This instant arisi murukku made with rice flour and sesame seeds is a savory and crispy snack to be enjoyed during Deepavali or shared during tea time.
Murukku Dough
Murukku is a South Indian savory snack that I grew up munching on. There are so many different variations of murukkus. Murukkus vary based on the dough that they are made out of as well as the shape that they are piped into.
My instant arisi murukku is a spiral murukku made with a combo of rice (arisi) and besan flour (gram flour). Typically, murukkus are made with a proportion of rice (arisi) flour and urud dal. However, I wanted to simplify my recipe and did not want to use dal which requires a grinder to pulse the dal. Instead, this instant arisi murukku is made from besan flour or gram flour which gives it an extra boost of flavor without needing a grinder.
It is important in this recipe to get the consistency of the murukku dough correct. If the murukku dough is too dry, then the murukku will not only be physically difficult to pipe but the dough will break as it is being piped. If the murukku dough is too wet, it will result in a sloppy shape and cause the murukku to retain excess oil after frying. So please follow the measurements in this particular recipe, as this one isn't as forgiving as my others if you eyeball out the measurements.
Murukku Maker
A murukku maker is a dough press that is so versatile. They come with many different plates that attach to the bottom, each with different hole shapes so that they can be used for many dishes. The star-shaped plate is used to pipe spiralized murukkus but can also be used for various varieties of homemade Indian snacks. In addition, I use my murukku press to make idiyappam, a classic South Indian rice noodle. The press comes with a rotating handle which helps easily extrude the dough and really makes the whole murukku making process easier. My go-to murukku murukku maker is a golden exterior brass maker which costs about ~$38 USD and is definitely worth the money for the amount of time it saves.
Murukkus without a murukku maker
However, if you are not looking to add another kitchen gadget to your shelves, you can use a piping bag. If you don't have a murukku maker, you can use a piping bag with a Wilton 18 (open star) tip. You can also simply cut a ¼ inch hole to the piping bag instead. However, without a tip, the murukkus will not have added texture that is formed when with the star shaped tip is used. Just note that this method will require a bit more arm strength to push out the dough. When using a piping bag, I recommend dividing the dough into smaller portions to make it easier to push out the dough.
Tips for making murukku
- Grease your murukku maker or piping tip/bag before using. Greasing the murukku maker ensures that the murukku dough can easily be extruded from the tool.
- Cover the murukku dough with a damp towel when it is not being used to prevent the dough from drying out.
- Pipe out your murukkus on a square piece of parchment paper. Use parchment paper for easy transfer of the murukkus into frying oil. It can be difficult to form a perfect spiral directly into the oil so it is best to pipe out the spiral before transferring it to the oil. Others often recommend using their frying spatula but I recommend against this method. This is because the spatula often gets hot during the frying process which can lead to burns. In addition, it limits how many murukkus you can pipe at one time.
- Fry murukkus on low heat (325F) so they cook through. Cooking on high heat will cook the exterior of the murukku before the center of it is fully cooked. Cooking on low heat ensures that the murukkus are crunchy and remain that way for a long time! It should take about 1-2 minutes for the murukkus to cook at this temperature.
- Get family members to help make the murukkus. If you are making murukku during the holidays like Deepavali, make it a group activity. This expedites the murukku making process and it is loads of fun. Checkout this article on how you can make other snacks and sweets for your Diwali/Deepavali sweets and snacks gift boxes.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don't have a murukku maker, you can use a piping bag and attach a Wilton 18 (open star) tip get a similar texture for your murukku. You can also simply cut a ¼ inch hole to your piping bag. If you do this, you will get a murukku that does not have the added texture that is formed with the star shaped tip but will get you a spiral shape.
Murukku and chakli are names that are used interchangeably to describe the spiral, savory, snack. Chakli is the Karnataka name of this dish and murukku is the Tamil name. However, chaklis tend to have the addition of gram flour in addition to urad dal and rice flour whereas typical murukku recipes don't call for gram flour.
Once murukkus are cooled, store murukkus in an airtight container for up to 2 months. This makes them great additions to Diwali sweets and snacks gift boxes due to their long shelf life.
You can not use this recipe to bake a murukku instead of frying it. It leads to a stale-tasting murukku that doesn't get quite as flavorful or as crunchy as the fried version.
Instant Arisi Murukku for Deepavali
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour
- ¼ cup besan or gram flour
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida hing
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus more for frying
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Cut out five 4 inch x 4 inch parchment paper squares and lightly grease with oil.
- In a medium bowl, add 1 cup rice flour, ¼ cup besan or gram flour, 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 2 teaspoons white sesame seeds and 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon asafetida, and ¾ teaspoon sea salt. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to the dry mixture and mix with your hands until the flour gets coated with the oil and forms a coarse texture. Add ½ cup water to the dry mix to form a firm but pliable dough. Cover with a damp towel when you are not using.
- Grease the murukku press to ensure that the dough does not stick.
- Insert the dough into a greased murukku press with the star-shaped hole attachment. Create spirals of five rings in width on the greased parchment paper squares. Alternatively, divide the dough into 6 pieces and feed ⅙th of the dough at a time into a piping bag with the Wilton 18 (open star) tip. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the surface and pipe the murukkus onto the parchment squares. This method is a bit more tedious but is a great alternative if you do not own a murukku press.
- Heat a heavy bottom pot with enough oil so that it is at least 1 ½ inches in depth. Heat until the oil is 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Use the parchment paper to transfer a single spiral murukku onto a wide slotted frying spatula and gently lower the spoon into the hot oil. Repeat making sure not to overcrowd the pot with too many murukkus. Fry the murukkus on one side for ~1 minute and turn and allow them to cook on the other side for another ~30 seconds or until you see them start to slightly sink. You aren’t looking for much color on the murukkus; they should be a light tan. If they start to take on color before the one minute mark this is an indicator that the oil is too hot.
- Place them on a wire rack and allow them to cool. Use a paper towel to further rid them of oil. Store in an airtight container for up to two months.
Notes and Tips
- Grease your murukku maker or piping tip/bag before using. This ensures that the murukku is easily extruded from the tool.
- Cover the murukku dough with a damp towel when it is not being used to prevent it from drying out.
- Pipe out your murukkus on a square parchment papers and use parchment paper for easy transfer of the murukku into frying oil. It can be difficult to form a perfect spiral directly into the oil so it is best to pipe out the spiral before transferring it to the oil. Others recommend using their frying spatula but I recommend against this method as the spatula often gets hot during the frying process and it limits how many murukkus you can pipe at one time.
- Fry murukkus on low heat (325F) so they cook through. Cooking on low heat ensures that the murukkus are crunchy and remain that way for a long time!
- Get family members to help make the murukkus. If you are making murukku during holidays like Deepavali, make it a group activity and get family members to help out!
Shri Repp