Mutta (Egg) Puttu
The fondness of Malayalees for puttu (steamed rice cake) is widely recognized, being one of the most favored breakfast items in Kerala. While it's a common dish in many Kerala households, it wasn't the case for us. Despite my four years of culinary experimentation, puttu made a belated appearance on my menu, and the reason for this delay is Jose's lack of enthusiasm for puttu, and he has his reasons.
Ingredients
- For Puttu
- 2 cups Puttu Podi
- 3/4 – 1 cup Grated Coconut
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup Water
- Salt
- For Egg Masala
- 4 Eggs
- 1 medium – big Onion (sliced)
- 1 medium Tomato (chopped)
- 1/2 tsp each crushed Ginger & garlic
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp Chili powder
- 1/2 tsp heaped Coriander powder
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- For Egg Masala
- Add salt & pepper to eggs & beat well. Heat oil in a pan and make scrambled eggs. Keep it aside.
- In the same pan, add some more oil and add sliced onion. Cook till it becomes golden brown.
- Add crushed ginger & garlic. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes, until the raw smell goes.
- Add the masala powders & fry for 2-3 minutes, until the oil starts appearing.
- Add chopped tomato and salt. Mix well. Add a little water (around 2-3 tbsp) to make it a bit pasty. Cook till tomato becomes soft.
- Add scrambled eggs & mix well. Cook for one more minute and remove from fire. Note that it should not be too watery or too dry.
- For Puttu
- Add salt to the puttu podi and mix well. Add water little by little till the powder becomes moist/wet. Add half of the grated coconut to this & mix well. If too much of lumps is formed just run it in your blender/food processor for a few seconds. Keep aside the puttu mix for 10 minutes.
- Filling the puttu kutti (mould/maker)
- Put one tbsp of coconut as the first layer. Add 2 tbsp of egg masala as the second layer. The third layer should be 4-5 tbsp of puttu mix. Repeat the process, till the mould is filled. Make sure that the mould is not tightly packed. Cover the mould with the lid. Fill water in puttu kudam (pot). Place the puttu kutti on puttu kudam. Cook it on medium flame for around 5-7 minutes, or until the steam comes through. Serve hot/warm with banana or curry of your choice.
Notes
- To check the wetness/moistness of the puttu mix, just press the moistened/wet flour and see if they hold together (this is a tip given by tesschechy, my aunt).
- You can use more or less coconut as you like. Use the measurement given as a guideline.
- If you like, you can add 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves to the egg masala in the end.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!