12 Sept 2012

Murukku - Vinayagar Chathurthi Special..


Happy Vinayaka Chathurthi to everyone ... I know it is too early to wish but this is my favourite of celebration days. I don't know why but I do have a special attaachment  towards Lord Vinayagar. Something about his appearance makes it so easy to like him. I feel he is more of a friendly natured diety when compared to others in Hindu mythology.

The fun part of Indian festival celebration is that you get prepare and taste so many dishes. Snacks .... Hhhhmmm, there is no other way to put this... "I love snacks"..:)) I don't mean factory manufactured packets which are lined up in the super market shelves filled with artificial flavours and colours.


I mean the real stuff... the yummy crunchy snacks which are home made with tender loving care especially during festival times and auspicious days which fill our homes with delicious aromas and make our tummies happy..:)

I am a real amateur when it comes to making authentic sweets and savouries. Whenever I try the savoury items something goes wrong, either the batter is not right - murukkus start bursting once it goes in the oil or the batter disperses in the oil..:( or the flavor of the murukku is not right.

So I asked the help of an expert ... My MIL's sister. She is a wonderful cook and makes everything from mutton thala kari to murukku to maravalli kizhangu chips to maaladu with much ease. When I do question her about how she learnt all these dishes her reply would be "Ahh, its nothing, I just learnt it by making them".


Indeed she also enlightened me with some interesting stories regarding savory snack making.

a. When the murukku is put in the oil it floats to the surface with a big sizzle which is named as "Salangai Satham". Salangai means the sound from a series of small bells attached to a piece of heavy cloth which is tied on each feet when dancing Bharathanatyam /Kathak etc.

b.When the murukkus are done and the sizzle settles, the sound resembles "Kili Satham" meaning sound made by parrots. I don't know if the sizzles do resemble salangai or parrots but it was interesting just to listen to these small entertaining talks.


Recipe Source. Mrs. Nirmala Cinnaswamy.

Raw rice: 4 cups.
Urad dhal: 1/2 cups.
Butter [melted]: 50 gms.
Cumin seeds: 1 and 1/2 tbsp.
Omam:1 tsp.
Salt: 1 and 1/2 tbsp.
Asafoetida powder: 1 tbsp.
Coconut oil: 3 tbsp.
Oil for frying : as required.[Amount of oil used here is around a litre and half of which cooking oil and coconut oil are of equal quantities]


1. Wash the rice twice and drain the water completely. Dry the rice on a clean cloth in shade. When you hold some rice tightly in your hand the rice should hold the shape. When you loosen your hold, the rice should fall apart. This is the right moisture content state [patham].
2.Dry roast the urad dhal on medium flame until it turns slightly red in colour. Remove from flame and cool.
3.Grind both the rice and dhal seperately to a fine powder. Place the powdered rice and dhal in large plates for it to cool completely.
4.Sieve the powders twice and reserve seperately.


5. Mix the powders along with coconut oil, butter, omam, cumin seeds, asafoetida powder and salt thoroughly.
6.Now add water little by little and bring the whole flour mix together to form a soft dough. Meantime heat the required oil on medium flame.
7.Apply some in the murukku maker container and on your hands. Take a small portion of the dough and fill the murukku maker which is fitted with a plate which has 3 tiny holes and keep the rest of the dough aside covered with a wet cloth.
8.Press the dough with the second attachment of the maker [which is also oiled] so that the dough falls in strings. You need to go in circles 3 or 4 times. Make the murukku on a large ladle [jali karandi] and then plunge the ladle into the oil.[see notes]


9.The raw dough murukku will automatically detach itself from the ladle and float in the oil [see notes].
10.Fry upto 3 murukkus at a time as too many  at one time will bring down the temperature of the oil.
11.Remove the murukkus once they are slightly yellowish brown in colour and the sizzling settles.[see notes]
12.Drain on paper towels and store in air tight container when they are completely cool.


Notes:
Using coconut oil gives a lovely flavour to the murukku but you can use ordinary cooking oil to make them.

I would strongly suggest to use an extra large ladle to squeeze the murukku first and then plunge the ladle into the oil. If you are confident, you can squeeze the murukku directly into the oil.

