MASALA MURUKKU - Learn how to make these easy Masala Chaklis and Spice up your Coffee time!

My MIL is an expert in judging  any new recipe's outcome even before attempting it. With years of hands-on experience in the kitchen, she has literally studied ingredients to such an extent that she can play around with them confidently and get desirable results when a recipe is formulated the very first time. 

This recipe came off from her one such innovative experience. Her experience not only helps in bringing out the best of a recipe, but also useful and comes to rescue when a recipe fails. That failure later turns into another good recipe. 

Murukku derives its name from the Tamil term "Murukku" that denotes twisted shape. This savoury is  a popular anytime snack in Tamilnadu, primarily sold in tea stalls, small food joints, petty convenient shops (Petti Kadai) and by vendors at bus terminals and cinema halls. It is also made in every house hold during festive occasions or when people just feel 'snacky'. Well, that is definitely not a term  in a dictionary as far as I know. What I meant was that people much on these crispies whenever they want to.. I would rate these among the top five in a list of tea time crispies. 

Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Category: Snacks
Spice level: Mild
Difficulty level: Easy
Source: MIL
Servings: 22

Nutrition Facts
Servings 22.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 147
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 12 g	18 %
Saturated Fat 1 g	6 %
Monounsaturated Fat 8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g
Trans Fat 3 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0 %
Sodium 29 mg	1 %
Potassium 7 mg	0 %
Total Carbohydrate 8 g	3 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g	2 %
Sugars 0 g
Protein 1 g	3 %
Vitamin A	0 %
Vitamin C	0 %
Calcium	0 %
Iron	1 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Rice flour
• 3/4 th cup Gram flour/ Besan
• 1 tsp butter, softened 
• 1 1/2 tsp Chilli powder
• 1 tsp carom seeds/ ajwain/ omam
• 1/2 tsp pepper corns
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp white sesame seeds
• a generous sprinkle of asafoetida
• Salt
• Oil for frying

METHOD

• Melt the softened butter in a microwave - 5 sec.
• In a mixing bowl, add rice flour and gram flour. Rub the butter into the flour and mix well until it resembles bread crumbs.
• Heat oil in a kadai and keep the flame simmered. While the oil gets heated, prepare the dough mix.
• Add salt. Mix again. Sprinkle chilli powder and asafoetida. Crush sesame seeds in between your palms and add it to the flour. This prevents it from bursting while frying. Set aside.
• Grind together carrom seeds, fennel, pepper corns and cumin seeds to a fine powder. Add this powder to the flour and mix well.
• Sprinkle water in small quantities and mix the flour to a stiff yet pliable dough.
• Fix the desired shaped disc to the Murukku/ Chakli press. Divide the dough into equal portions and transfer to the press.
• Press this straight into the oil into desired shapes- small bite sized or big circles or triangles.
• Cook until it turns crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels.
• Cool and transfer to an airtight container.