Puttu

Puttu (pronounced [ˈpuʈːɯ]; Malayalam: പുട്ട്; Tamil: புட்டு; lit. 'portioned') is a dish native to the Southern Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and parts of Karnataka, as well as Sri Lanka. It is made of steamed cylinders of ground rice layered with coconut shavings, sometimes with a sweet or savory filling on the inside. Puttu is usually a breakfast dish served hot with either sweet side dishes such as palm sugar or banana, or savoury with chana masala, chutney, rasam, or meat curries.

Puttu principally consists of coarsely ground rice, grated coconut, little salt and water. It is often spiced with cumin, but may have other spices. The Sri Lankan variant is usually made with wheat flour or red rice flour without cumin, whereas the Bhatkal recipes have plain coconut or masala variant made with mutton- or shrimp-flavoured grated coconut.

In Bangladesh, the outside is made of a mixture of rice flour and ground moong dal, while the filling is a mixture of coconut flakes and a type of caramelized sugar that is similar to dulce de leche.

Puttu is made by slowly adding water to ground rice until the correct texture is achieved. Using hot water would improve the softness of puttu. It is then spiced, formed and steamed with layers of grated coconut.

Puttu is generally cooked in an aluminium 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.

A number of alternative cooking vessels are used, such as traditional vessels where a perforated coconut shell is attached to a section of bamboo, or a chiratta puttu made of a coconut shell or of metal shaped similarly to a coconut shell.

Other types of cooking vessels include a pan similar to an idli pan with small holes in the bottom, and pressure cookers.

Puttu is often served along with gravies, like fish curry, chicken curry, beef curry or kadala (chickpea) curry, and papadum. Also plantain, jackfruit, mango or banana is commonly served with it. In southern Kerala people eat puttu accompanied by sweet black coffee.