The oil should be in the right temperature meaning once the murukku goes into the oil it should float to the top with a big sizzle. It the murukku sinks to the bottom of the vessel then the oil is a bit cold. If the murukku becomes reddish to dark reddish in colour before the sizzle settles, then the oil is too hot.

It is best to test the oil temperature by dropping a small piece of the dough into the oil before making the murukku.


It is essential to use fresh ingredients as savoury items made with old stuff does not have good flavour nor aroma and goes bad very soon.

I have used murukku attachment plate which has 3 tiny holes. You can use other attachments which have one large opening or 3 medium openings according to your preference. The only thing to take into account is the cooking time of the murukku - the thicker it is the more time it will take to cook.

You can use store brought ready made rice flour and urad dhal flour. Dry roast the flours seperately and cool the flours completely and proceed as per the recipe.


Enjoy...


Scribbled by Reva

33 comments:

Nava K said...

Lord Vinayagar is all over my house. He sits in my garden and every part of my home. I have a strong attached to him and so the occasion for him is always welcomed.

We don't make murukku but we go vegetarian, so plenty of Indian dishes for our rice. Murukku is only for Deppavali. You have made such lovely murukku and these are so tempting. I wish I can do the same but mine always goes out of shape. Mummy dearest is will be there for me when I have to make murukku.

Akila said...

cant take out my eyes from your clicks..... no words to say... and murukku.. realy very crunchy and yummy...

happy vinayagar chathurthi to u tooo....

Sahasra Recipes said...

Yummy Murukku.

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

this is absolutely awesome...
loooooooove your excellent presentation & captures..:)
Tasty Appetite

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

this is absolutely awesome...
loooooooove your excellent presentation & captures..:)
Tasty Appetite

Priya Suresh said...

Crunchy munchy murukkus looks super attractive,feel like grabbing some and having rite now.

Unknown said...

Deliciouus murukku..I too love homemade snacks....

great-secret-of-life said...

looks so crispy...

great-secret-of-life.blogspot.com

kitchen queen said...

yummy crispy murrukkus.

Indian Khana said...

Looks yum ..that color is so nice

Perspectivemedley said...

Looks crispy and fresh!! :)

Nithu Bala said...

Crispy and yummy.

Manjusfoodbites said...

Yummy....... Looking crunchy murukku and nice presentation, Specially the reflection.
manjusfoodbites.blogspot.com

Shama Nagarajan said...

Plz parcel a box of murukku to cheltenham....

Roshni said...

beautiful clicks Revathi... could not take eyes of it

Divya A said...

Nice clicks and authentic recipe :) Looks too crispy :)
Today's Recipe ~ Chicken Cigars
You Too Can Cook Indian Food Recipes

Divya A said...

Nice clicks and authentic recipe :) Looks too crispy :)
Today's Recipe ~ Chicken Cigars
You Too Can Cook Indian Food Recipes

Reshmi Mahesh said...

Crunchy delicious murukku...yumm

Nandita SS said...

The murukkus look perfect Reva. The clicks are simply outstanding

Shobha said...

Absolutely divine..
awesome clicks..the murukkus in the pics are so tempting and irresistible.

Suryaprabha said...

Lovely pics!! Very much tempting!!

http://aromaticdining.blogspot.com/

Kaveri Venkatesh said...

Beautiful pictures...and tempting murruku

Asiya Omar said...

lOOKS YUM AND CRISP..

Rumana Rawat said...

Looks delicious...

Sangeetha Nambi said...

Real crunchy, crispy, inviting muruku....
http://recipe-excavator.blogspot.com

Rinku Naveen said...

Murukku looks so so tempting!

meenab said...

now i m hungry seeing all those murukkus i love them and can finish off one packet just like tht hehe

these clicks look so inviting

APPLE RAITA

Nupur said...

ohh Lovely pictures and nice traditional way of making it.. I have never tried it before, but your post is prompting me to adapt it very soon ;)

Hey , please try and participate in my new event

Cook with-Poppy Seeds

Chitra said...

Beautiful clicks rev.. looks crunchy !

FewMinute Wonders said...

Like the technique used in making patterns on the slotted spoon before dunking into oil. Will try it next time. Also like how colorful the photo looks.

Yours Truly said...

wow..this is so amazing. i love the swirls and that tool is so handy! yummy!

kala said...

crispyyy n yummyyyyyyyyyy

Unknown said...

nice...

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