Puttu with Banana and Jaggery

Name: Puttu with Banana and Jaggery
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: Indian (Kerala)
Ingredients: 2 cups (240 g) puttu podi (coarsely ground roasted rice flour); ¾ cup (75 g) freshly grated coconut; ½ tsp (3 g) salt; ¾ cup (180 ml) water (approximately); 4 small ripe Kerala bananas (poovan or 2 medium nendrapazham), peeled; 80 g jaggery (vellam), coarsely crumbled or grated; 2 tbsp (30 ml) ghee, optional but traditional; Nendrapazham (Kerala's large cooking banana, used ripe) gives the most flavour — its dense sweetness complements the neutral puttu.; Poovan banana (the small, intensely sweet variety) is equally traditional and more available.; Eat immediately — puttu toughens as it cools.; A drizzle of coconut milk over the banana-jaggery-puttu combination is an indulgent upgrade.

🍗 Non-veg📊 Easy

The simplest and most beloved way to eat puttu — the freshly steamed rice-coconut cylinder broken apart at the table and eaten with a ripe, sweet Kerala banana (especially the short, fat nendrapazham or the small poovan variety) and crumbled jaggery. No cooking required beyond the puttu itself. The heat of the puttu softens the banana and melts the jaggery into a natural caramel. Children and elders alike favour this combination.

⏱️15 minPrep

🔥12 minCook

🕒27 minTotal

🍽️10Serves

🧺 Ingredients

2 cups (240 g) puttu podi (coarsely ground roasted rice flour)
¾ cup (75 g) freshly grated coconut
½ tsp (3 g) salt
¾ cup (180 ml) water (approximately)
4 small ripe Kerala bananas (poovan or 2 medium nendrapazham), peeled
80 g jaggery (vellam), coarsely crumbled or grated
2 tbsp (30 ml) ghee, optional but traditional
Eat immediately — puttu toughens as it cools.

👩‍🍳 How to make Puttu with Banana and Jaggery

Sprinkle water over rice flour a tablespoon at a time, mixing between additions, until flour resembles wet sand — holds when squeezed, crumbles when pressed.
Mix in salt.
Serve immediately while hot.
Provide bananas whole or sliced alongside.
Place crumbled jaggery in a small bowl.
Drizzle ghee over puttu if using.
Each diner breaks puttu with the banana and mixes with jaggery to taste.

📖 Cultural notes

|---|---|---|---|---| | 370 kcal | 5 g | 65 g | 10 g | 4 g | Pazham puttu is the "lazy Sunday" breakfast — no curry required, everything already in the kitchen. It is a staple in households with children and is often the first solid breakfast food introduced to toddlers in Kerala. The combination of resistant starch (puttu), potassium-rich banana, and unrefined jaggery makes it nutritionally sound by traditional standards. ---

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