheat flour, tapioca and corn flour.
The layered filling of coconut can be replaced by other foods, such as egg curry or banana.
Puttu prepared in a ball shape are called Manipputtu.
In 2006, students of the Oriental school of Hotel Management in Wayanad in north Kerala made a 10 foot long puttu. They cooked the giant puttu in a specially designed 12 foot long aluminium mould, using 20 coconuts and 26 kg of powdered rice. It took about one and a half hours to cook.[2]