A typical Kerala breakfast is very much a healthy and a balanced one. The main course and the accompaniments go well for a great appetite. The “puttu” or the steamed rice cake is one of the best breakfast main courses in Kerala. It consists of coarsely rice powder, water, grated coconut, salt, and basic spices like cumin which is optional.
The accompaniments and combinations of “puttu” include both spicy as well as sweet ones. Spicy accompaniments include “chickpea curry”, which is a spicy curry made with grams, is one of the most common and popular combination you would find everywhere in Kerala. And banana is the common sweet accompaniment. Even though these are the common accompaniments, “Puttu” goes well with almost all curry’s and Non veg preparations. Apart from the variety of combination which goes with “Puttu”. It’s a combination of different tastes put together to form a new taste with no or less oil.
Method of eating is by hands and the accompaniment and “Puttu” is crushed and mixed to consume. “Puttu” can be of different shapes but the most common one would be the cylinder shaped one. The shape is formed by baking it in a cylinder. In olden days wood or bamboo shoots were used. Another popular shape found in some parts of the state is the hemisphere, where the rice powder is cooked in a half coconut shell, which is called “Cheratta Puttu”.
In some parts of the state fruits are grated and mixed with the baking mixture. Fruits like banana, jack fruit are the common ones. In a way one could easily try out hundreds of different fruits to discover more different tastes. The method of cooking, the ingredients, and the accompaniments, every aspect comes together to make it one of the best and healthiest breakfasts in the world.