Urid dal Murukku

Urid dal Murukku

The basic diwali sweets and savories have evolved over the course of time, thanks to all the innovative home cooks!! Every year we try to come up with something new and unique. And in that effort, I present this wonderful Murukku recipe that I learned from my Mother-In-Law. Murukku is a savory, deep fried snack that is made using rice flour and lentil flours. The rice flour attributes to the crispness and the lentil flour adds to the taste. A variety of lentils are used for this purpose, but Urad dal (Black gram) is almost a staple in south Indian murukku. Usually the urad dal is dry roasted until aromatic and then ground into a fine powder and then added to the rice flour to make a dough. But in this murukku, the urad dal is boiled, mashed and then combined with the rice flour. The resulting murukku has a very fine color and a very crispy texture. There is no need to add any oil/butter while making the dough. This is very similar to tenkhuzhal. When Amma made this murukku for us, I became a huge fan!!

Ingredients:

Serving Size – 20 medium size murukku

(This is the basic ratio that you should use)
Urad Dal (raw, before boiling)- 1 part
Rice flour – 5 parts
Here’s what I used:
Urad dal – 1/2 cup
Rice flour – 2 1/2 cups
Salt – 1 tsp
White sesame seeds – 1 Tbsp
Hing/Asafoetida – 1/8 tsp
Water – as required to make a stiff dough
Oil – for deep frying

Method:

• Wash the urad dal and add about 2 cups of water to it. Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. Let the pressure come down, then immediately, while the dal is still hot, drain excess water from the dal and reserve this water. You do not have to use a colander/strainer for this, it is okay if the dal retains a little water, Drain only as much as you can by tilting the vessel slightly. Using a whisk, mash the dal thoroughly. This is best done while the dal is hot, so it will mash up easily. Keep aside.
• Mix the rice flour, hing, salt and sesame seeds thoroughly. Now add the mashed urad dal and start kneading. Add water only after you have incorporated the mashed dal well into the flour. Now use the reserved dal water to make a smooth and firm dough. If the dough is watery it will take in too much oil. So add water very carefully and add just enough so that there are no dry flour particles anymore.
• Heat oil in a kadhai/pan for deep frying on medium-high heat. Use at least 2-3 inches of oil (i use Canola oil). Drop a small particle of dough in the hot oil. If it rises up immediately, then it is ready.
• Make logs of murukku dough and stuff them inside the murukku maker. I used the round pattern (the one at the bottom of the murukku press photo above). Keep rest of the murukku dough covered.
• Pipe the dough into the hot oil in a large circle, using your hands to carefully pinch off the dough after you’ve made the circle. Cook until the bubbles surrounding the murukku subside a little and the turn it over. Cook until the bubbles have almost subsided. One way to check if the murukku is done is to tap the murukku lightly with the spatula. If it makes a solid sound, then it is done. Always test with one murukku first, so you can adjust the temperature of the oil or the salt in the dough.

Tip: Deep frying murukku at very low heat will cause the murukku to absorb too much oil. At the same time, very high heat will darken the external surface of the murukku, but it will remain raw inside. Use at least medium to high heat.This murukku keeps well for 2-3 weeks.

• Drain the murukku on paper towles and let cool to room temperature. Store in an air tight container.