Pittu the steamed rice flour and coconut dish what is it how do you eat it and where do I find it
I love eating the dish nobody mentions in the guidebooks and I keep seeing pittu (or puttu) on local menus What exactly is pittu I gather it is steamed rice flour and coconut in a cylinder shape how is it made how do you eat it what do you have with it (curry coconut milk banana) is it breakfast or dinner and where do I find a good one Adventurous eaters and locals please tell me about pittu
5 Answers from travellers
Home cook so let me tell you about pittu What it is pittu (puttu) is a beloved traditional dish made of RICE FLOUR (or sometimes red rice or kurakkan finger millet flour for a nuttier darker version) mixed with grated COCONUT and a little salt and water then STEAMED in a special cylindrical bamboo or metal mould (the pittu bambuwa) it comes out as a soft crumbly cylinder of steamed flour and coconut layers mild slightly sweet from the coconut and comforting the millet (kurakkan) version is darker earthier and very nutritious How you eat it pittu is the vehicle for flavour you break it up and eat it with COCONUT MILK (thick fresh coconut milk poured over the classic and simplest way) and or a CURRY (a fish curry a dhal a spicy katta sambol or lunu miris the sambols) and many people love it with a RIPE BANANA and a bit of sugar or jaggery for a sweet savoury mix the contrast of the mild pittu with a fiery sambol or a rich curry is the joy mix and match Breakfast or dinner BOTH it is classically a BREAKFAST or DINNER dish (not really a midday meal) you will see it most at breakfast and as an evening meal Where to find a good one LOCAL eateries and the rice and curry shops (the kade and the local restaurants) serve it especially at breakfast and dinner a homestay or a local home does the best version (the fresh coconut and the steaming) ask for it look for places with the pittu steamer going the Tamil and the Muslim eateries also do excellent pittu (it is loved across communities) try the kurakkan (millet) pittu for the healthier nuttier version so pittu is steamed rice flour and coconut in a soft cylinder eaten with coconut milk a curry and or banana a comforting breakfast or dinner staple seek it at local eateries or best of all a home and try both the white and the millet versions it is the lovely understated dish worth seeking out
The kurakkan millet pittu is worth seeking out darker nuttier and very filling I preferred it to the white version and it is meant to be the more nutritious choice ask for the kurakkan one if they have it
Following up had it at a homestay with fresh coconut milk and banana for breakfast and it was wonderful the host steamed it fresh in the bamboo mould the home version really is the best as you said thank you for the steer
If you get the chance try pittu with a good fish curry and a fiery katta sambol the mild crumbly pittu soaking up the spicy curry is one of those simple combinations that is far more than the sum of its parts a real comfort food here
Steamed rice flour and coconut in a soft cylinder eaten with coconut milk a curry and or banana a breakfast or dinner staple and try the millet version too this is exactly the dish nobody mentions that I wanted to understand thank you so much
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