Flavored Puttu and Varutharacha Kadala Curry

Puttu is a very popular Kerala breakfast dish.It's usually made up of ground rice and coconut which is steamed in special moulds.Here is a flavored version of Puttu. Though not the traditional one, this has become a favorite of us all off late.
Though puttu can be served with many different curries, and even with just bananas, one of the most popular combination is that of puttu and kadala (black chana).

Flavored Puttu

Ingredients:

Roasted rice flour - 1 cup
Coconut - 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup for layering
Cumin seed - 3/4 tsp
Shallot (sliced)-1/4 cup
Salt Water - to taste

Method:
Take rice flour, coconut,shallots and cumin seeds in a bowl and mix well.Add salt to the water and mix it with the rice powder. The mix should be not too wet, nor too dry. If you take a little of the mix and press it between your fingers it should hold its shape without being sticky. In case it is too dry, add more water little by little, mixing thoroughly. Put the powder in the mixer or a food processor and whip it for 3 seconds (not more, as otherwise the powder will turn to a dough like form), till the powder is in a bread-crumb form.
 If you are using a puttu maker, line it with a spoon of grated coconut and fill the remaining potion with the prepared powder. If you don't have a puttu maker, you can use a steamer instead. Just line it with the remaining coconut and spread the rice powder over it and steam it for about 4 minutes.

Kadala Curry:

Ingredients:

Cooked Black chana/ kadala 2 cups
Grated coconut ½ cup
Garlic 2 cloves, sliced
Red chilly powder ½ Tbs
Coriander powder 1 Tbs
Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
Cinnamon-2  1" piece
Cardamom-2
Fennel seeds-2tsp
Mustard-1/4 tsp
Coconut slices-1/4 cup
Curry leaves a few
Onion-1 big
Ginger-1 small piece
Tomato-1(optional)
Salt as needed

Method:
Heat a non stick pan at medium high flame and add the grated coconut, garlic and curry leaves. Saute this until the coconut starts to slightly change its color to light brown. Reduce flame and add red chilly powder, turmeric powder ,coriander powder ,cinnamon,fennel and cardamom. Saute again until raw smell from the powders are all gone. Switch off flame and allow the mixture to cool down. Grind this to a smooth paste adding little water, if needed. Take a pan add 1 tablespoon oil and when hot splutter the mustard in it and then saute the coconut pieces . When coconut turns light brown add onion ,curry leaves and ginger. When onion turns slight brown add tomato and saute till oil separates or you can skip adding tomatoes and add the cooked chana along  with  the water its cooked in and ground coconut. Cook this for another 10 to 15 minutes at medium heat till the gravy thickens to your liking.