Sunday, August 8, 2010

Puttu without Puttu Maker

Reality TV seems to have taken over completely. Of course it is a good break from the highly drama oriented never ending serials in our Indian channels. But I find some of the reality shows to be even more drama than our serials. After seeing them, it makes me wonder if Reality TV shows are Real? Especially Bravo TV's reality sucks. Yes I am talking about the Real Housewive's series, Bethenny Getting Married series etc. What I can see is only over dramatization of a fiction show taking place in reality by a bunch of hysterical rich people. Many people might even start thinking that their lives are very boring compared to what they are seeing on TV. Of course I am not saying that all reality TV is bad. There are some shows which I like, like the Next Food Network Start, Work of Art etc. I also like the Rachel Zoe project because it teaches reality in terms of the challenges faced by entrepreneurs.

Coming back to my real life, I have been trying out traditional dishes. One of the dishes that I tried was Puttu. The twist is not in the recipe but how I made puttu without using the puttu maker but still managing to get the shape. To make the puttu, I took pointers from Kailas Kitchen. Here we go with the recipe:



Ingredients

Puttu powder - 1 cup (I used the readymade)
Water - 1/4 cup
Coconut - 1/2 cup (I thawed the frozen one)

Thenkuzhal Mould
Aluminum Foil

Preparation

Mix water with the puttu powder till it resembles bread crumbs. (Tip from Jayasree: Ensure that it holds the shape when held in your fist.) I used Thenkuzhal Mould for making puttu. In the bottom part of the mould put the plate with 3 stars. Add 1 tbsp of coconut. Add 3 tbsp of puttu powder. Alternate between coconut and puttu powder till the mould is filled. Wrap the opening with aluminum foil. Steam cook it for 15-17 minutes. (After several trials I felt mine was done in 17 minutes). Allow it to cool for 3-4 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil. Remove the '3 star' part. Gently push using the top part of the mould. Delicious puttu is ready and yummy! I used channa masala as the side dish.



Notes
  1. The mould needs to be a light-weight one.
  2. I used Idli vessel for steaming. 
  3. Update: Poke three holes in the aluminum foil. This will reduce the cooking time. I will post an update on the actual cooking time as soon as I try it out.

~ Ramya

6 comments:

Akila said...

i love puttu very much... your recipe tells it clearly.... Wonderful click...

First time here... and i really love your space....

When you find time, do visit my blog.... thanks....

Satya said...

it a gr8 idea dear ...also want to try puttu from long time ,will try ur method soon ...thanks for sharing

Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

jayasree said...

Great job, Ramya. Really liked your idea of making it with out a puttu maker. When I read the title, I thought you must have steamed the puttu powder and coconut mix tied in a muslin cloth.

I will suggest to make three holes on the aluminium foil which you use to wrap, to resemble the similar holes on the puttu maker cap. Then your cooking time will reduce too. Really I am bowled over by the idea. It reminds me necessaity is the mother of invention. And thanks for the mention, Ramya.

lata raja said...

Good one Ramya..I will hop to Kailas kitchen to find more of this too. Also in one blog i read that you can use the shells of the coconuts to steam them...

Unknown said...

@jayasree I shall update the blog to include your tip too.

@lataji I also read about the coconut. Though I had a coconut, I did not know how to make three holes in them. :-)

Aparna S Mallya said...

I get really annoyed with the Real Housewives series.

Puttu looks good. Nice and innovative method.

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