Pittu
Also: Puttu, Pittu
A Sri Lankan steamed cylinder of coarse rice flour layered with grated coconut, cooked in a bamboo or metal mould and served with coconut milk and a spicy accompaniment.
Identity criteria
- 1Coarse roasted rice flour (or kurakkan/red rice flour) moistened to a crumbly dough
- 2Layered alternately with grated fresh coconut
- 3Steamed in a cylindrical mould (bamboo or metal pittu bamboo) that gives its shape
- 4Crumbly, dry-textured rather than a packed cake
- 5Served with coconut milk and a savory side, not eaten plain
Components
Coarse rice flour (or kurakkan/red rice flour)essentialRoasted and dampened to a breadcrumb texture
Coconut milk (kiri hodi)essentialPoured over to serve; the standard accompaniment
WateressentialTo dampen the flour and generate steam
Saltoptional
Grated fresh coconutessentialLayered through the cylinder; defining ingredient
Technique
- Moistening flour to a crumb texture
- Even, light dampening yields the dry crumbly result rather than a paste
- Layering flour and coconut in the mould
- Builds the striped cylinder and distributes coconut throughout
- Steaming in a cylindrical mould
- Cooks gently and sets the cylinder shape that defines pittu
Form & serving
- Served
- Cylinders broken onto a plate, doused with coconut milk
- Temperature
- Hot
- Portion
- One or two cylinders per serving
- Pairs with
- Coconut milk (kiri hodi) · Lunu miris (chili-onion sambol) · Fish or chicken curry · Banana
Character
Flavour
Texture
Light, dry and crumbly with soft flecks of coconut
Eaten
An everyday Sri Lankan breakfast (also eaten at dinner), served hot with coconut milk and a fiery sambol or curry across both Sinhala and Tamil homes.
When
all-year
Variations & related
Regional variations
- Kurakkan pittu · Sri Lanka
Made with finger-millet (kurakkan) flour for an earthy darker cake
- Puttu · Kerala / Tamil Nadu, India
Closely related South Indian version, often eaten with kadala curry or banana
- Red rice pittu · Sri Lanka
Made with nutty red rice flour
Related dishes
- sibling Puttu
The South Indian (Kerala/Tamil) version of essentially the same dish
- pairs-with Kiri hodi
Mild coconut-milk gravy poured over pittu
- pairs-with Lunu miris
Chili-onion sambol served alongside
Substitutions
Coarse rice flour → Finger-millet (kurakkan) flouradmissible
A recognized regional variation, still pittu
Fresh grated coconut → Rehydrated desiccated coconutadmissible
Works at a pinch; less moist and fragrant
Grated coconut → Omit coconut entirelyinadmissible
Breaks the dish — the coconut layering is essential
Steaming in a mould → Boiling the doughinadmissible
Produces a wet mass, not the dry crumbly cylinder
Common mistakes
- Over-wetting the flour so the result is dense and pasty instead of crumbly
- Skipping the coconut layering, the defining feature
- Steaming too long until the cylinder turns gummy
- Serving it dry without coconut milk or a sambol — pittu is eaten with accompaniments
Provenance
A long-established Sri Lankan breakfast staple, closely related to South Indian puttu, made the same way across Sinhala and Tamil households.
Claimed by: Sri Lanka
References
- 1.Sri Lankan culinary tradition
- 2.Sinhala and Tamil home cooking
Confidence: high