It’s Thaipusam Cavadee today and I am very happy to be among the lucky ones to enjoy the lazy morning of a public holiday. I was not feeling that lazy afterall as I got up early enough for some festive cooking.
As for every festival I try to go for traditional dishes with a sincere attempt to make them from scratch. South Indian cuisine has rice and coconut as its basic ingredients; these are consistently present in main courses, desserts and breakfast, and possibly in items you would not expect them to be.
I had planned ahead to make poutou and ounde for breakfast today so I already had my main ingredient ready. Both recipes call for ground rice which can be prepared on the eve as follows:
- Soak rice in enough water to cover it completely for at least 4 hours. Drain water and spread rice over a large cloth.
- Leave out to dry until most of the moisture has evaporated.
- Grind rice to a fine powder on your roche carri if you have one or in a heavy duty grinder in small batches.
- Sift a couple of times to remove larger particles.
If you are lazier than me 🙂 you can always get packaged ground rice from the shops. I cheated a bit for the poutou recipe as I used microwaving instead of the authentic steaming method. You can also give this quick and easy microwave version from Madeleine’s blog a shot in case you do not own a poutou mould nor do you have immediate plans of purchasing one.
The original puto is a steamed rice cake from the Phillipines and not at all from South India as I had always been lead to believe. It typically has a spongy and fluffy texture but the recipe below yields a slightly dry product as microwaving causes most of the moisture in the batter to evaporate. The taste however is very much comparable to poutous sold by our local street vendors.
POUTOU – RICE CAKES
Ingredients:
1 cup coconut powder
1 1/2 cups ground rice
3/4 cup self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 cups hot milk
3 tbs unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
- Grease a 8″ diameter microwave mould with butter.
- Melt butter in a medium pan and add to hot milk.
- I used coconut milk for a more intense coconut flavour.
- Add all the other ingredients and mix well with a spatula.
- Batter should have a wet pouring consistency.
- Pour batter into prepared mould. Do not cover.
- Cook on high in a microwave oven for 8-9 minutes.
- Use a 2″ circular cookie cutter to punch circles out of the cooked cake if you want the traditional poutou shape.
Our poutou seller never failed to turn up with ounde – another rice based sweet with a thin coating of coconut – along with his famous rice cakes. I would always secretly smile at the fact that the poutou guy would come shouting poutou chaud at the top of his voice, claiming that his cakes were piping hot when they had already turned cold after being carried around since morning.
OUNDE – COCONUT RICE BALLS
Ingredients:
1 cup ground rice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
Vanilla extract or cardamom
Method:
- Roast ground rice over a low flame in a heavy based pan until it is evenly tanned as you would do for semolina.
- Add half of the dessicated coconut and roast for another minute. Remove from heat and cool slightly on a pot holder.
- Prepare syrup by dissolving sugar in 1 cup water. Bring to a rolling boil and add vanilla or cardamom to flavour.
- Carefully add hot syrup to ground rice. Stir continuously to avoid lumps, and return mixture to heat.
- Cook until mixture is no longer sticking to the pan.
- Make small balls out of this mixture and toss in a bowl of dessicated coconut until they are all evenly coated.
- Store in a clean dry container and consume on same day.
65 comments
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January 21, 2011 at 6:39 am
zephyrliving
Absolutely lovely photographs! Glad you got to have a lazy day and bake and give us the results! Well done! Looking forward to what you do next… Peace, T.
March 26, 2011 at 10:31 am
neha
OMG looks so yummy..miss z times when I used to go2 bazar dimanche and buy poutou.. will def try this soon…thanks for the recipe Prerrna 🙂
You rock 😛
May 9, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Kevin
hmmm miam!
thanks to google for guiding me to your blog,
and thanks to you for sharing! 🙂
I agree with zephyr – the shots are great!
July 13, 2011 at 2:23 am
Belle
Hey,
instead of getting coconut powder, i got coconut flour 😦
can i still use it?
