🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Cuisine

Pittu

Steamed Rice Flour and Coconut Cylinders

Prep Time 40 min
Servings 4
Difficulty Medium
Calories 312 kcal

Alternating layers of roasted rice flour and freshly grated coconut steamed inside a bamboo mold, producing a crumbly, fragrant cylinder that soaks up curry like a sponge.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1 Mix rice flour and salt in a bowl. Sprinkle water gradually, rubbing the flour between your palms until it becomes a loose, crumbly texture (not a dough).
  2. 2 Sift the moistened flour through your fingers to remove lumps — it should resemble coarse sand.
  3. 3 Fill the pittu mold in alternating layers: a layer of grated coconut, then a layer of rice flour, repeating until full. Top with coconut.
  4. 4 Attach the mold to a pot of boiling water (or steamer). Steam for 10-12 minutes until cooked through.
  5. 5 Push the pittu out of the mold. It should hold its cylindrical shape but crumble easily.
  6. 6 Serve hot with coconut milk curry, dhal, or pol sambol. Can also be eaten with jaggery and banana for a sweet version.

Did You Know?

The rhythmic tapping sound of pittu being pushed out of the bamboo mold is so iconic that Sri Lankans abroad say it triggers instant homesickness.