Do you know what brings people together more than anything? It’s the food. We all have an aunt who makes delicious ‘pakoras’, and a grandma whose traditional snacks are a reason for the family to sit together and talk about a million stories with each bite.
India has innumerable snacks perfect for a cup of tea, ‘lassi’, or ‘sharbat’. For instance, Chakli and Murukku are a crispy snack made on auspicious occasions in southern parts of the country.
Now ‘chakli and Murukku might look the same. But, they taste slightly different. Tasting Chakli will introduce you to the flavours of Maharashtra, while Murukku will take you to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.
Chakli has ‘besan’ or gram flour and Murukku has ‘urad dal’ as its main ingredient. A simple change of ingredients adds a different note of flavour to them. The best part is, that you can make both Murukku and Chakli as the technique and recipe is pretty similar.
So, we are sharing both: a crispy and flavourful Murukku recipe, and a crispy Chakli recipe. There are some tips and tricks also waiting for you at the end, to help you make the best crispy Murukku and chakli.
Let’s get to it!
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Did You Know?
Murukku is traditionally a Tamil word meaning ‘twisted.’ There are more than 10 variations of this traditional snack across India, known under various names. A few of them are: ‘chakkuli’ in Kannada, ‘dantakali’ in Odia, in Telugu, it is called ‘murukulu’/’janthikalu’/’chakralu’; ‘chakri’ in Gujarati and Konkani; and Chakli in Marathi cuisine.
The Best Crispy and Flavorful Murukku Recipe
It might be daunting for you to make Murukku up till now. But, not anymore. This detailed recipe will guide you on every step, from making the dough to shaping the Murukku and frying it. Every step will be easy .
Here are the things you would need to make crispy and flavourful Murukku.
Ingredients to make crispy and flavourful Murukku
- 3 tablespoons urad dal
- 1 cup rice flour
- ¼ teaspoon asafoetida or (‘heeng’)
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder or add as required
- ½ teaspoon salt or add as required
- 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon carom seeds (‘ajwain’)
- 2 tablespoons ‘desi ghee’ – 40 grams
- 10 to 11 tablespoons water or add as required
- oil as required for deep frying
Cooking instructions to make crispy and flavourful Murukku
Step 1: Making urad dal flour for Murukku.
- Heat a pan or kadai at low flame and add urad dal.
- Roast urad dal till it becomes aromatic or light golden. Do not make it brown.
- Transfer the roasted ‘urad dal’ to a plate and let it cool.
- Then, grind it to a fine flour and keep it aside.
Meanwhile, spread oil on the Murukku disc and on the part of the Murukku maker, where the dough will be placed.
Step 2: Making Murukku dough
- Sieve the rice flour and ‘urad dal’ flour one after another.
- Then, add red chili powder, asafoetida, and salt and mix them well.
- Sift the dry ingredients again.
- Add sesame seeds, carom seeds, and ghee to the sifted flour.
- Then, with your fingertips, evenly mix the ghee in the flour. Ghee should spread well in the flour and the flour should hold itself together when pressed in the palm.
- If it breaks or falls apart, then add 1 to 2 teaspoons more ghee. Mix again very well and then check.
- When the flour is ready, add water gradually and knead it well.
- Now, taste the dough and adjust the salt.
Remember, the dough should be soft, smooth, and slightly moist, but not too moist or wet to hold its shape.
Murukku has to be made as soon as you knead the dough, so keep the oil to heat up and ready before you shape and fry them.
Step 3: Shaping Murukku
- Now, divide the dough into small portions and add one portion to the Murukku maker. Cover the remaining dough to prevent it from drying up.
- Heat oil in a kadai (wok) or frying pan at a low flame.
- Now, spread parchment paper or any plain paper on a flat surface and sprinkle some flour on it. You can use plates as well; sprinkle some flour on them to prevent the Murukku from sticking to them.
- Press the Murukku maker and move in rounds to get the concentric circles or spiral shapes on the paper.
- Break the dough towards the end and press it to the last concentric circle of the spiral.
Step 4: Frying Murukku
- First, add a small piece of the Murukku dough to the oil, and if it comes up gradually, the oil is ready.
- Now, take a small to medium-sized wooden flat spatula and place it gently under the Murukku.
- Then, gently tilt or place the spatula in oil so that the Murukku slides in the oil.
- Similarly, add the remaining murukku and fry them on medium heat.
- Flip them when they are golden on one side and fry the other side.
- Fry the Murukku till the oil stops sizzling or till it becomes crisp and golden.
- Take them out of the oil and transfer them to kitchen paper towels to soak extra oil.
- Once cooled, store the Murukku in an air-tight container at room temperature.
