Puttu facts for kids
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Puttu
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| Course | Breakfast |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | India |
| Region or state | Kerala Tamil Nadu |
| Main ingredients | Rice flour, coconut, salt |
Puttu (Malayalam: പുട്ട്; Tamil: புட்டு; Sinhala: පිට්ටු) is a yummy dish from South India. It is also popular in parts of Sri Lanka. You might hear it called pittu sometimes. The word Puttu means "portioned" in the Tamil and Malayalam languages.
Puttu is made from steamed cylinders of ground rice. These are layered with tasty coconut shavings. Sometimes, it has a sweet or savory filling inside. People usually eat Puttu for breakfast. It's served hot with sweet things like palm sugar or banana. You can also have it with savory dishes like chana masala or meat curries.
Contents
What is Puttu Made Of?
Puttu mainly uses coarsely ground rice, grated coconut, a little salt, and water. It often has cumin spice for extra flavor. Other spices can be added too.
In Sri Lanka, Puttu is often made with wheat flour or red rice flour. It usually does not have cumin. In a place called Bhatkal, Puttu can be plain coconut or have a special masala mix. This masala might even be flavored with mutton or shrimp!
In Bangladesh, the outside of Puttu is made from a mix of rice flour and ground moong dal. The inside filling is a mix of coconut flakes and a sweet, caramelized sugar. This sugar is a bit like dulce de leche.
How to Make Puttu
To make Puttu, water is slowly added to ground rice. This is done until the rice has the right texture. Using hot water makes the Puttu softer. Then, spices are added, and the mixture is shaped. It is steamed with layers of grated coconut.
Puttu is usually cooked in a special metal pot called a puttu kutti. This pot has two parts. The bottom part holds water. The top part holds the Puttu mixture, layered with grated coconut. There are special lids with holes that let the steam pass through.
People also use other cooking tools. Some traditional ones use a coconut shell attached to a bamboo piece. There's also chiratta puttu, which is made in a coconut shell or a metal pot shaped like one.
Other ways to cook Puttu include using a pan similar to an idli pan. Some people use pressure cookers. In places like the Malay Archipelago, Puttu is cooked inside hollow bamboo stalks.
How to Eat Puttu
Puttu is often eaten with different gravies. These can be fish curry, chicken curry, beef curry, or kadala (chickpea) curry. It's also served with papadum.
Many people eat Puttu with fruits like plantain, jackfruit, mango, or banana. In southern Kerala, some people enjoy Puttu with sweet black coffee.
In Tamil Nadu, Puttu is served with grated coconut and jaggery. Jaggery is a type of sugar made from palm sugar or sugar cane. Sometimes, it's served with sweetened coconut milk.
In Sri Lanka, Puttu is usually eaten with tripe curry, fish, or a meat curry. It also comes with coconut milk and a spicy sambol.
In Kerala, Puttu is served with banana or plantain. Other popular sides include kadala curry, payar (green lentils) thoran with papad, or fish and meat curries.
People in Kerala are always trying new things with Puttu! They use wheat and corn flours instead of rice in some areas. There are even restaurants that specialize in Puttu, serving it with many different fillings.
Different Kinds of Puttu
Some types of Puttu use different grains. These include wheat flour, ragi (finger millet) flour, tapioca, and corn flour. The coconut filling can also be changed. People use things like egg curry or banana as fillings.
Puttu made in a ball shape is called manipputtu. You can even make Puttu using special bamboo rice.
Muslims in Kerala have a version of Puttu called irachiputti. In this dish, rice is layered with spiced mincemeat.
Puttu is also very common in Mauritius. Street sellers often sell it as a snack. In Mauritian Creole, it's sometimes spelled poutou but should be putu. The ingredients are the same: rice flour, sugar, and dried coconut. But in Mauritius, it's cooked in metal cylinders.
Similar Dishes Around the World
There are many similar dessert dishes in Maritime Southeast Asia. They are known as kue putu in Indonesian and putu bambu in Malay. In Singapore, it's called putu piring, and in the Philippines, it's puto bumbóng.
These dishes are different in how they are made and what ingredients they use. But they are also steamed in bamboo tubes. They are usually served with sugar and grated coconut.
In Indonesia, kue putu is often green. This color comes from using pandan flavoring. You can often find it sold by traveling carts, along with klepon. Klepon is actually a ball-shaped kue putu.
In the Philippines, puto bumbóng is a deep purple color. This is because it uses a special rice called pirurutong. It's a very important traditional Christmas dessert. The word Puto in the Philippines is also a general term for traditional steamed rice cakes.
World Record Puttu
In 2006, students from the Oriental School of Hotel Management in Wayanad, Kerala, made a giant Puttu. It was 10 feet long! They cooked this huge Puttu in a special 12-foot-long aluminum mold. They used 20 coconuts and 26 kilograms of powdered rice. It took about an hour and a half to cook.
Images for kids
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Puttu
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Puttu served with a chickpea curry.
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Neetru petti is a traditional vessel used by Sri Lankan Tamils to steam Puttu.
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Chirratu Puttu steaming vessel with its lid off.
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Wheat puttu served with bananas.
See also
In Spanish: Puttu para niños
