Puttu and kadala or steamed rice cake and Bengal gram gravy

Ingredients

(Puttu or steam rice cake:)

Roasted Rice flour: 1 cup

Water: enough to soak wet it

Salt: to taste

Coconut: for garnish

(Kadala curry or Bengal gram gravy)

Kadala: 1 cup (soaked overnight)

Coconut: 1/2 cup grated

Corriander powder: 1 tablespoon

Chicken masala powder( optional): 1/2 tspn

salt : to taste

Mustard: 1/4th tspn

Oil: 1 tspn

Dry red chillies: 2

Curry leaves: 1 stem

Preparation:

(Puttu)

You can get instant puttu powders in the market or roast the rice flour till a slight yellow colour tends to appear. When cooled. Mix water and salt then little by little add to the roasted rice flour while you mix the mixture with hand. Wet the rice till you will be able to make a non sticky ball when tried.

If you have Puttu mould, then place the steel net in the base, fill a bit of coconut, the rice mixture, a little coconut again rice mixture, till the mould is filled and then steam it.

If you do not have puttu mould then take coconut shell. fill the base with a thin layer of grated coconut then fill in the rice mixture, then again fill grated coconut and steam.

Remove the mixture on to a plate. If in a puttu mould, remove with the provided stick else slightly dab the coconut shell with its open mouth facing the plate. yur puttu is ready.

(Kadala curry or the Bengal gram curry)

Preassure cook kadala or bengal gram toll crack appear on them. This is an indication of it becoming soft. When done, blend coconut, coriander powder and chicken masala (optional) with little water to forma smooth paste. Pour this paste into the preassure cooked kadala or bengal gram and let this mixture come to a boil. When boiled, let it simmer on medium flame till it reached a gravy consistency. Splutter mustard in oil . Also put in curry leaves and dry red chilly in the spluttered mustard and oil and then garnish the gravy with it.

this curry or gravy is best suited with steamed rice cake or puttu. A taste of kerala breakfast.

You can also substitute rice flour with wheat flour or sooji(semolina)