Crispy and flavourful Murukku are ready to give you company with tea.
As promised, scroll down to see how to make crispy Chakli.
The Perfect Instant 'chakli' Recipe
The major difference between Chakli and Murukku is the ratio of ingredients. In Chakli the ratio of ‘besan’ to rice flour is 1:2, in Murukku a very small quantity of urad dal is used. Other than that, the process of making the dough and frying is similar.
Actually, making Chakli is fairly easier than Murukku, as you don’t have to make flour from scratch. Let’s see the ingredient list for the instant Chakli recipe.
Ingredients to make crispy instant Chakli
- 1 cup rice flour
- ½ cup besan (gram flour)
- 2.5 tablespoon oil or softened butter
- ⅔ to ¾ cup water – as required
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon carom seeds (‘ajwain’)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder or add as required
- 1 generous pinch asafoetida (heeng) – optional
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds – white or black
- salt as required
- Groundnut oil or mustard oil for deep frying (or any high smoke point oil)
Cooking instructions to make crispy instant Chakli
Step 1: Making Chakli dough
- Take the rice flour, besan, carom seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida, and salt and mix them well.
- Now, add ghee to the dry flour mix and spread it well into the flour. The flour should hold itself together when pressed in the palm.
- When the flour is ready, add water gradually and knead it well.
- Now, taste the dough, adjust the salt, and knead again.
- Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Shaping Chakli
- Now, heat oil in a ‘kadhai’ at a low flame.
- Apply some water to the chakli/murukku maker and place a portion of the dough inside it.
- Tighten the lid and press the 'chakli' maker to prepare the chakli. Move-in rounds to get a spiral shape. Make the 'chakli' in the same way as Murukku, so that it is easy to remove them.
Step 3: Frying Chakli
Follow the same process as described for frying Murukku to fry the Chakli. However, make sure that you are frying Chakli in small batches.
That’s about it— making crispy and flavourful instant Chakli. We know you might have some doubts. So here are the tips and tricks to troubleshoot all the Murukku and Chakli problems.
9 Tips for Making Perfect Murukku And Chakli
Want to get your crunchy snacks just right every time? Here are nine tips to make it happen flawlessly.
- If the dough is too pasty or wet, you won’t be able to form the dough into the Murukku or Chakli shape. Adjust it by adding a few tablespoons of rice flour and kneading again.
- In the case of dry dough, the Murukku or Chakli will tear or break while shaping. So, add a few tablespoons of water, mix, and then knead.
- A proper dough for this Murukku or Chakli recipe should be smooth, soft, and slightly moist. Don’t make it too moist, as then it will absorb more oil while frying.
- For a spicier snack, add about 1 teaspoon of green chili paste. You can even add about 1 teaspoon of garlic paste along with the chili paste.
- Deep fry the Murukku or Chakli on medium heat. Fry it in batches in moderately hot oil at about 180 to 190 degrees Celsius. The oil should not be smoking hot or warm.
- Be cautious of the oil temperature. Extremely hot oil will burn or brown the snack too quickly. Warm oil will make it absorb more oil.
- If it comes up fast, the oil is hot, so reduce the heat. If it sticks, is at the bottom, or comes up slowly, the oil is not hot enough, so increase the heat.
- Do not brown Murukku or Chakli too much, as it would affect the taste and texture.
- Also, check out the first batch of murukku. If it looks like the Murukku has absorbed oil or breaks in oil, then add some rice flour, about 1 to 2 tablespoons, and knead again. This happens if too much fat has gone into the dough.
FAQs: Crispy and Flavorful Murukku Recipe
Why is my Murukku not crispy?
It means the oil was not hot enough to fry Murukku. To get crispy and crunchy Murukku, the oil should be hot, and the Murukku should be fried at medium heat until it turns golden brown.
Is eating 'chakli' good for health?
Chakli is made from protein-rich gram and rice flour, making it a nutritious snack to munch along with tea and coffee. Consuming 'chakli' or Murukku prepared in good quality oil and with organic ingredients in moderation is a healthy snack option.
How long can I store Chakli for?
Chakli and Murukku are good to be consumed for a month when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Conclusion
So, what are you going to have with tea today: Chakli or Murukku?
It’s time that we bring back the traditional Indian snacks in our kitchens and create a few more stories to share with friends and families, right?
We hope that “The Best Crispy and Flavorful Murukku Recipe will help you do that. Now, it’s time for Two Brothers Organic Farms to help you find the best homemade 'chakli' and its ingredients. Behind every flavorful Chakli lies flavorful and organic gram flour, turmeric, red chili, wood-pressed groundnut oil, and other things.
