Kulae puttu

Sweet steamed cakes of jackruit or banana

• 300 gms raw rice, soaked for 6-8 hours
• •or the equivalent amount of fine thari, soaked for 1 hour
• •You can also use suji/rava (or try cream of wheat or a soft wheat semolina) but the texture will be more grainy than that of kulae puttu made with soaked and ground rice
• 500 gms jackfruit pulp or ripe banana pulp
• 1/2 coconut – 1/4 to be grated and the rest sliced into thin slivers about 1 cm long
• 1/4 tsp baking soda (optional). It makes for a less dense cake, but I prefer the version without
• 200 gms jaggery or to taste (check how sweet the jackfruit or banana is before adding more)
• If you’re using banana pulp, add a little ground cardamom to the mixture
• A pinch of salt
• 25 pieces of banana leaf, of about 8″x 6″
• Banana leaves need to be heated briefly to soften them and make them flexible enough to fold without breaking. This can be done by pressing them on a heated griddle, passing them gently over a flame, or, as I do, tossing them in a hot oven briefly!
• Grind the soaked rice to a smooth paste with a little water.
• •Combine the ground rice with the jaggery, jackfruit pulp, coconut, salt, and baking soda if you’re using it. Mix thoroughly. You should have a soft, moist batter that is thick enough to spoon into the banana leaves without being too runny.
• •Place two tablespoons of the batter in the centre of a banana leaf wrapper and fold gently into a rectangular parcel. Have your sekala ready with water at a simmer and layer the  parcels in as you prepare them. When they’re all done, cover and steam on medium-high for about 30 minutes.
• •Remove the lid of the steamer and allow them to cool a little before tucking in. Kulae puttu tastes wonderful with a dab of fresh butter or ghee. Day old kulae puttu tastes delicious seared in a little ghee and dished up for breakfast or as a teatime treat.