Marble puttu, beautifully layered rice cake with goodness of four grains

For a Keralite, puttu is not just another breakfast dish, but a religion. There is no salvation greater than having steaming puttu and chick pea curry in the morning accompanied by a glass of black tea. Puttu has witnessed an umpteen number of ideological battles that took place in the country tea-shops across the state. It has appeared in more films than most of the superstars in Malayalam.

This steamed rice cake has topped the charts of healthy breakfasts across India, thanks to the zero-oil preparation. It is rich with carbohydrates and proteins. It can be paired with veg options like chick pea curry, lentil curry, bananas or non veg curries like fish, duck and egg.

Puttu has many avatars across the state ranging from plain white rice puttu to chiratta puttu, cup puttu and irachi puttu. It can be whipped up using a variety of flours made of different types of grains. There is even a tapioca version of puttu at some regions.

Bringing the goodness of four grains in one dish, Onmanorama is giving a healthy makeover to the traditional puttu with this layered version. This marble puttu has layers of rice, ragi, chembavari rice and corn flours.

Ingredients
1/2 cup Double Horse Ragi Puttupodi
1/2 cup Double Horse White Puttupodi
1/2 cup Double Horse Chemba Puttupodi
1/2 cup Double Horse Corn Puttupodi
1 cup grated coconut
Salt to taste
Water as required

Preparation
Add salt and sprinkle water to the puttu flour
Mix thoroughly until it reaches a breadcrumb consistency
Make a smooth grainy mix of it
In a puttukutti or a cylindrical mold, add 2 tsp coconut
Add ragi puttupodi
Layer it with coconut
Add layers of the remaining flours in order, layering each with coconut
meanwhile, boil water in a steamer or puttukudam
Cover with a lid and place the mold over the steam
When steam comes through the top of the puttukutti, turn off the stove
Unmold the puttu using a skewer

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.