Murukku / South-Indian Chakli

Murukku is a very popular deep-fried savory snack that's made during festive occasions like weddings, Diwali, and other religious days. Tomorrow is Gokulashtami - Lord Krishna's birthday. So, this is one of the many savory dishes that's made to celebrate the day. 

My husband and I love murukkus, however, these murukkus are made entirely by hand instead of using any equipment to press out the spirals. The prepared dough is slowly spun in a twisted rope-like fashion to make the murukkus, as shown in this video. Now, to do this one needs a special skill and dexterity that I lack! My mom always says this skill is something that you are born with - like the ability to touch your nose with your tongue ;). I have resisted this idea and have tried several times to make these murukkus by hand when I was a teenager, but my success rate has been erratic. I don't want to discourage anyone, though! This is just my limitation. 

So, I have started to make these murukkus using a press. After all, the ingredients are the same, and consequently, the end product tastes the same. If the murukkus are made using a press, they resemble chaklis - another Indian deep-fried equivalent of murukku.

Here's the simple procedure to make murkkus.

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups rice flour
2. 1/4 cup skinned black gram / ulundu / urad dal
3. 1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
4. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds / jeera
5. salt, as needed
6. 1/4 teaspoon hing / asafoetida
7. oil for deep frying (use canola, sunflower, or vegetable oil)

Preparation:

1. Dry roast the rice flour until warm all through. Do not let it change color. Remove and cool. When cool, sieve it and discard any lumps or stones.
2. Dry roast the black gram until it is reddish brown. Cool and grind to a smooth powder. Sieve the flour and discard the coarse bits. 
3. Mix the rice flour and black gram flour along with salt, hing, and cumin seeds. 
4. Add butter and knead into the flours. 
5. Slowly add about 1.25 cups of water (or as needed) and knead to form a soft pliable dough. 
6. Heat oil in a pot. As the oil heats, line some paper towels on the counter or on a tray. Add two teaspoons of the hot oil and knead into the dough (this step is not necessary, but it helps crisp the murukkus more). 
7. Insert some of the dough into the murkku press with the lone star template and press/turn to make spirals of murukku. Make sure the tail of the murukku is not trailing by gently pressing it to the spiral. Gently remove each murukku onto a ladle by flipping the towel holding the murukku onto the ladle. Gently wriggle the murukku onto the hot oil and fry on medium heat until both sides are golden brown. Do not overcrowd the pot.
8. Drain on paper towels and repeat making the murukkus. 

Murukkus are ready to eat!

Please note that these murkkus are darker in color (with brownish red hues) than usual, because the black gram was roasted until red. Also, the older the rice flour, the darker the murukku will be. It doesn't make much difference to the taste - at least to people like me. I actually like the well roasted taste of gram flour. But, if you prefer a lighter-colored murukku, gently roast the gram until just fragrant and it doesn't change color.