Puttu

Lore & Background

Puttu is prepared by slowly adding water to ground rice until the correct texture is achieved, then spiced, formed, and steamed with layers of grated coconut. It is generally cooked in an aluminium puttu kutti vessel with two sections: the lower holds water, the upper holds the rice mixture with grated coconut, separated by perforated lids to allow steam to pass. Alternative vessels include a perforated coconut shell attached to bamboo, a chiratta puttu made of coconut shell or metal, a pan similar to an idli pan with small holes, and pressure cookers.

Reader's Guide

Puttu is a versatile breakfast dish served hot with either sweet side dishes such as palm sugar or banana, or savory side dishes such as chana masala, chutney, rasam, or meat curries. In Kerala, it is often accompanied by banana or plantain, kadala curry, payar thoran with papad, fish or meat curry. In Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, it is served with grated coconut and jaggery or sweetened coconut milk. In Sri Lanka, pittu is usually accompanied by tripe curry, fish or meat curry, coconut milk, and a sambol. Variations use other grains like wheat flour, ragi, tapioca, or corn flour. The dish also appears in Hindu mythology: a legend involving Shiva and King Arimarthana of the Pandya dynasty is re-enacted yearly during the puttu tiruvila festival at the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai. In 2006, students in Wayanad, Kerala, made a 10-foot-long puttu using 20 coconuts and 26 kg of powdered rice.

Did You Know?

• In Bangladesh, puttu is made with a rice flour and ground moong dal exterior, filled with coconut flakes and caramelized sugar.
• Muslims in Kerala eat a version called irachiputtu, layered with spiced mincemeat.
• In Mauritius, puttu is sold by hawkers as a snack, often misspelled poutou.
• A 2006 world record attempt in Wayanad, Kerala, produced a 10-foot-long puttu cooked in a 12-foot aluminium mould.

Regional Roots and Identity

Puttu is a steamed rice dish that belongs to the culinary heartlands of South India, specifically the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where it has long occupied a central place in the morning meal. Its reach extends well beyond the Indian subcontinent. In Sri Lanka, it is a beloved breakfast staple among the Tamil communities of Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Negombo, and Puttalam, often prepared with wheat flour or red rice flour and notably without the cumin that characterises the Indian versions. In the Bhatkal tradition, cooks create either a plain coconut variant or a masala version flavoured with mutton or shrimp. The dish has also crossed into Bangladesh, where the outer layer blends rice flour with ground moong dal and the filling pairs coconut flakes with a caramelised sugar reminiscent of dulce de leche. Even in Mauritius, puttu—spelled "putu" in Mauritian Creole and frequently misspelled as "poutou"—is a familiar street snack sold by mobile hawkers, made from rice flour, sugar, and desiccated coconut in metal cylinders. This wide geographic footprint underscores puttu's role as a unifying comfort food across South and Southeast Asian cultures.

The Craft of Preparation

The making of puttu is a tactile, methodical process. The cook begins with coarsely ground rice, gradually introducing water—preferably hot, to lend the mixture a softer texture—until the right consistency is reached. A pinch of salt and, in most Indian preparations, a dusting of cumin or other spices are folded in. The seasoned rice is then layered with grated coconut and packed into a cooking vessel. The most common tool is the puttu kutti, a two-tiered aluminium cylinder: the lower chamber holds boiling water while the upper chamber cradles the rice-and-coconut stack, with perforated lids in between to channel steam upward. Yet the tradition is far more varied. In older households, a perforated coconut shell lashed to a section of bamboo serves as the steamer, and a variant called chiratta puttu is shaped in a coconut-shell or metal mould mimicking the fruit's curve. Some cooks use a pan resembling an idli tray with small holes, while others reach for a pressure cooker. The dish's scalability was shown in 2006, when hotel-management students in Wayanad, north Kerala, steamed a ten-foot puttu in a twelve-foot aluminium mould, using twenty coconuts and twenty-six kilograms of powdered rice over roughly ninety minutes.

Serving Traditions and Accompaniments

Puttu is almost always eaten hot, and the accompaniments vary by region and by whether the cook leans sweet or savoury. In Kerala, a classic plate pairs the steamed cylinders with banana or plantain, kadala (chickpea) curry, payar (green lentil) thoran, papad, or a fish or meat curry. In the southern part of the state, the pairing shifts toward the sweet: puttu is enjoyed alongside a cup of sweet black coffee. Across the border in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the tradition favours grated coconut sweetened with jaggery made from palm sugar or sugar cane, or a drizzle of sweetened coconut milk. Sri Lankan Tamils typically serve pittu with tripe curry, fish or meat curry, coconut milk, and a sambol. The dish also invites improvisation: in parts of Kerala, wheat and maize flours substitute for rice, and dedicated puttu restaurants now offer a rotating menu of fillings. In Mauritius, the simpler version—rice flour, sugar, and desiccated coconut—is sold as a snack by street hawkers. In Bangladesh, the filling takes on a sweet character, pairing coconut flakes with a caramelised sugar akin to dulce de leche. This flexibility makes puttu a canvas on which each community projects its palate.

Myth, Festival, and Cross-Cultural Echoes

In Tamil Nadu, puttu is woven into a sacred narrative called the puttuku mann sumantha lilai, or "the divine game of moving sand in exchange for puttu." The legend tells of a flood of the Vaigai River during the reign of King Arimarthana of the Pandya dynasty. The king ordered his people to haul sand to shore up the breached banks. An elderly woman, Vanthiammai, could not manage the labour. Shiva, appearing as a labourer named Chokkan, offered to do the work in her place, asking only for puttu as his wage. After eating, Chokkan dozed on the riverbank. The enraged king struck him with a cane, but the blow was felt by every bystander, including the king himself. Chokkan then revealed his divine form, granted Vanthiammai moksha, and the waters receded. The story is re-enacted yearly during the puttu tiruvila segment of the Avani Mula festival at the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in the Puttuthoppu area of Arappalayam, Madurai, where puttu is sold and distributed to devotees. Beyond South Asia, the concept echoes across Maritime Southeast Asia: Javanese kue putu, Singaporean putu piring, and Filipino puto bumbong all share the same steamed-rice-cake idea, differing in colour, flavouring, and occasion.