Glossary P

The food glossary +++ Popular Articles: 'Pork', 'Pepper', 'Pinaltok'

Puttu refers to a breakfast dish from Kerala, south of India which is made from rice flour and freshly grated coconut steamed in a cylidrical tool called Puttu Kutti . Puttu is a traditional and most popular breakfast dish of. It is usually served with Kadala curry (black chickpea curry) or it is served with Pazham (small yellow banana) and sugar. Puttu is also great with combined with Cherupayaru curry and Pappadam . But, all I can say is that Puttu can be combined with any other dishes from Kerala. I had eaten mine with Egg Masala and Cabbage Thoran and it was delicious, too.

Puttu is very delicious either way. Puttu is generally cooked in a Puttu Kutti vessel with two (2) sections. The lower section called Puttu Kudam holds water and the upper section (a cylindrical tube) called Putti Kutti holds the Puttu or where the rice mixture is inserted with layers of grated coconut. (Please see related article and Pictures of Puttu Kutti)

There are other varieties of Puttu in India:

Rava Puttu is a steamed cake made from Semolina called Rava or Sooji in Malayalam. It is a variety of Puttu which makes use of Rava instead of Rice flour, but cooked the same way as the traditional Puttu which makes used of Rice flour

Atta Puttu refers to a steamed cake made from Wheat flour. It is a Malayali breakfast dish typically made with rice powder or rice flour, but this variety of Puttu is made with Atta/wheat flour for less calories.

Puttu is arguably the most iconic breakfast dish of Kerala. Which is served with many curry dishes and stir-fried dishes from the country

I love Puttu in everyway, but I think the best Puttu is that which is served with boiled local banana from Kerala or simply with sugar.

Below are varieties of Puttu which was served to me while in Allepey using various flours

Above is Puttu served with fresh Pazham (Banana) for breakfast and below is Puttu served with steamed Pazham

Above is Puttu served with savory Curry. Puttu can be accompanied with sweet (steamed or fresh Banana, jaggery or sugar) or savory dishes (any kind of Curry)

Please see other pictures of Puttu sold during the Food Festival during New Year in Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala in the Photo Gallery.

Papaya Thoran is grated green Papaya stir-fried with grated coconut, lots of spices and Curry leaves. It is one of the traditional dishes from the Southern Indian state of Kerala

Thoran is a dry vegetable side dish with coconut added to it. It is a vegetable-based stir-fry made from finely chopped or cut vegetables cooked with grated coconut on it. Moreover, Thoran is sauteed or stir-fried vegetables or mixed (2 or more) vegetables with grated coconut. It is a part of Sadya. (Please see related article on Thoran).

Papaya Thoran is also called Papaya Poriyal in Tamil Nadu, another State in Southern India.

Below is a picture of my family friend in Allepey, Kerala, India, grating green Papaya for making her Papaya Thoran.

Picture of Papaya Thoran / Papaya Poriyal below

Pazham Porichatu (fried Plantain/Banana) is one of the snacks served in Kerala, India. It is made from slices of ripe Ethapazam or Nanthrapazam which is fried plain in Coconut Oil. It is different from the famous Banana Fry since the slices of Bananas are not dip into a batter.

Pazham Porichatu is a very simple snacks to prepare, but it is more tasty than any other fried bananas I tasted because it is fried in Coconut oil and the sweetness comes from the bananas itself.

It is served drizzled with sugar or none at all with hot coffee and tea.

Pimientos de Padron is also simply known as Padron, a variety of non-spicy pepper which originated from Padron, Galicia, Spain. In Spain, they are often serve as Tapa.

Padron is called Bratpaprika or Paprika grun in Germany.

Brat is translated as fry, roast or grill. Bratpaprika literally means "frying pepper", pepper intented for frying grilling or roasting and served as a side dish.

I love Padron very much. Whenever they are available in the supermarkets, I buy some packs and sautee them in olive oil and a bit of salt, sometimes I put a little amount of soy sauce and it taste good, too.

Below are pictures of fresh Padron and my sauteed Padron.

Fresh Padron
Fresh Padron

Padron being sauteed in Olive Oil and Soysauce, below with a dash of lemon juice, my own invention

This Padron travelled all the way from Spain to Germany.

Pavakka is the Malayalam word for Bitter melon or Bitter gourd. Kaipakka is another name of Bitter Gourd in Malayalam.

Pavakka is cooked in various ways in South of India. It is stir-fried with various spices and it is called Pavakka Olarthiyathu or cooked with browned grated coconut and various spices called Pavakka Theyal/Theeyal. Some housewives who are inventive enough also make them as Pavakka Achar/Achaar

Below is a picture of raw Pavakka which is available in Kerala all the time and the various dishes made from Pavakka from Kerala, a state in the south of India.

Pazham Puzhungiyathu refers to steamed or boiled banana plantain which is usually served as breakfast food in Kerala, India. It is often served with Puttu and sweetened Rava Upma.

Pazham is the Malayalam word for Banana and Pazham Puzhungiyathu means steamed bananas/plantains in Malayalam. There are different varieties of bananas in India used for cooking (frying, steaming, etc).

The last 2 pictures are steamed banana (Pazham Puzhungiyathu) eaten with Atta Puttu for morning meal or breakfast in Allepey, Kerala, India.

Atta Puttu with Pazham

Atta Puttu eaten with Pazham Puzhungiyathu (Steamed banana/Plantain). Breakfast food in Allepey, Kerala, India