PUTTU

My mother is an expert in making this. This is made on Navarathri and also when a girl attends puberty. Many people regret about not having or maintained any treasure books. As I always say, I have started this blog for guiding my sons and the younger generation. Don't worry. Now, we the food-bloggers are working on a great treasure (both traditional and fusion) for our future generation. Pat on your shoulders or lift your collars. We can do it ourselves with pride. Nothing wrong in it.

INGREDIENTS:

(Courtesy: My mother)

Rice flour - 1 cup
Jaggery - 2 cups
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Salt - 1/4 tsp.
Scraped coconut - 1/2 cup
Toor dhal - 2 tsp.
Fried cashews - 15
Cardamom (powdered) - 1/2 tsp.
Kismis - 10
Groundnut ( fried) - few
Ghee - 1 tablespoon

METHOD:

Prepare rice flour as said here.

Sieve rice flour and dry roast it till it changes its colour to slight red. Allow it to cool.

Soak toor dhal in water for 1/2 an hour.

Add turmeric powder and salt to a cup of water and mix well.

When the flour is cool, sprinkle this water little by little and mix it gently. Hold this tightly in your hand. (The consistency for this: This should neither be a dough nor a powder. The powder should be wet enough to steam it). Drain the toor dhal completely and add to this.

Place this in a clean cloth and tie it to form a bag. Place this bag in a vessel and pressure cook for a whistle. When the pressure is released, take out and allow it to cool. Mix it gently using your hands without any lumps.

Fry cashews, kismis and groundnut in ghee.

Meantime, heat a heavy-bottomed pan and make a syrup with the jaggery to a soft ball consistency. To this, add the scraped coconut, cardamom powder, cooked & cooled flour, & the fried nuts. Mix well, saute for a while & take it off the stove. At this stage, this will be slightly sticky, but when cool this will get the scrambled effect. Soft and sweet puttu is ready.