The other breakfast treat that my mother’s friend had brought this morning was paal puttu. I have actually had a few different versions of this over the past decade. Surprisingly, this is the first dish from the northern region of Sri Lanka that I have had which my mother hadn’t either heard of or tried until I described it to her.

Paal puttu

Time taken: 30 mins

Serves 2 or 3

Ingredients:

• Urad dal/ ulunthu flour – ¼ cup + 2 tbsp
• Rice flour – ¼ cup
• Coconut milk – ¾ cup
• Sugar – 1 tbsp
• Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Mix ¼ cup urad dal flour and ¼ cup rice flour with salt and hot water and make them into tiny balls.
2. Steam the balls and keep aside.
3. Heat the coconut milk, with the sugar and salt seasoning, in a pan.
4. Add  2 tbsp urad dal flour to the coconut milk as it starts to boil. Stir well.
5. As the sauce thickens, add the steamed balls and mix well. Remove pan from stove after a minute or two.
6. Serve warm.

Recipe source: Ithayarani Jeyabalasingham.