Puttu and Kadala curry..!

Ingredients:

To roast:

coconut - 3/4 cup grated
fennel seeds(perinjeeragam) - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp
red chilly pd - 1 tsp
coriander pd(mallipodi/dhaniya pd)- 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 or 2 sticks

To cook:

Black chickpeas/kadala - 1 cup soaked overnight
onion - 1 small finely chopped
green chillies - 2 slit in the middle
turmeric pd - a pinch
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
salt as per taste
water - 2cups
coconut oil- as needed



Method:

Pressure cook kadala in 2 cups water with a pinch of turmeric pd till soft. It may require 6 to 7 whistles.When cooked drain the excess water. Dont throw away this water as we can use this while making the curry.

In a kadai, put 1 tsp coconut oil and add grated coconut. Also add 1/2 tsp fennel seeds and cinnamon sticks. Roast this till it turns light brown on low flame. You will get a nice aroma of the fennel seeds and cinnamon. Then add red chilly powder and coriander pd and once again roast for five mins till it turns reddish brown. Remove from fire and set aside to cool. When it cools grind it into fine smooth paste. You can use the water from boiled chickpeas while grinding it.

In the same kadai, put 2 tsp coconut oil, splutter some mustard seeds and add finely chopped onion. Saute well till the onion turns light brown. Add some fresh curry leaves. Now add the drained chickpeas/kadala into it stir well. Put some stalk(water from drained kadala) into it till it covers kadala completely. Add salt as per taste and let it cook for 5 mins. Now add the grinded paste to it, mix well and bring it to boil. Remove from fire and serve with hot puttu.


For making puttu:

Rice flour - 2cups (Heat rice flour in a kadai for 5 mins with constant stirring and cool it)
pearl onions -2 thinly sliced
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
salt - 1/2 tsp
water as required
grated coconut - 1 cup

Take 2 cups of rice flour in a vessel. Now you have to moist the flour adding water slowly little by little. It is very important to note only enough water to wet the flour be added, and that too slowly. It should be a moist coarse mixture. Add cumins seeds and thinly sliced pearl onions(optional) and little salt and mix well with hand.

Now take a puttu kutti(traditional utensil) to make puttu. Take enough water in the pot and let it boil. Once steam starts coming take the detachable portion. Insert the perforated lid first, add a thin layer of grated coconut and then add the rice flour till the top. And again layer the top with grated coconut and cover with the perforated lid. You can even layer in between with grated coconut. Keep this on the pot and let it cook on steam for 10 mins. Once it is cooked remove and push the puttu into the plate from the bottom of the puttu kutti with a rod making sure it doesnt get broken.

If traditional puttu kutti is nt available what you can do is make chiratta puttu i.e puttu in coconut shell. For this all you need is the coconut shell with the three eyes. Break one of the eyes of the shell. Wash and dry the inside well. Then take a pressure cooker and keep enough water in it. Close the lid properly. Make sure u dont put the whistler on it. Let the steam come out of the nozzle. Now take the coconut shell. Hold it with your middle finger closing the open hole from the bottom. Fill it with little grated coconut. Then put the rice flour. Leave little space on top and here you can layer it once again with grated coconut. Now carefully bring it near the nozzle and remove your finger and insert it carefully on the nozzle without dropping the flour from the hole. With some practise you will get it right. The steam will pass through the flour and it will help it cook. After 10 mins with the help of a cloth remove it from nozzle and empty it on plate. Repeat the procedure to make the next puttu till you finish with the flour. Make sure you have enough water in the cooker or else the cooker will get burnt. Once I got one of my cooker burnt completely as I didnt notice the amount of water inside. Also while trying to insert the coconut shell with flour on the nozzle keep your face away as initially when the steam passes through the flour, some flour powder may be blown out to give way for steam to pass!