Kerala Puttu Recipe Without Puttu Maker – South Indian Breakfast

Puttu recipe without puttu maker helps you learn how to make puttu without puttu maker for an easy, healthy and delicious Kerala style breakfast.

Puttu maker comes in different types, like traditional cylindrical puttu maker or chiratta puttu maker which helps you to make traditional puttu for breakfast, which looks either cylindrical in shape or just like a chiratta shape, which is the shape of the shell of a coconut.

Puttu is a traditional simple easy and healthy Kerala breakfast (South Indian) made using fine rice flour (mostly) and extra ingredients like grated coconut, although there are variations.

Puttu is a kid friendly breakfast dish when served with bananas.

Basically, this is a quick and easy breakfast which you canmake quickly and easily.

See chickpea curry with coconut which is served with puttu.

Puttu can be made using white rice flour or brown rice flour and the pictures you see here are made of brown rice flour, popularly known by the name chemba puttu or chamba puttu when using the brand of chemba puttu flour (chamba puttu flour).

There are different ways you can make puttu, and the most popular way is by steaming the flour (and extra ingredients) in the puttu maker (known as puttu kudam in malayalam language) which is a cylindrical vessel and so the resulting dish will be cylindrical in form.

This looks nice and there may be a slight advantage with texture too.

Another way is to use chiratta puttu maker which gives you chiratta puttu which is just making a single serving of puttu in small round shaped vessel, and mostly this is attached to a pressure cooker to make the dish.

Although it is nice to have a puttu maker or chiratta puttu maker to make puttu in the traditional way, this may not be possible if you don’t have a puttu maker at home.

You can buy puttu maker here

See different kinds of puttu makers below.

Tabakh Micro Puttu Kudam Cooker Stainless Steel Steamer, 0.5 LiterAnantha Stainless steel Chiratta puttu maker,steamer,0.2 LitreStainless Steel Puttu Maker

You can also find popular puttu flours here like brown rice chamba puttu flour, white rice puttu flour, ragi puttu flour, multigrain puttu flour etc.

But not owning a puttu maker shouldn’t restrict you from not enjoying this Kerala style delicacy for breakfast or dinner.

You can easily make puttu using a good steamer. When you make puttu using a steamer, you won’t get the shape of the traditional cylindrical puttu or chiratta puttu, but the taste is the same 🙂

In fact, this kind of puttu made in steamer is popular in many parts of Kerala, and it is known as uthir puttu (or uthiri puttu).

This is a much easy and simple way of making puttu where you prepare the flour and coconut (or other ingredients) as usual, and then steam the ingredients easily inside the steamer.

You can place the ingredients layer by layer inside the steamer, just like you would do inside a puttu maker.

In the image above, you can see puttu made of brown rice flour known as chemba puttu served with chickpea curry (known as kadala curry) and South Indian style wafers (known as papadam).

You can use homemade or store bought fine rice flour which is slightly roasted to make puttu, but I recommend using puttu rice flour specifically made to make puttu  for the best texture and results.

You can use white rice flour or brown rice flour to make puttu.

Notes: If you are not used to preparing the flour to make puttu, this note is for you. The way of preparing the flour to make this dish is quite different and unique.

We do not make a dough or batter from the flour.

We only prepare the flour by sprinkling water in the flour and mixing with the hands, resulting in a flour which is wet in form, but still be flour in terms of its texture.

And we sprinkle the water little by little, mix with hands, sprinkle more water and mix, to finally attain a wet flour, which will be steamed to make puttu.

So here is how you can make Kerala style puttu without using a puttu maker.

How to make Kerala style puttu without puttu maker for breakfast?

To make puttu without puttu maker, we use the following ingredients.

ingredients to make Kerala rice flour puttu

2 cups puttu rice flour (brown or white rice flour)

1.5 cups grated or shredded coconut

1 cup grated or shredded coconut (extra) for layering

salt as required

1.5 cups water may need to adjust the amount a little as needed

Step by step instructions

In a large bowl, add the flour and salt, mix well.

Sprinkle half cup of the water little by little and mix the flour gently with your hands.

Sprinkle another half cup of water, and again mix with your hands gently.

Add the grated coconut (not the one kept for layering), and mix well with the flour.

Sprinkle the remaining half cup of water little by little and mix the flour with coconut, gently until everything is combined well. The flour will be wet, but still the texture will be like flour only.

Heat little water in the steamer and bring the water to a boil.

Meanwhile, you can spread a single layer of coconut in the steamer basket and then spread a thick layer of flour coconut mixture(you can put half of the contentover the coconut layer.

Again, add a single layer of coconut, and then add the remaining flour mixture over the coconut layer.

Finally, you may add one more layer of thin coconut layer (if needeor you may skip this step.
Gently press the contents in the steamer basket with your hands.

When the water in the steamer pot starts boiling, you can keep the steamer basket inside the pot and close the lid.

Reduce the heat to very low heat and steam for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the flour is soft and cooked.

Puttu is ready to serve, you can serve hot puttu with fresh bananas or sugar (if you like it swee, or savoury side dishes.

The most popular combination of puttu is with chickpeas curry which is known as kadala curry.

In Kerala, chickpea curry for puttu is made in different ways but the most popular one is prepared in roasted coconut gravy.

Side Dishes For Puttu

Kerala kadala curry with roasted coconut, is a perfect side dish for puttu.

Puttu is also enjoyed with green mung bean curry known as cherupayar curry in Kerala. You can see cherupayar curry here, which is another perfect side dish for puttu.

Traditionally people mix the puttu with the curry or bananas & fried papadam (kind of Kerala style wafers) and enjoy for breakfast!

Puttu is a kid friendly breakfast and most of the kids love to enjoy puttu mixed with bananas.

Below you can get the detailed recipe for puttu without puttu maker.