puttu

{{Infobox food

| name = Puttu

| image = Puttu (Rice Flour steamed cake).jpg

| image_size = 300px

| caption = Puttu

| alternate_name =

| country = India

| region = Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Karnataka

| creator =

| course = Breakfast

| served =

| main_ingredient = Rice flour, coconut, salt

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

Puttu ({{IPA|ml|ˈpuʈːɯ|pron}}; {{langx|ml|പുട്ട്}}; {{langx|ta|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.

Ingredients

File:Rice_Puttu_with_Gram_Curry.jpg curry]]

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.{{Cite web |title=Recipe for puttu | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/indianfoodmadeeasy/recipes/episode_1/puttu.shtml | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224083718/http://www.bbc.co.uk/indianfoodmadeeasy/recipes/episode_1/puttu.shtml | url-status=dead | archive-date=2008-12-24 | work=Indian Food Made Easy |publisher=BBC | access-date=2010-08-13 }}

Preparation

File:Neettuppeddi.jpg vessel used by Sri Lankan Tamils to steam Puttu.]]

File:Puttu maker - cley.jpg

File:Chirattuputtu.jpg

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.{{Cite web|last=Nair (Life)|first=Rajeev|title='Puttu'ing plan B in place|url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/editorials-columns/-puttu-ing-plan-b-in-place|access-date=2020-11-20|website=Khaleej Times|language=en}}

Puttu is generally cooked in an aluminium puttu kutti{{Cite web|title='Puttu' ing it: Kicha from Kochi in 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show'|url=https://www.onmanorama.com/food/foodie/kicha-chef-kichatube-ellen-degeneres-show-ellentube-puttu.html|access-date=2020-11-20|website=OnManorama|language=en}} 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.

Serving

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.

In Kerala, puttu is served with banana or plantain, kadala curry, payar (green lentils) thoran with papad, fish or meat curry.

In Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, it is served with grated coconut with jaggery made of palm sugar or sugar cane, or with sweetened coconut milk.

In Sri Lanka, pittu is usually accompanied with tripe curry, fish or a meat curry, coconut milk and a sambol.

There are also many improvisations and experiments done on puttu in Kerala. Wheat and maize flours are used instead of rice in certain parts. There are also puttu-specialised restaurants that serve it with different fillings.{{Cite news|last=Nagarajan|first=Saraswathy|date=2020-11-19|title=This Kerala joint serves puttu to suit your political inclinations|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/aminas-puttu-kada-in-thiruvananthapuram-serves-puttu-to-suit-your-political-inclinations-and-taste/article33132528.ece|access-date=2021-04-21|issn=0971-751X}}

Variations

Some variations of puttu use other grains such as wheat flour, ragi (finger millet) 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. Puttu can also be made using bamboo rice.

Muslims in Kerala eat a version of puttu called irachiputti in which rice is layered with spiced mincemeat.{{cite book |last1=Brien |first1=Charmaine O' |title=The Penguin Food Guide to India |date=2013 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-93-5118-575-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGhBAgAAQBAJ&q=puttu |language=en}}

Puttu is also very common in Mauritius. It is usually sold by hawkers and is served as a snack. It is often misspelled poutou, and should be spelled putu in Mauritian Creole.{{cite web|url=http://www.lalitmauritius.org/dictionary.php?wrd=putu|title=Lalit|website=www.lalitmauritius.org}} The ingredients are the same—rice flour, sugar and desiccated coconut, but cooked in metal cylinders.

File:Wheat puttu and banana.jpg|Wheat puttu with bananas

File:Puttu with different flours.jpg|puttu made with rice, wheat, ragi, chemba rice

File:Puttu (പുട്ട്).jpg|Puttu served in fine dining restaurants

File:Puttu with Kadala.JPG|Chiratta puttu

In Hindu mythology

In Tamil Nadu, puttu is mentioned in a common legend and related festival involving Shiva. This legend is known as the puttuku mann sumantha lilai (translated from Tamil as "the divine game of moving sand in exchange for puttu"). It describes how, following a flood of the Vaigai River, King Arimarthana of the Pandya dynasty ordered his subjects to carry sand to plug breaches in the river bank. An aged woman named Vanthiammai is said to have been unable to carry out this duty, whereupon Shiva is said to have appeared in the guise of a manual laborer named Chokkan. The deity offered to move the sand in her stead, in exchange for puttu, which would serve as his wage. After eating the puttu, Chokkan instead fell asleep on the river bank. Seeing this, the king became enraged and struck him with a cane. It is claimed that instead of harming Chokkan, the cane blow was felt by all bystanders, including the king himself. Chokkan subsequently revealed his true form as Shiva, granted Vanthiammai moksha, and caused the floods to recede. This myth is re-enacted yearly during the puttu tiruvila portion of the Avani Mula festival at the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in the Puttuthoppu region of Arappalayam, a neighborhood of Madurai. Puttu is commonly sold and distributed at the festival.{{Cite news |date=2015-08-26 |title=Hundreds witness 'Puttu tiruvizha' |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/hundreds-witness-puttu-tiruvizha/article7584726.ece |access-date=2023-04-13 |issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite news |date=2016-09-12 |title=Tale of yore re-enacted at Meenakshi temple |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/tale-of-yore-re-enacted-at-meenakshi-temple/articleshow/54284341.cms |access-date=2023-04-13 |issn=0971-8257}}{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2022-09-06 |title=Divine episode enacted on Vaigai bank |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/divine-episode-enacted-on-vaigai-bank/article65858369.ece |access-date=2023-04-13 |issn=0971-751X}}

World record attempt

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.{{citation | title=Kerala's Hotel Management Students Cook Up World Record Puttu |url=http://www.evalu8.org/staticpage?page=review&siteid=9948 | work=Indiatourism | access-date=2010-10-22}}

Similar dishes

In Maritime Southeast Asia, there are numerous similar dessert dishes known as kue putu in Indonesian, putu piring in Singapore and puto bumbong in Tagalog. They vary by preparation and ingredients but are also steamed in bamboo tubes and are served with sugar and grated coconut.{{cite book|author=Angelita M. del Mundo|editor=Harlan Walker|title =Disappearing Foods: Studies in Food and Dishes at Risk|chapter =Emerging Versions of Some Traditional Philippine Rice Food Products|publisher =Prospect Books|series =Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 1994|year =1995|page=64|isbn =9780907325628|chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=XR9YIaG0kIcC&pg=PA65}}

In Indonesia, kue putu is characteristically green due to the use of pandan flavoring. It is commonly found being sold by traveling vendor carts together with klepon, which is actually ball-shaped kue putu.{{cite news|title='Kue Putu' Steamed Green Cake|author=Anggara Mahendra|date=13 June 2013|publisher=Baily Daily|url=http://www.thebalidaily.com/2013-06-13/kue-putu-steamed-green-cake.html|access-date=12 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615112957/http://www.thebalidaily.com/2013-06-13/kue-putu-steamed-green-cake.html|archive-date=15 June 2015}}

In the Philippines, puto bumbong is deep purple in color due to the use of a unique rice variety called pirurutong. They are culturally significant as a common traditional Christmas dessert.{{cite web |last1=Sastrillo |first1=Berna |title=The Search for the Best Puto Bumbong in Manila |url=http://www.modernfilipina.ph/lifestyle/food/best-puto-bumbong-manila |website=ModernFilipina |date=29 November 2017 |access-date=5 December 2018}} Puto in the Philippines is also a general term for traditional steamed rice cakes.