One of the popular Kerala breakfasts…
Rekindling old memories!
Puttu or steamed rice flour, payar or mung bean stir fry, and pappadam or lentil wafers: the sight of these dishes together in a plate itself will make any Keralites drool. This has been a breakfast delicacy of Kerala for so many centuries and is still devoured by many with so much greed. Puttu, when made in a round mold, reminds me of snowballs and I call it “edible snowballs”. I’d already posted the recipe for making puttu. Puttu is nothing but steamed rice flour, rice flour is made wet by sprinkling water to it and is added to the mold alternated with grated coconut and is steam cooked. Puttu can be served with literally any kind of curries: chicken, mutton, fish, chickpeas curry or kadala curry, veggie curry, etc. However, one of the popular ways of serving puttu in Kerala is with payar or mung bean and pappadam or wafers. I am a huge fan of mung bean and so this payar or mung bean stir fry is one of my favorites. Pappadam which is lentil-based wafers is commonly served as a side with many dishes in Kerala, it’s fried in oil and the crispy pappadams are enjoyed by both kids and adults.
This morning when I was thinking of some breakfast ideas I was reminded of this breakfast delicacy. It’s been so many years since I had made this and that encouraged me to make this in my kitchen. Since the clocks sprung forward today, by the time I made all these it was almost past breakfast and hence I served this for brunch, my husband and I enjoyed this so much.
Here is the puttu recipe
- Mung bean- 1 cup
- Water- 2 cups, to cook mung bean
- Salt- 1 tsp
- Coconut Oil- 1 tbsp
- Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
- Whole dried red chilies- 2
- Curry leaves- 1 sprig
- Onion, chopped small- 1, large
- Garlic, chopped- 2 cloves
- Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
- Chili powder- ½ to 1 tsp
- Grated coconut- 1 cup
- Salt- ¾ tsp
- In a pressure cooker, cook the mung bean along with water and salt till 2 to 3 whistles. Remove the cooker from the heat and let the pressure subside.
- Open the cooker & keep aside the cooked mung bean.
- If using Instant Pot, pressure cook for 25 minutes at high pressure.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, add oil.
- Add mustard seeds, let splutter.
- Add dried red chilies and curry leaves, saute for a couple of seconds.
- Add onions & garlic, season with ½ tsp salt. Saute till light golden.
- Add turmeric powder and chili powder, combine well.
- Add grated coconut, combine well and stir fry for a few minutes till coconut turns light golden brown.
- Add the cooked mung bean, stir fry for a few minutes till the beans turn golden brown.
- Have a taste and add more salt or chili powder if needed.
- Remove the pan from the heat and serve along with puttu or rice.
Pappadam or lentil wafers
Here is how to make Healthy microwaved Pappadams.
- Lentil wafers, store-bought
- Oil- enough to deep fry
- Pappadam or lentil wafers are sold in Indian stores. It is gluten free.
- Heat oil in a frying pan.
- To check if the oil is hot enough, add a small piece of the pappadam and if it bubbles up the oil is ready to fry.
- Immerse the pappadams into the oil, it will bubble up or fry up instantly.
- Once it is fried, remove using a slotted spoon or a skewer & place on a paper towel
