← All Breakfasts · Recipe finder
Puttu with Kadala Curry
Kerala's steamed rice-and-coconut cylinders, paired with black chickpeas simmered in roasted-coconut gravy — the state's best-loved breakfast combination.
- Region
- Kerala
- Status
- Traditional
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Soak 8 h · Prep 20 min · Cook 40 min
- Serves
- 2 (1 puttu plus about 200 g kadala curry each)
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Good for
- Weekend breakfast, brunch
- Tags
- Good source · High fibre · Dairy-free · Soy-free · Whey-free · Gluten-free* · No added sugar
- Allergens
- None of the major allergens (contains coconut)
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 495 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 65 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 18 g
Headline values are per serving, as written.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per serving | 495 | 15 g | 65 g | 18 g | 12 g | 18 g | 5 g | 3.0 g |
Good source · 3.0 g per 100 kcal. Coconut and coconut oil supply most of the saturated fat; see the lighter version below. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 14 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- Puttu: 100 g puttu podi (roasted rice flour) · 30 g fresh grated coconut · 2 g salt · about 70 ml water
- Kadala curry: 100 g kala chana, dry · 80 g onion, sliced · 60 g tomato · 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste · 1 green chilli · 10 curry leaves
- Roasted coconut paste: 20 g grated coconut · 1 tsp coriander powder · ½ tsp red chilli powder · ½ tsp garam masala, roasted together until brown and ground with 50 ml water
- 10 g coconut oil (2 tsp) · ½ tsp mustard seeds · ¼ tsp turmeric · 3 g salt
Method
- Soak kala chana 8 hours. Pressure-cook with 400 ml water and a pinch of salt for 6–7 whistles, until soft enough to crush between fingers.
- For the puttu, sprinkle water over the salted flour a little at a time, rubbing with fingertips, until it feels like damp sand and holds shape when squeezed but crumbles easily. Rest 10 minutes.
- Layer the puttu maker: 1 tbsp coconut, then flour, then coconut, ending with coconut. Steam 6–8 minutes, until steam flows steadily from the top.
- Heat coconut oil. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves; then onion, and cook 5 minutes until light brown.
- Add ginger-garlic paste, chilli, tomato and turmeric. Cook 3 minutes until soft.
- Add the chana with its cooking liquid and the roasted coconut paste. Simmer 10 minutes until the gravy thickens and coats the chana.
- Push the puttu out of the mould and serve with hot kadala curry.
Protein optimisation
- Kala chana supplies 9.5 g per serving, puttu podi 3 g, coconut 1 g.
- Boost: increase kala chana to 140 g dry (+4 g protein, +70 kcal per serving). A banana and a glass of milk or a cup of chai with milk is a common side.
- Lighter version: use 15 g coconut in the puttu and 5 g coconut oil in the curry — saves about 50 kcal and 4.5 g saturated fat per serving.
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: Malabar style — make the puttu with wheat or ragi puttu podi (ragi adds calcium; wheat adds gluten).
- Substitution: without a puttu maker, steam the mixture in a steel tumbler covered with cloth, or serve the curry with 2 appams.
- Storage: kadala curry keeps 3 days refrigerated; puttu is best fresh.
- Food safety: pressure-cook chana thoroughly; reheat curry until boiling.
- Meal prep: cook chana and curry in advance; steam puttu fresh.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com