Dhe Puttu: 'Dhe Best Puttu in Town!

Dhe Puttu Review

The moment you step into actor Dileep's restaurant "Dhe Puttu", you are surrounded by ‘puttuphernalia’. The restaurant is moderately spacious with a foyer where you await your turn. The writing on the glass door was not very impressive or tasteful however. There is a parking lot just adjacent to the restaurant itself, which is good because finding a good parking spot along the side lanes of National Highway 47 [NH-47] is never easy. The decor at the service area consisted of comfortable seating arrangements and table mats telling you how puttu was made. The vases on the table were ‘puttukuttis’, (bamboo holders with coir wrapped round the centre). At one corner was a life sized puttu maker surrounded by lots of glass jars displaying various pulses and other ingredients. The walls were adorned with pictures of traditional puttu making processes and the whole wall on the opposite side consisted of a cargo train loaded with: what else?! puttu and with Dileep’s cutout peeking out. That's it for the decor aspect. 

At the very outset, I would like to make it clear that the following paragraph is an introduction to puttu for those who need it. If you’re more interested in reading the review itself rather than getting a scholarship in puttu, then save yourself some time and scroll down all the way to the next paragraph!

Puttu is a very popular dish commonly consumed for breakfast. It is a rather iconic South Indian dish. In its most basic form, puttu would consist of finely ground rice and some grated coconut. What determines a good puttu is how finely ground the flour is. The finer it gets, the softer and finer the texture of resulting puttu. It also absorbs more gravy and tastes better. Puttu is cooked using specially designed steamers [called 'puttukuttis'] that were traditionally made out of bamboo, coconut shell or aluminium and stainless steel as more modern alternatives. 
First, some of the grated coconut is layered at the bottom of the steamer. Then, the rice flour is stacked on top of it with additional coconut layers and the whole thing is steamed. Puttu by itself is very dry, so it’s most often accompanied by some curry. Most popular curries are stew, kadala (black chickpea), cherupayar (green gram), thovara (pigeon pea) and so on. Some others like it sweet so they mix it with banana and maybe a little sugar. Still others like to have it with fish curry, as the loose gravy is ideal to moisten the puttu. A popular practice is to drink a nice and hot cup of sweet black coffee to wash it all down. It makes for a very healthy and nutritious meal as it is steamed and does not contain any oil on its own.

There are several variants of puttu, achieved by the use of Ragi, tapioca, oats, or multigrain instead of just ground rice. The curries served with it also make for an entirely different experience.

Now let the movie begin with the food review. The menu, or should we say movie consists of puttu as the main protagonist in all its imaginable avatars, be it plain rice, Ragi, oats, tapioca, or multigrain puttu. The more modern fusion takes or plot twists on offer were chicken Biryani puttu, prawn puttu, Spanish masala puttu etc. Another notable aspect was that all the dishes were named after Dilip's movies. Hence, you get to play a role in any of Mayamohini, Spanish Masala, Chandu Puttu etc, etc. There were also desserts or sweet puttu on offer with banana, coconut, jaggery topped with a plum. 

We tried the traditional white puttu, which turned out to be soft and fine like one’s own grandmother would make at home. This was served with kadala (black chickpea/channa) curry. Fish curry was another option. The chicken Biryani puttu was made with white puttu mixed with fried onion & cashew with the chicken masala in the centre. Tasted good but it was a tad bit dry. Prawn puttu was made in coconut shell shape with prawn masala on top. All these are accompanied as is customary, with a complimentary black tea & papad. 

To be critical, one of the only things we felt was lacking was that there seemed to be less coconut than should have been there for the amount of puttu. The lack of coconut could affect the flavour to a large extent. This is subjective though; some people don’t like too much coconut since it can be chewy. Moreover, there is no gravy or curry provided as it is; you need to order an extra curry to moisten the puttu.

The portions were adequate and prices reasonable. Sure, it is nowhere as cheap as what you could get off a roadside stall or thattukada but at least it isn’t fine dining priced. The best part is that unlike some places where the puttu by itself is nothing extraordinary and the gravies make all the difference, Dhe Puttu has taken the effort to ensure that the puttu itself is exceptional. This is achieved by using very finely ground flour for a soft and fine puttu that absorbs more gravy and tastes much better than any run of the mill offering. This means that even an ordinary puttu and kadala will taste special here. 
All in all, Dhe Puttu has all the right plot elements to become a blockbuster, just as most of Dilip’s movies have become!


Type of Cuisine: South Indian dish: 'puttu'. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian options available. 
Location

NH Byepass, Edappally, Kochi.

Parking: 
Few cars in front + dedicated parking lot, no problems here.

Ambience: 
Rather interesting decor, decent atmosphere although almost always packed. Waiting area is fine, with some regular chairs.

Service: Extremely good: attentive and polite waiters.

What we liked/Recommended for: 

• Puttu served here is actually good quality; does not rely on just having variety. 
• Range of different types of puttu on offer. 
• Necessary accompaniments are also served. 
• Good ambiance. 
• Usually great service. 

Potential Shortcomings: 
Pricing is fine for now factoring in the quality, setting and service but significant increases would be bad.
Taxes: Paid, no fat tax applicable.

Phone Number: +91 8943342494, +91 8943342492
Timings: Morning: 12:00 - 16:30, Evening: 17:30 - 23:30

Restaurant Website: http://www.dheputtu.com/

On Zomato:
     

Did you have Dhe [best] Puttu [here]? What did you order? Tell us what you think about the food in the comments below!