Arisi Murukku | Kara Murukku

My 310th recipe, "Arisi Murukku | Kara Murukku", a crispy, crunchy anytime South Indian snack. Something which you can make in a large batch and enjoy leisurely whenever you have a craving for a quick snack.

Technically 4th of December was Revi's Foodography 2nd blog anniversary. However, as per the Tamil Calendar, I started my blog on the auspicious day of Karthigai Deepam, 2 years ago. Today is Karthigai Deepam again and time for one more quick little celebration. I chose Karthigai Deepam as the day, since it is a festival of lights and I wanted to have a bright start to my blogging adventure. And it certainly worked well in my favor and cant have bargained for more. So to celebrate Karthigai Deepam as well as my 2nd Blog anniversary, decided to make yet another classic and traditional South Indian recipe. However cutting down on the sugar, chose to make a favorite savory snack of mine.

Murukku is a savoury, crunchy South Indian snack, usually made with rice flour. It is so called as murukku due to its twisted form. Twisted meaning Murukku in Tamil. With the winter storms becoming more regular bringing in cool temperatures, I am almost always craving for a snack in the evening. It becomes difficult for me to make puff and samosas on a daily basis. Murukku is the perfect solution. I usually make a big batch and store it in an airtight container. And whenever I crave for a quick little snack, I have the murukku ready at my disposal.

While I have posted a few murkku recipes earlier, like kai murukku, cashew murukku, etc., this one is by far my most favorite version. Unlike other versions this arisi murruku is the one which I frequently make at home. The reason is pretty simple. This arisi murukku is super easy to make with mostly ingredients which is readily available in my kitchen. Also this arisi murukku is made spicy with the addition of red chillis, which I very much love. We also call this as Kara murukku, due to the spiciness.

This arisi murukku recipe needs just a few basic ingredients. Rice flour and roasted gram flour forms the base of the dough. Melted butter is added to lend softness to the murukku and other spices like asafoetida adds the needed flavor to this murukku. The Dry red chillies play a dual role here. They lend themself to the spiciness of the murukku, as well as provides a nice reddish orange color to the arisi murukku. And the most happiest part of the process for me is when I get to shape the murukku with the murukku press. Making the perfect spirals is always fun to do. A recipe which makes both the cook and the person eating happy 🙂

Arisi Murukku | Kara Murukku

Arisi Murukku

Revathi Palani

Arisi Murukku is a crispy crunchy South Indian snack made with rice flour and roasted gram flour dal flour. Perfect to enjoy as an anytime snack.

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Prep Time 3 hrs 10 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 3 hrs 40 mins

Course Snack

Cuisine Indian

Ingredients

  

• 3 Cups Idli Rice
• 14 Dry Red Chilli (adjust per taste)
• 1 Cup Roasted Gram
• 1 Tbsp Melted Butter (melt after measuring)
• ½ tsp Asafoetida
• 1 tsp Salt (adjust per taste)
• Water - as needed for grinding
• Oil - for frying

Instructions

 

• First, wash and soak the rice, along with the red chillies, in sufficient water for atleast 3 hours.
  
   
• Meanwhile, powder the roasted gram (pottu kadalai) using a dry grinder / mixie. Keep it aside.
  
   
• Once the soaking time is done, first add the red chillies to the grinder / mixie and grind for a couple of secs. Now add a portion of the rice to the mixie and grind to a smooth batter. Just add a little water sufficient for grinding. Do not add more water, the batter should be thick and not watery.
  
   
  
   
• Transfer the ground chilli and rice mixture is a large mixing bowl. Grind the remaining rice to a similar consistency and transfer to the mixing bowl.
  
   
• Add the ground gram flour and the remaining ingredients (except oil for frying) to the bowl. Mix well using your hand to get a smooth, non sticky dough.
  
   
  
   
• Heat oil in a kadai for frying. Then, take a murukku press and grease the inside with oil. Grease the back side of a ladle and keep it ready. Take a small portion of the dough and add it to the murukku press. Slowly make spiral shape onto the back side of the greased ladle, as shown in the pic.
  
   
• Gently transfer the spiral dough into the hot oil and fry in medium flame until golden and oil stops bubbling. Remove from the oil and drain the excess oil on a paper towel.
  
   
• Store in an airtight container and enjoy.
  
  

Notes | FAQ

- Make sure that the murukku batter is not too thick or watery. If too thick, the murukku will turn out hard. If too thin, the murukku will absorb too much oil.

- If the dough is very thick, sprinkle some water to make it into a smooth dough. If the dough is very thin, add some more ground gram flour to get the correct consistency.

- Remember to use melted butter and not softened butter to get the right texture for the murukku.

- Always taste the first murukku and adjust salt and spiciness accordingly.

- Fry murukku in batches to ensure that the oil temperature is maintained.

- Use a murukku press plate with single star shaped hole.

- While I do not recommend this product, you can take a look here on Amazon page, to see how a murukku press looks like.