THENKUZHAL MURUKKU, MANUKUPPU

Thenkuzhal Murukku is a popular savory snack usually made for festivals especially for Diwali and Krishna Jayanthi. It’s a crispy and tasty snack made using rice flour and urad dal flour.

Murukku derives from the Tamil word for “twisted”, which refers to its shape. Murukku is typically made from rice flour and urad dal flour. Murukku is especially popular in the states of Karnataka (where it is called chakli), Tamil Nadu,
Kerala, Andhra Pradesh. It is also popular in countries with substantial presence of Indian and Sri Lankan diaspora, including Singapore, Fiji, and Malaysia.

Ingredients & Preparation

Murukku is typically made from rice and urad dal flour. The flours are mixed with water, salt, chilli powder, asafoetida and either sesame seeds or cumin seeds. The mix is kneaded into a dough, which is shaped into spiral or coil shapes either by hand or extruded using a mould. The spirals are then deep fried in vegetable oil.

Depending on the region, there are several variations of the thenkuzhal murukku. Manukuppu Ma is the basic flour made out of lentils such as moong dal and chana dal along with rice and stored to make various types of murukkus.

Oma Podi (Ajwain Seeds/Carom Seeds)

Ingredients:

Chana dal flour/besan -1/4 padi

Rice flour – 1/8 padi

Salt – ¼ palam

Carom seeds/ajwain – 1/8 palam

Ghee – ½ palam

Method:

● Set aside Chana dal and rice flour in a coated vessel. Melt salt in 1 palam water and pour it in the flour. Add carom seeds and unmelted ghee and mix it well.

● Knead this with enough water. Use thenkuzhal machine and take lemon sized kneaded flour and cook it in ghee or oil. Remove from fire with a sieved ladle. Repeat this procedure for the rest of the flour also.