Steamed Red Rice Pittu with Warm Coconut Milk

⏱ 45 min · Serves 4

Sri Lanka's beloved breakfast: crumbly cylinders of steamed red rice flour and freshly grated coconut, served with a jug of warm, lightly salted coconut milk and a spoonful of fiery lunu miris. Simple, comforting and gently sweet from the coconut.

Per serving: 595 kcal · 8.5g protein · 82.0g carbs · 26.0g fat

Ingredients

• 400g red rice flour (or roasted rice flour)
• 150g freshly grated coconut (or frozen grated coconut, thawed)
• 1 tsp salt
• 250-300ml warm water
• 400ml tin coconut milk (thick)
• 100ml water
• 1/4 tsp salt, for the coconut milk
• 1 small pinch sugar (optional)
• For the lunu miris: 2 tbsp chilli flakes
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp Maldive fish flakes or 1/2 tsp salt
• Juice of 1/2 lime

Method

1. Put the rice flour and 1 tsp salt in a wide bowl. Sprinkle over the warm water a little at a time, rubbing with your fingertips, until the flour feels like damp sand and holds shape when squeezed but crumbles easily when poked. Do not make a dough.
2. Pass the mixture through your fingers or a coarse sieve to break up any lumps, then fold through the grated coconut.
3. Bring a pan or the base of a pittu steamer to the boil with plenty of water.
4. Loosely spoon the mixture into a bamboo pittu mould (or a steamer tray lined with a clean cloth) without pressing it down, so steam can travel through. Fit the mould over the boiling water.
5. Steam for 8-10 minutes, until steam rises freely through the top and the pittu smells nutty and cooked. Push out onto a plate and repeat with the remaining mixture.
6. Meanwhile, warm the coconut milk with 100ml water, 1/4 tsp salt and the sugar in a small pan over low heat. Do not let it boil, or it will split. Pour into a jug.
7. Pound or stir together the chilli flakes, onion, Maldive fish or salt and lime juice into a rough sambol.
8. Serve the hot pittu in thick rounds with the warm coconut milk poured over and lunu miris on the side.