July 17, 2011 at 8:10 am
prerrnamirchi
Never heard of coconut flour here. I guess u can still use it and let us know abt the result 🙂
July 19, 2011 at 9:08 am
Noelle Mace
I was just browsing for an achard recipe and came across your blog…..making me remember all the lovely dishes during my childhood in Mauritius. Lovely pictures to inspire me to try your recipes.
September 11, 2011 at 1:30 pm
claude
Hi. what is the qty for ground rice for the poutou recipe? thks.
September 11, 2011 at 5:42 pm
prerrnamirchi
Hi Claude, it’s 300ml ground rice. I dunno how many grams it’ll work out to be though.
November 10, 2011 at 11:22 am
sarah
hi claude each ml = 1g example 300 ml =300 g i made the poutou they r wonderful and delicious to eat
September 14, 2011 at 8:34 pm
yusra
could you post a recipe for rasgullah (black one) ?
November 27, 2011 at 3:43 am
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[…] was reminded of our local poutou, probably a cousin of bibingka, with similarities in both taste and texture. It’s been a […]
December 6, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Pleasures and Pains
this is amazing! can you please tell me how to make the rice cake “aduson”??? i have been looking for the recipe everywhere and only my grandmother in mauritius makes it…would love to have a second opinion too!
ayeesha
January 16, 2012 at 9:58 pm
Nisha
Can’t wait to try it! I have been serching for ground rice for 2 days now.. Unbelievable stores dnt have it here.. Will give it a last try otherwise soak the rice as suggested!
March 16, 2012 at 9:18 am
Singfat CHU
Prerrna,
Bonjour de Singapoure.
I want to make ounde. I would like to check with you if “ground rice” is what we call “greau” in Mauritius???
Merci,
Singfat
March 16, 2012 at 3:19 pm
prerrnamirchi
hello singfat, ‘greau’ and ground rice are not the same thing. ground rice or rice flour is made from rice processed to a fine powder while ‘greau’ or semolina or ‘sujee’ is derived from wheat. ounde is typically made from ground rice but you can use ‘greau’ instead if u cnt find it there. there’ll be a slight difference in taste though 🙂
March 29, 2012 at 4:10 pm
neami
wow beautiful!
April 11, 2012 at 5:46 am
Nitish
Thnx Prerrna…i need to do the visual identity and branding of a product (a rare one…lol) and i got the idea of doing on poutous after seeing ur page!!
Thnx … 😛
April 11, 2012 at 2:52 pm
prerrnamirchi
glad to hear that my post got u “inspired” 🙂 wish u all the best nitish!
June 23, 2012 at 7:07 pm
nasheerah
hello,
i need to know if i can make unde with rice flour.
I am mauritian.But i am studying in malaysia. 😦 I miss my mauritian dishes.
June 24, 2012 at 1:03 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi nasheerah i guess it will be alright if u use rice flour for unde. i have tried it before and the result was pretty good. bonne chance pour tes etudes!
June 27, 2012 at 4:42 pm
jem
THnx a lot for this recipe…. mine turn up quite well 🙂
June 27, 2012 at 5:58 pm
prerrnamirchi
congrats jem! hope this inspires you to try some more recipes from my blog 🙂
August 5, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Disha
Hey, Prerna, just a query, the ounde stays for how long? Im about to cook them and send them abroad..I saw you wrote, consume on same day, does that mean, they wont hold on for any longer than a day?
August 6, 2012 at 2:15 pm
prerrnamirchi
It’s quite unlikely that they will keep their freshness for longer than a day esp because of the dessicated coconut 😦 maybe you can send the raw ingredients plus the recipe so that the person gets to make his/her own!
September 3, 2012 at 9:17 am
Shema
Hi Prerna
I came across your blog & just made your ounde! House smells wonderful, ounde feels great & can’t wait to taste at Iftar time tonight 😉
Couldn’t get the coarser ground rice here, used egyptian rice flour & I believe similar consistency. Also had to top up the ‘dough’ with more boiling water, I suppose rice flour being denser than ground rice? Personal preference, I added rose water & cardamom powder instead. I am chilling them in fridge as I prefer having them cold.
