Mani Pittu | Mani Puttu | Srilankan Pittu | Breakfast Recipe

Mani Pittu, a Sri lankan steamed breakfast recipe made from rice flour. Few months back, when i chose Srilankan recipe for BM, this recipe caught my attention. 

Actually it's not a new recipe to any Indians at least  to South Indians, it's like a combination of idiyappam, puttu and kozhukattai, Yes, three in one recipe. 

My idiyappam and puttu collections in the blog tells you that how much i like them both, so without a second thought i had given this recipe a try on the every next day and I really love the way this putt/pittu is being made. 

Though it involves a lot of labor & time, i really enjoy the process of making this pittu and of course enjoy eating it too!!!
  
In Sri lanka , this puttu is mainly served as breakfast and in sometimes served as dinner also. Usually this pittu is served along with linu mirus or/and coconut milk or simply with sugar.

I have chosen the easy one and served it with sugar and it tastes absolutely delicious. By looking at the ingredients, you knew it sounds exactly like our idiyappam, but what make this interesting is how it's been made !!! Before check out the recipe, if you like to know what i have shared on the yesterday under International Breakfast, here it is 
Day 1 - Mysore Masala Dosa from India

Mani Pittu

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Breakfast | Recipe Cuisine: Srilanka

Ingredients
Rice Flour - 1 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Sesame Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Grated Coconut - as needed

Procedure

First heat the water in a sauce pan along with salt and oil.

When the water comes to boil, switch off the flame and remove from heat. Measure & take the flour in a bowl,add the water little by little into the flour.

Mix it with spatula gently until all comes together. Now take the idiyappam maker, take a log of dough and add into the idiyappam maker, close it with lid and keep it ready.

Here in this recipe, i have used the disc with small holes as shown in below image. Take a sheet of paper and place it on the working area, place the sieve on top of that paper.

Sprinkle rice flour generously on the sieve, then squeeze the idiyappam maker, when the string reaches about 1/2 to 1 inch length, stop squeezing and shake the idiyappam maker, the strings falls in to the rice flour. Similarly do it two or three times, make sure that the strings should spread evenly on the sieve.

Now sprinkle little extra rice flour on the top and then lift the sieve & gently tap on the sides of the sieve to remove the excess flour. 

Transfer the strings into the plate. Do the same for the remaining dough. Now to make the mani pittu, take the grated coconut.

In a puttu maker, add the disc and then the grated coconut.

Gently take a 2 or 3 handful of rice strings and add into the puttu maker. Again add the coconut. Repeat the steps and finish off with the coconut on the top.

Close the puttu maker with lid and steam it for 5-7 mins and then gently remove the pittu with the stick that comes along with puttu maker.

Tada, Mani Puttu is ready. Sprinkle some sugar and serve.

Related: How to make Srilankan Chicken Curry

Notes:

• Depends on the flour quality, you may need more or less water,so always boil extra 1/4 of water.
• Add water little by little  into flour. If you add more water, then the rice string would be sticky and the pittu would be clump together. 
• Sesame oil gives wonderful aroma to the pittu
• Though the strings are non-sticky, after cooking, it all stick together and come as single pittu(like our regular puttu)from the puttu maker, again when you touch, each string comes off separately.
• Be generous while sprinkle rice flour on the string, otherwise it stick together.
• Depends on the size of your sieve, squeeze the strings in batch and also squeeze evenly on the entire sieve, don't squeeze on one place, it easily clumps together.