Puttu / wheat puttu / Kerala puttu recipe

Puttu is a conventional and one of the most desired, cylindrical or cup shaped breakfast of Kerala and Sri Lanka. Principally puttu is prepared with rice flour, salt, coconut and water. Other than white rice flour, whole wheat, red rice, tapioca and even ragi flour is used in making of puttu. Wheat puttu is a healthy variation of rice based puttu recipe in which wheat flour is slowly sprinkled with water to attain a desired consistency and then it is filled inside the " puttu kutti " ( a vessel used for making puttu) layered with coconut and steamed until it is cooked. The vital part in cooking puttu is to know how much water should be used to wet the flour.

Total time: 20 minutes
Yield :- 5 individual puttu

Now when it comes to vessels, originally puttu was cooked inside perforated coconut shell and bamboo tube. But now it is made in traditional cylindrical shaped or coconut shell shaped metal vessels in which upper section is used to hold the flour and coconut and the lower section is used to hold water. But if you don't have this vessel, then you can use perforated idli vessel or just fill the flour mixture inside a muslin cloth and put inside a steamer. Puttu is generally served with Kadala curry (Kerala chickpea curry), banana, papadum, egg curry or Chicken curry.

So give a try to these healthy and one of a kind Kerala delight wheat puttu and let me know how it goes.

Ingredient for wheat puttu :-

• 2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup +2 Tbsp of water
• Salt to taste
• 3/4 cup of coconut grated 
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds

Method for wheat puttu :-

• Now in a wide bowl mix flour and salt and in another small bowl mix coconut and cumin seeds. Now sprinkle water slowly to the flour and mix well.
• Put half of the flour in a food processor and pulse it 4-5 times to form a semolina type consistency. Then take out the flour and do this process again with the rest of the flour.
• Here I am using coconut shell shaped metal puttu mould and a pressure cooker as steamer.
• Now boil water in a pressure cooker and fill the the puttu mould with a tablespoon of coconut mixture and then fill the wet flour mixture up to the top and again spread a tablespoon of coconut and put on the lid.
• Now keep that puttu vessel over the pressure cooker where you used to put cooker whistle and let it cook over medium heat. 
• When the steam starts to escape from the hole in the lid of puttu mould. Turn down the flame to low and cook for 5 minutes. 
• It takes about total of 6-8 minutes to cook.
• Now carefully remove the mould from cooker and take off its lid and turn upside down on the plate. 
• And wheat puttu is ready to serve.

Serve warm puttu with bananas and kadala curry or chicken curry.

I am using coconut shell shaped metal mould and a pressure cooker here to make wheat puttu. If you are using perforated idli vessel, then spread a thin layer of coconut inside the idli mould and then fill it with wet flour mixture and cook it inside the idli cooker or steamer for 6-8 minutes.

 If you do not have both puttu or idli vessels, then take wet flour mixture and fill inside the muslin cloth uniformly with grated coconut and tie a knot. Then keep that muslin cloth inside a steamer and cook for 8-10 minutes until the flour mixture comes together like cake.

Be very careful with the mixing of flour and water. The wetness of flour should be just right for cooking perfect puttu. 

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