Thanks, this brought back so many childhood memories on the island! 🙂 Will try your galette manioc next time.
September 3, 2012 at 3:51 pm
prerrnamirchi
thank u shema! do let me know how the poudine manioc turns out as well. cheers!
September 3, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Shema
Fab fab fab! All gone! 😉 Everyone loved it…tasty, lite dessert (no fat, no eggs) & definitely fits into my healthier cooking efforts. Maybe next time I’ll grind brown rice instead & give it a shot.
October 5, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Reena Doorga
Nice recipe helps me a lot fan of Mauritian cuisine dishes like 7 curri ounde. By the way I got phillipino housemate n yes they do make pouto!!!! Sometime they make sweet or salty wiz ham inside !!! Never tasted the ham one but the sweet one is nice n they make lively cake from ube violet as we call in mauritius n lovely pandan cake!!!!!
October 6, 2012 at 7:54 am
prerrnamirchi
thank you reena! i wish i had pandan extract here, it adds a vibrant green to cakes and desserts!
October 31, 2012 at 11:34 am
Sweet pie
I have just made ounde 🙂 hmmmm it’s soo yummy thnx a lot 🙂
December 4, 2012 at 5:08 pm
javed
i would like to know how to make mauritian pudding manoic please. from london
December 4, 2012 at 6:02 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi javed here’s the recipe for poudine manioc: https://inspiredtobake.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/national-day-2011-nou-moris-nou-fierte/ 🙂
January 18, 2013 at 7:37 am
Tushal
hi prerrna how’r u? hey i tried making the poutou i replace the ml quantities by grams. my batter turned into a dough instead of pouring consistency. i added more water and cooked it. it ddnt turned out well..just eatable. can u help me out?
January 20, 2013 at 6:45 am
prerrnamirchi
Hi tushal, maybe u went wrong with the conversion into gms. Will try to convert it into metric measures for u to make ur life easier 🙂
February 7, 2013 at 5:37 am
shelby
hi i tried these yestertday but i feel like the 400ml of millk was not enough. it was still very dry and i had to add a lot of milk. i thought 300ml=300g, i guess it isnt>.<
the taste is good though but the consistency was kind of dry and heavy
February 7, 2013 at 4:43 pm
prerrnamirchi
yea u probably did not add enough milk or maybe u overcooked the mixture. hope u have better luck next time 😉
February 11, 2013 at 12:02 pm
Lovlie
Two of my favourite cakes when I was in Mauritius! I do miss those, can’t get them here unless I make them. 🙂 Really love your page!
February 11, 2013 at 4:27 pm
prerrnamirchi
thanks lovlie!
February 16, 2013 at 7:14 pm
nazu
heya
how many servings can we get?
February 17, 2013 at 2:03 pm
prerrnamirchi
sorry nazu, cnt remember. need to make this again and document it.
April 21, 2013 at 1:53 pm
Cookie
Needed a study snack, and I tried this out last night. Came out wonderfully and everyone enjoyed it so much! Thank you so much for taking your time to post a local recipe. Will definitely recommend your blog to all my friends who love to bake.
God bless x
April 21, 2013 at 3:25 pm
prerrnamirchi
thanks cookie!
May 12, 2013 at 4:15 pm
vim
hello I would like to know ground rice in french means farine du riz or not.Please do not laugh at me I don’t know the real name of ground rice in french.
May 14, 2013 at 6:35 pm
prerrnamirchi
Hi Vim I guess it’s farine de riz itself. Not very good at French either, sorry!
May 15, 2013 at 10:19 am
vim9
no problem. Thanks
July 13, 2013 at 7:47 am
kovila
Hi Prerrna,
Am checking the Poutou recipe n noticed u added butter in the hot milk. My question is what if butter is not mixed, will it have the same taste after baking n also the colour will be white?
