Vazhayila puttu - Try making puttu on a plantain leaf

An eternal staple dish of Kerala, puttu has inspired Malayalis to even pen poems about it. The simple three-ingredient steamed rice cake is easy to make and healthy to have, as compared to its other greasy breakfast counterparts. All you need is the mould to make this humble dish.

That said, if you are into meme culture, you must most be familiar with the legendary puttu-making scene by Malayalam actors Harisree Ashokan and Mukesh from the 2003 movie Chronic Bachelor. Ashokan's character Ugran spends an awful lot of time filling up a puttukutti (the mould) with rice flour and it refuses to get filled up . In the end, Ugran comes to a shocking realization – he had forgot to put the 'chillu', the lid, before filling up the open-ended cylinder. A bashful Ugran asks his cousin Sreekuttan (Mukesh) whether the latter really needs puttu for breakfast, all the while holding out an empty mould.

The scene could be relatable for bachelor cooks, who often lack one part or the other of the cookware. That's where we come in. Don't give up on your favourite breakfast just because you don't have the right appliance. As humble as puttu is, there is a way to simplify it's making too. Just grab a plantain leaf, a few toothpicks and a steamer, and you can easily make your puttu tasty and aromatic too. Read on to find out how to:

Ingredients
2 cups of rice
Salt as required
Water as required
1 plantain leaf
1 cup grated coconut
Preparation
Cut the plantain leaf into a long sheet
Roll it into a cylindrical shape and secure using a tooth pick
Place it in an idli steamer
Mix the puttu flour with enough water and salt
Add a spoon full of grated coconut into the plantain leaf roll
Then add the puttu flour
Add another layer of coconut
Cook in steam
The puttu would be incredibly softer and aromatic as it is prepared in plantain leaf
Besides, it look amazing too
Enjoy the puttu with Bengal gram curry or ripe bananas.