All these years, as appams strutted about as Kerala's best delicacy, its somewhat less-renowned cousin, the good old puttu, sulked. Not any more. The puttu, a cylindrical steamed rice treat, is on its way to the Guinness Book of World Records, no less.
Students of the Oriental School of Hotel Management in Wayanad (north Kerala) have made a 10-feet-long gigantic puttu. It took more than two weeks to make this half-a-tonne giant.
Twenty-eight kilogrammes of rice flour and 20 coconuts went into the puttu, which was prepared before a group of select dignitaries. The mix was steamed in a specially-designed 12-feet-long aluminum mould. Then the trouble: the puttu had to be intermittently laced with shredded coconut and the mould was too high. Out came a ladder and the students went right up to do the job. It took more over 90 minutes for the steam puttu to be ready.
"Our final year students wanted to do something big and came up with the idea. Initially, they faced a lot of problems. After several trials, their hard work and determination bore fruit," college principal Shibhu George said. The college has informed authorities of the Guinness and Limca Book of Records and is waiting to hear from them.
Ajin Pisharody, one of the architects of the gigantic 'puttu', said they got their inspiration from Tamil Nadu. "We had heard of a 60-feet dosa. That's where we got this idea. Of course, our faculty members and principal guided us."
{{/usCountry}}Ajin Pisharody, one of the architects of the gigantic 'puttu', said they got their inspiration from Tamil Nadu. "We had heard of a 60-feet dosa. That's where we got this idea. Of course, our faculty members and principal guided us."
{{/usCountry}}Pisharody quickly adds that the apart from the size, their puttu is as good as the real one. "We got a few suggestions, asking us to add spices and other ingredients, which we politely turned down. We stuck to the traditional cooking method."