Masala Chai and Murukku
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Recipe courtesy of Maneet Chauhan

Murukku

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  • Level: Intermediate
  • Total: 1 hr 10 min
  • Active: 1 hr 10 min
  • Yield: about 60 murukku
Chai is never served by itself – there is always some form of biscuits, sweets or snacks. I personally love murukku, as my neighbors in southern India would make it for me all the time. I was fascinated with the process of how murukku is made and always helped. I always got to take a bag home with me, too.

Ingredients

Directions

Special equipment:
a murukku maker
  1. Dry-roast the urad dal in a large stainless steel skillet over medium heat until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Let cool, then grind in a spice grinder. Strain through a sieve.
  2. Dry-roast the sesame seeds in the same skillet until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
  3. In a bowl, mix together the rice flour, ground urad dal, sesame seeds, salt, turmeric, red chile powder and hing. Crumble in the butter and mix well. Add the water slowly and start to knead the dough. Knead to a smooth and soft dough, adding additional water as needed.
  4. Cut about sixty 4-inch squares of parchment paper. Attach the star mold to a murukku maker and grease the murukku maker with some oil. Transfer the dough to the murukku maker and tighten the lid. Pipe the dough in about 3-inch-wide concentric circles on the parchment squares.
  5. Heat about 2 inches of vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot to 350 degrees F. In batches, slide the murukku into the oil and fry, flipping, until crispy on both sides, about 3 minutes total. Drain on paper towels and let cool. Repeat with the remaining murukku, bringing the oil back to temperature between batches.