Murukku is a savoury, crunchy deep-fried Indian snack and its name derives from the Tamil word for “twisted” which refers to its shape. This is an easy instant murukku recipe which I made with instant murukku flour mix. Ready made flours for murukku has certainly made making this must-have snack during festivals such a breeze. Nevertheless there is still a need to prepare additional spices to mix with the flours. Otherwise, it will taste very plain without them. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to make and the taste is absolutely delicious!

INGREDIENTS
500 gram murukku flour mix, store bought

2 stalks curry leaves, minced

250 gram glutinous rice flour

100 gram rice flour

1/2 cup white sesame seeds, toasted

1 tbsp ajowan seeds or omam seeds, toasted

1 tbsp cumin or jintan putih, toasted

100 gram thick coconut milk

600 ml water, adjust accordingly

1 tbsp butter or margarine

1 tsp salt

For Frying:

1 1/2 cup Cooking Oil or peanut oil

1 bunch curry leaves

See The Original Recipe On My Website

Step 1: Have Ready All Ingredients Needed to Make Murukku.

Prepare all ingredients needed.

Clean, wash the curry leaves and pat them dry. Place on chopping board and chop finely.

Pre-Mix Murukku Flour

The pre-mix flour is consist of rice, black gram, gram dhal and salt and is available in most Asian grocery stores.

Glutinous Rice Flour

This is a fine flour made from ground glutinous rice. Adding this flour makes the murukku dough more flexible and resilient to take on the flavours of all the other spices and ingredients added to it.

Rice Flour

A fine flour made from ground raw rice and its gluten free. Addition of rice flour makes the murukku whiter and crispier.

Ajowan Seeds (Omam)

Ajowan is a small annual of the parsley family, closely related to cumin and caraway with the flavour of thyme and is used as a spice especially in India. Ajowan seeds are easily available in Indian provision stores. They can keep for a long time in air-tight container. Use sparingly as it has a very pungent and slightly acrid flavour.

Cumin Seeds

Cumin seeds resembles caraway seeds and is popularly used for its distinctive spice flavour.

White Sesame Seeds

Sesame seeds are tiny, flat oval seeds. They have a sweet aroma and add a nutty flavour and a delicate crunch to the fried murukku.

Thick Coconut Milk

This is prepared by directly squeezing grated coconut or it can also be store bought. The coconut milk adds aroma, richness and more flavour to the fried murukku. You can also choose to substitute with water instead.

Curry Leaves

These leaves add a very distinct flavour and aroma to the fried murukku. Ensure that the leaves are fresh and devoid of any spots or blemishes.

Butter/Marjerin

Butter plays an important role in making the fried murukku soft and melt-in-the-mouth textured.

Step 2: Dry Roast the Pre-Mix Murukku Flour.

Then, lightly fry to dry roast the pre-mix murukku flour in a warm wok/ frying pan over low heat till light for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Take care not to brown it. Otherwise the murukku will have too dark a colour and taste burnt.

Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Next, place the roasted murukku mix, glutinous and rice flour, omam/ajowan seeds, cumin seeds (jintan putih) and white sesame seeds in a large mixing bowl. Stir to mix well and set aside.

Notes

Do not skip the roasting part of the flour as it may result in chewy murukku after a day or two.

Step 3: Slowly Melt Butter in Coconut Milk.

Then, place water, coconut milk, butter/margarine and salt in a saucepan. Heat up till the butter is JUST melted. Do not bring to a boil.

Note

Do not add too much butter or the murukku will crumble when piped from the cookie mould and you will not get continuos swirls.

Step 4: Form the Murukku Flour Mixture Into a Dough.

Once the coconut milk mixture is cold enough to handle, gradually add the warmed coconut milk into the murukku flour mixture, little by little and mix with a spatula.

Once the dough is combined well, use your hands to knead and form into a smooth, non-sticky and soft dough.

Notes

Dough must be non sticky and crack free.

If the dough is sticky and soggy, it will absorb a lot of oil while frying. This also means there is too much fluid in the dough as the strands of dough breaks easily as you pipe the murukku. Add a bit of rice flour at a time and knead till you get a pliable dough.

If too dry, then murukku will break while making them. This means there is too little fluid in the dough and this makes it difficult to pipe the murukku. The texture of the fried murukku will also be hard. Just add a tablespoon of water at a time and knead till you get a smooth dough.

Step 5: Or Mix Using a Stand Mixer.

This mixing process can also be done in a stand mixer using a dough hook.

Step 6: Place Murukku Dough Into Cookie Mould.

First roll the murukku dough like a log. Then grease the cookie mould. Fix the star attachment and fill the cookie mould with dough.

Note

Be sure to keep the rest of the dough covered to make sure it doesn't dry out.

Step 7: You Can Pipe the Dough From the Cookie Mould in Two Ways.

You can either slowly pipe about 7 1/2 cm lengths of dough down directly into hot oil.

Pipe 7 1/2 cm circles starting from the centre onto greaseproof paper and then carefully drop them into the oil using a stainless steel spatula. (Press the tail end of the piped dough against the side of the coil of dough. This will prevent murukku from uncoiling when it is fried).

Note

A hole spatula works better to hold the piped murukku.

Step 8: Deep-fry the Murukku.

To deep fry the murukku:

First heat up enough oil in a wok or frying pan. Add a pinch of dough and if it raises immediately with a sizzling sound, then the oil is ready.

Then, fry some stalks of fresh curry leaves in the oil. Drain out the fried curry leaves once the flavour has been released into the oil, about 3 minutes.

Then, in batches, carefully drop the shaped murukku or pipe directly into the oil and slowly fry on medium high heat. There will be lots of bubbles. Do not overcrowd the wok/pan. Otherwise it will lower the oil temperature and also results in oil drunken murukku.

When the murukku turns crispy golden brown colour on one side and also when bubbles ceases, flip to the other side and cook till done when the bubbles just about disappear.

Notes

Place the murukku into the oil only when the oil is hot enough.

Fry on medium heat, keep stirring for even frying and fry until golden.

Bubbles begin to disappear when fried well. If not, they will turn chewy after a few days so make sure to fry evenly on medium heat.

Step 9: Drain Fried Murukku.

Remove the fried murukku with a strainer and drain them on some paper towels.

Repeat the same for the rest of the murukku dough.

When cooled, store in an air-tight container. And we're done!

Step 10: Ready to Be Served.

This snack does not need to be warm when serving and it still tastes good. This really works great too for people on the go who are looking for homemade snacks. It goes very well with beer too!

As always, ENJOY!

Notes

These crispy delights keep well for a long time.

Only serve or store them in dry air tight container after they have cooled completely. Otherwise it will not be crispy.