Thank you to reply 🙂
July 13, 2013 at 1:51 pm
prerrnamirchi
no idea kovila, I always make it with butter so I cnt tell what it would taste or look like without. why dnt u try and tell us..
September 10, 2013 at 9:29 am
Hansini
Hi can i use water instead of milk for puttu?
September 10, 2013 at 12:20 pm
prerrnamirchi
I have never tried but I guess u can. Please give me feedback if u do.
September 12, 2013 at 4:59 am
Meny
Hi prema do u have recipe for sutalfine.
Also congratulate u for all ur work it’s so amazing to have beautiful n simple recipe to try on any occasion .
Thanks dear
September 13, 2013 at 5:59 am
prerrnamirchi
Hi Meny, it’s PRERRNA, not prema! Dnt have the recipe for sutalfine yet, I’m still on the lookout for it…
November 9, 2013 at 11:41 pm
rimena
Hi prerrna!first of all thank u so much keeping mauritian taste alive,u’r doing great…..i’m desperately want to eat ketitorpon(also known as gateau roche)but can’t find anywhere in UK also online.Do u have the recipes please. many thanks
November 10, 2013 at 4:33 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi rimena sorry but i dnt have the recipe right now. will have to look for one, try it, take pictures, then post the whole thing online, so please be patient 🙂
December 5, 2013 at 8:15 am
Fareeal
Hi Prerrna. Been looking for mauritian recipes for a while and was a blessing to come across yours. Made baguette fromage last night and was alright. Better than nothing and I’m sure that practice makes perfect. However was quite difficult to twist them – any tips?
I will make poutou later today for my mauritian guests and wanted to know if I could use a silicon muffin pan to make small ones. Do you think it will work?
Thanks again and keep up the amazing work. You are making a lot of expat mauritians very happy indeed.
December 7, 2013 at 11:23 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi fareeal maybe u could increase the fat in your dough to make it more pliable to shape. I guess the silicone pan should be ok but since I’ve never used one I cnt really predict the outcome. hope it works out fine 🙂
March 3, 2014 at 9:40 am
Sanah
Prernaji, can you possibly post the recipe for ghantya the sweet one please.Thanks
March 3, 2014 at 9:50 am
prerrnamirchi
ok sanahji, I will try 🙂
March 24, 2015 at 9:24 am
Deevia
Hello Prerrna ^_^
U r doing really good work and motivating lazy people like me to cook xD
I would like to know whether there is another way to cook the poutou instead of using microwave or poutou mould.
Thank u 🙂
April 1, 2015 at 3:46 am
prerrnamirchi
haha thnx Deevia! Hope that my recipes continue to inspire u. I think you should be able to cook poutou in a steamer but I cnt give u a recipe right now. Have to try it first 🙂
March 26, 2015 at 3:42 pm
deevia1
Hello Prerrna ^_^
U r doing great work and r motivating lazy people like me to cook 😀
I wanted to know whether there is any other way to cook poutou without using the poutou mould or microwave
October 5, 2015 at 1:21 am
Varsha
I am pleasantly surprised to have come across your blog. I will definitely try the poutou cho recipe!!! Would you have the recipe for gato roche please?
October 28, 2015 at 2:48 pm
Bashir Rostom
Mo puttu fine presquer bon sauf mo pas mettre du lait. Dans du lait mo mettre de leau chaud.
October 29, 2015 at 3:44 am
prerrnamirchi
ok zamai mo ine sey fer li sans dulait.
January 28, 2016 at 10:13 am
Moushira
Hi Prerna i made ur ounde taste good the only problem i encountered i had to add more water as 1 cup is not enough to the amount of ground rice.maybe 1and half cup ..thanks a lot dear ..may God bless ..also i wanted to ask you for the poutou can it be done steamed way like idli as i have the idli mould and i dont use microwave at home ..pls advise as i really love POUTOU
January 28, 2016 at 9:41 pm
prerrnamirchi
hello I dnt remember the exact amount of water, maybe u need to increase if the mixture is too dry. I guess the poutou can be steamed but I have never experimented with it so I dnt knw if it will work.