Puttu

Puttu (Steamed Rice Cake Logs)

Kerala's classic breakfast of crumbly steamed rice flour layered with fresh coconut, unmoulded from a cylindrical puttu kutti and served with banana, sugar or kadala curry.

Prep

20 min

Cook

15 min

Total

35 min

Serves

4 logs

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •250 g (2 cups) roasted rice flour (puttu podi), store-bought puttu podi, or plain rice flour dry-roasted for 5–6 minutes until it smells nutty
• •150 g (1½ cups) fresh grated coconut, unsweetened; frozen grated coconut works, thawed and drained
• •180 ml (¾ cup) water, room temperature, plus more as needed
• •1 tsp salt, or to taste
• •4 whole ripe small bananas, to serve, or serve with kadala curry

Steps

1. 1 Mix the rice flour and salt in a wide bowl. Sprinkle the water over it a little at a time, rubbing with your fingertips, until the flour looks like coarse, damp breadcrumbs.
2. 2 Test the texture: squeeze a fistful - it should clump together, then crumble easily when poked. If it stays powdery, add water 1 tablespoon at a time; if it turns pasty, sprinkle in a little more dry flour.
3. 3 Cover and rest the damp flour for 10 minutes so it hydrates evenly.
4. 4 Fill the base reservoir of the puttu kutti with water and bring it to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.
5. 5 Layer into the cylindrical tube: 2 tablespoons coconut, then a third of the rice flour mixture, then 1 tablespoon coconut, then more flour, finishing with a coconut layer on top. Do not pack down - the steam needs to pass through.
6. 6 Seat the cylinder on the boiling base and steam for 10–12 minutes. Doneness cues: steam pours steadily from the holes in the lid, the cake feels firm and springs back when lightly pressed, and a skewer inserted comes out clean with no wet flour clinging to it.
7. 7 Careful - the tube is very hot. Using a cloth, lift it off the base and push the log out from the bottom with a long spoon handle or the pusher rod onto a plate.
8. 8 Serve immediately, in pieces, with banana and sugar, or with kadala curry.