Motta (Egg) Puttu

Malayalees’ love for puttu ( steamed rice cake) is well known. This is one of the most preferred breakfast items in Kerala. Though this is a common item in any Kerala household, for us it wasn’t. It’s been 4 years since I’ve started my cooking experiments, but puttu made a very late entry into my menu and the reason…Jose doesn’t fancy puttu and he has his reasons too.

He says he had enough puttu to last for  a lifetime during his hostel days :).  I guess they served him some rock hard puttu with banana in hostel hhmm…. Ever since, he’s declared his non alignment movement with puttu and I was too lazy to make it for myself.

Then a miracle happened recently…last time when we went to Kerala, during one of our visits to friend’s /relatives place, he didn’t have a choice but  to eat puttu and after having that he had 1/4th of a mind to have it again! I was so happy and excited!!

Thus puttu made a grand entrance to our menu :). Few days back, my cousin sis passed me Tesschechy’s (my aunt)  recipe for motta puttu. I was sure that motta puttu will improve the rating of puttu (in general)  in Jose’s preferred dish chart and yes it did :)

Here is the recipe:

For Puttu

1. Puttu Podi – 2 cups
2. Grated Coconut – 3/4 to 1 cup
3. Water – 1/2 – 3/4 cup
   Salt

For Egg Masala

1. Eggs – 4
2. Onion – 1 medium
   Tomato – 1 medium
   Ginger & garlic – 1/2 tsp chopped
3. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
   Chili powder – 1/2 tsp
   Coriander powder – 1/2 heaped tsp
4. Salt
   Pepper

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 chopped onion. Once it becomes soft, add chopped ginger & garlic. Stir for a few minutes. Add the masala powders & fry for 2-3 minutes. Add chopped tomato and salt. Mix well. Add a little water (around 2-3 tbsp) to make it a bit pasty. Note that it should not be too watery or too dry. Add scrambled eggs & mix well. Cook for one more minute and remove from fire.

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. 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).

Update: If you’ve some leftover bread and dont know what to do..check out Vidya’s comment for this post!!

Check Annita’s Puttu here.

Sign up for more free recipe updates by email! It'll take you less than 30 seconds!

1. Print this recipe before cooking! And add to your recipe collection folder...
2. Email this recipe to yourself or friends and family. They'll thank you!
3. I'd like to hear from you. Add a great comment below, or reply to others'