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Puttu with kadala curry

Puttu · kadala

Puttu with kadala curry
Photo: Pranchiyettan, CC BY-SA 2.5 in, Wikimedia Commons

Ingredients

For 4 servings. 1 serving = 1 adult; a 6-year-old eats about half.

  • Puttu podi (roasted rice flour)280 g
  • Frozen grated coconut80 g
  • Salt1¼ tsp
  • Kadala (black chickpeas)140 g
  • Brown onions140 g (~1 medium)
  • Tomatoes80 g (~½ medium)
  • Ginger10 g
  • Garlic4 cloves
  • Coriander powder1 tbsp
  • Kashmiri chilli powder1½ tsp
  • Garam masala1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder¼ tsp
  • Mustard seeds½ tsp
  • Curry leaves¾ sprig
  • Coconut oil1 tbsp

You need

  • Puttu kutti (puttu steamer)
  • Pressure cooker (3–5 L)
  • Kadai or deep sauté pan with lid
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Sieve or colander
  • Mortar and pestle
  • Ladle and flat spatula (dosa turner)
  • Sharp knife and chopping board
  • Measuring cups and spoons

Method

  1. Ahead (Saturday night): rinse 140 g kadala in a sieve and soak it in 1 L (about 4 cups) water overnight, 8–10 hours.
  2. Ahead (Sunday): drain, put it in the pressure cooker with 480 ml (about 2 cups) fresh water and a pinch of the 1¼ tsp salt. Cook on high heat to the first whistle, then on medium heat to 6 whistles in total (about 20 minutes). Let the pressure drop by itself. A chickpea should squash easily between your fingers. Freeze in portions with the cooking water.
  3. The night before: move a portion of cooked kadala from the freezer to the fridge.
  4. Morning: put 280 g puttu podi in a mixing bowl. Stir half the remaining salt into 200 ml (about ¾ cup) water and sprinkle it over a little at a time, rubbing with your fingertips for 2–3 minutes. Stop when it looks like damp breadcrumbs: a squeezed handful holds its shape but crumbles when poked.
  5. Chop 140 g (~1 medium) onion and 80 g (~½ medium) tomato. Crush 10 g ginger and 4 cloves garlic together in the mortar.
  6. Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in the kadai on medium heat for 1 minute. Add ½ tsp mustard seeds and wait until they pop. Add ¾ sprig curry leaves and the onion and cook 5 minutes, until the onion turns golden at the edges. Add ginger and garlic and stir 1 minute until the raw smell goes.
  7. Turn the heat to low. Add ¼ tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1½ tsp chilli powder and 1 tsp garam masala and stir 30 seconds until fragrant; do not let them burn. Add the tomato and cook on medium heat for 3 minutes, until soft.
  8. Add the kadala with its cooking water, 240 ml (about 1 cup) more water and the rest of the salt. Simmer on medium heat for 5–8 minutes, mashing a few chickpeas against the side, until the gravy coats the spoon.
  9. Meanwhile fill the puttu base halfway with water and bring it to the boil on high heat, 3–5 minutes, until steam comes out of the nozzle.
  10. Drop the perforated disc into the tube. Add a spoon of 80 g grated coconut, then loose flour to a third of the way up, more coconut, more flour, and finish with coconut. Do not press it down.
  11. Fit the tube on the base and steam on medium-high heat for 6–8 minutes, until steam pours steadily out of the top for 2 minutes. Push the puttu out onto a plate with the handle and serve with the kadala curry.

Tips

  • Kashmiri chilli is mild, but for a toddler you can scoop out some kadala and gravy before the powders go in.
  • No puttu maker? Steam the damp flour mixed with the coconut in the idli steamer plates for 8 minutes.

Make it easier

  • Weekend: Soak kadala overnight Saturday, pressure-cook Sunday (6 whistles). Freeze in portions with its cooking water.
  • The night before: Move a portion of cooked kadala from the freezer to the fridge.

Keeping and freezing

  • Fridge: keeps 2 days in a lidded box. Cool it within an hour of cooking.
  • Freezer: does not freeze well; eat within the fridge time.

Good to know

  • Asthma: buy frozen grated coconut without sulphites (220–228).
  • Toddlers: take their portion out before adding chilli or pepper.