Murukku

Murukku is a very common south indian savory especially in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. In Karnataka it is referred to as " Chakli ". Most of the road side tea shops as well as bakeries provide this snack. Just like everything else , there are many varities of Murukku depending on what goes in, it can be kara, sweet, gingery, spicy and so on..but the bottomline is that it needs to be crunchy..and that " Muru" sound needs to be there while crunching into the fried snack. I'm sure that 's how this tea time snack got its name.

This recipe is from my MIL's kitchen, we made it this Onam and till then I had no idea that the complicated looking crispy snack was so easy to make.. My MIL has an idiappam maker which is about 40 years old, so using it was a breeze, Trust me, it just takes less than 30 mins to churn out some concentric beauties..

Ingredients : ( Makes about 15 - 20 Murukku's)

a) 4cups of rice flour

b) 1 cup urad dal

1/2 cup grated coconut

1 Tbsp - Pounded garlic

1 Tbsp - Ginger  ( I love this taste, so usually end up being more generous )

1 Tbsp - Small Onions ( Shallots / Sambar Onion)

1 tsp - cumin seeds

Flavor with  cloves ( 1 or 2), cinnamom ( a pinch)

Salt for taste

Other optional additivies if requried are : - Handful of sesame seeds , red chillies  ( for hot & spicy murukku's)

c) Oil - About 2- 3 cups,

d) Need a idiappam maker or murukku maker and the dice to make murukku

Method

Soak the urad dal for about 2 - 3 hours prior. Heat a deep pan and heat the rice flour ( no oil ), keep stirring and let the flour get evenly fried for about 10 mins. Meanwhile grind the urad dal along with all the other ingredients in b) with very little water. Once the rice flour is ready , mix it well with the ground paste while still hot.Seperate the mixture into small balls which would fit the idiappam maker at a time

Heat the oil in a kadai. When the oil is piping hot, drop each murukku using the idiappam maker.

There are two options here : -

If the concentric shape is requried then prepare them on to a plate using concentric hand movement and later on fry it.Else randomly press into the hot oil and then once fried ( light brown color), it can be taken out and broken randomly with your fingers..

Either way it tastes just the same. For starters, option 2 may be more easier.