My Murukku recipe! A delicious crispy snack, loved by people in Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and India
Murukku is a snack that is seen a lot in Mauritius, in particular in the Indo-Mauritian community. When I was young, relatives used to make large quantities in preparation for Divali, grinding rice in a huge mortar and pestle and a stone grinder. They would prepare sweet treats and savoury snacks to distribute to friends and relatives.
As children, our job (myself, my brother and my cousins) was to take baskets of the items that they had prepared, packaged so that we could easily distribute them and take them to friends, relatives and neighbours nearby. We always received new dresses for Divali, which my aunt would painstakingly sew for us, usually similar styles from the same bolt of fabric.
In the evening, small clay lamps or diyas filled with oil and wicks would be placed around the front of the house and the garden, lighting up the place as per tradition to symbolise the victory of light over darkness. We would often have sparklers and older cousins sometimes got their hands on firecrackers. Every time I have Murukku, it takes me back to those days in my aunt’s kitchen and to the evening celebrations.
For this recipe, the freshness of the flour makes a huge difference so if you have the ability to grind the rice and chickpea flour yourself, you will end up with a better product.
A Murukku mould is necessary to make this, if you don’t have one, ask at your local Indian Grocer, they may be able to source one for you. I have often seen them at Indian shops here in Brisbane. Roasting the flour makes the dough less sticky and easier to manage.
Ingredients:
1 cup rice flour (250 ml)
1/4 cup urad flour
2 tablespoons besan (chickpea flour)
2 tablespoons ghee or butter
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Kashmiri Chilli powder to taste
1 sprig fresh curry leaves, finely chopped
Warm water as needed
Salt to taste (I usually use about 1 1/2 teaspoons
Dry roast the rice flour and urad flour separately for 2 minutes each. Make sure both the flours are just warm and not burnt. Place on a bowl with besan flour as well.
And two tbsps of water, then the salt and asafoetida.
Mix them well and keep it aside.
Combine the flours, butter, sesame seeds, asafoetida & salt mixture and cumin seeds in a large bowl and add warm water, mixing until it forms a stiff dough.
Most Murukku moulds come with various attachments. I prefer the one star one but you can see which one appeals to you. The one star plate is the traditional one used for this dish and also appears to me to be the easiest.
Place dough in mould fitted with the plate of choice and press out the dough, moving in such a way that the dough forms a circle as shown. Continue to form spirals, about 8 cm in diameter, until dough has been used up.
Heat oil for deep-frying. When oil is hot enough, gently add the murukku one at a time to the oil. I like to gently place the individual Murukkus on a slotted spoon and then lower the spoon into the oil so as not to break them.
Cook until golden brown. Remove from oil and allow to cool before storing in an airtight container. They can be stored for about three weeks.
