Aval/Poha Puttu
Puttu is my all time favorite. Aval Puttu is a delicious snack and is used to prepare in functions & festivals prepared as a neivedhyam .Rice Puttu is quite a long process. But Aval Puttu, is a simpler version and just as tasty as the rice puttu.
Ingredients:
Poha/Aval-1/2 cup
Jaggery-1/2 cup
Grated Coconut-1/2 cup
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Cardamom powder-1/4 tsp
4-5 Cashews
2 tsp Ghee
Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan and fry the poha for 1-2 minutes until turns to light brown color.
2. Grind the poha into coarse powder.
3. Heat the water with salt & turmeric till it becomes lukewarm.
4. Sprinkle this little by little, to the roasted flour & mix well till it resembles fine bread crumbs.( The rice flour should be wet enough to hold together when you try making a fist with it and dry enough to break apart at a simple knock with the thumb. It shouldn’t be clumpy or too powdery. Keep breaking it with the hand as you mix. The amount of water varies with the kind of rice flour used. So keep adding in small quantities.)
5. Mix well with hands without any lumps. 6. Now, in a deep pan pour 50 ml water and put crushed jaggery and when it melts filter it.Make syrup out of it.
7. The syrup should become thick enough, so that when you add a drop of it in a vessel of water, it should solidify immediately. (When a drop of the jaggery syrup is dropped in cold water, you should be able to form it into a ball. When you reach this consistency switch of the stove and remove the vessel from the stove.)
8.Pour the syrup little by little onto the steamed poha Mix well with a light hand
9.Heat the ghee in a pan, roast the coconut and cashews until turns to light brown color.
10.Add the roasted coconut, cashews with cardamom powder to the poha and stir well.
11.The 'puttu' is ready and it must be like 'dry sand' after adding the jaggery. Allow to cool & then serve.
