Homemade Coconut Pittu

Pittu is a beloved Sri Lankan and South Indian breakfast, and it’s beautifully simple: rice flour and fresh grated coconut, seasoned with salt, steamed into soft, crumbly logs.

The texture is the whole point, and it comes down to how you add the water. You sprinkle it in slowly, working it through the flour with your fingers, until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs, damp but still loose, never a paste.

That crumbly, just-moistened mix is what steams into the signature light, fluffy texture rather than a dense dough.

Packed into a pittu mould and steamed for just a few minutes, until steam rises through the top, it sets into tender cylinders you slice and serve.

Naturally gluten-free and vegan, pittu is traditionally eaten with curry, coconut milk, or a spicy sambol.

Kitchen Tips

• Add the water gradually and stop at the breadcrumb stage; too much turns it gluey.
• Use freshly grated coconut for the best moisture and flavor.
• Steam only until steam emerges through the top of the mould, about 7 minutes.
• Serve hot, since pittu firms up and dries as it cools.

Variations

• Use red or kurakkan (finger millet) flour for a nuttier, wholegrain pittu.
• Drizzle with coconut milk and a little sugar or treacle for a sweet version.
• Layer the mould with extra coconut for a richer, more coconut-forward pittu.