Attention: @periamma, @kaniths and others, I have an issue with the fried savouries; they either turn out hard or soft but never stay crisp even for a couple of days. I feel they develop a stale smell in just 2 days even though I use the best of materials. Please tell me where I could be going wrong and also please share your fail-proof recipes for chakli, tengozhal, muruku etc., along with specific brand/type of oil and any of your specific tips n tricks. Thanks in advance.
Just simply follow these instructions and you will fine.Just make sure the oil is hot enough before you add anything.These are tried and tasted,easy to make in small batches! Sev/Omapodi (Sana Karapusa) Sev Recipe - How to make Omapodi - Karapusa Janthikalu Putnala Murukku Ingredients Rice flour - 4 cups, preferably home made (refer 'tips' below),I used store bought Roasted chana dal powder - 1 cup (dalia/putnala pappu/pottu kadalai) Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Red chili powder - 1 tsp Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp, optional Butter - 3 tbsps, melted Salt - 1 tsp Oil for deep frying Method Heat 2 cups water and a tsp of salt in a stainless steel vessel. Bring to a boil and reduce flame. Slowly add the rice flour and mix to form a gooey paste. Place lid and keep aside to cool. Once the rice flour paste cools, add roasted chickpeas powder, cumin seeds, red chili powder, asafoetida powder and melted butter. Mix well to make a smooth dough. If required add a little more rice flour to form a smooth dough. Alternately, if you feel that the dough needs some water to form a dough, sprinkle some warm water and mix to form a smooth dough. Ensure that the dough is not too soft or hard, It should be just right to come through the press to form murukkus. Heat oil for deep frying in a heavy bottomed vessel. While the oil is heating prepare the murukkus for deep frying. Place a single star shaped disc in the murukku press, grease the insides of the mold, fill the mold with some of the prepared dough and make concentric shaped murukkus on a wax paper/greased banana leaf or a greased plastic sheet. This helps to easily transfer them into the hot oil. Prepare 6 to 7 for each batch based on how large the vessel is for deep frying. To test if the oil is hot enough for deep frying, drop a small ball of the dough into the oil. If it sinks to the bottom of the vessel with a sizzle and come right up. The temperature of the oil is right for deep frying. Reduce flame to medium and place 5 to 6 of the prepared murukkus and deep fry to a golden brown shade. Do not deep fry on high flame. Remove onto absorbent paper. Once cool, store in air tight container. Tips To prepare rice flour at home. Soak 3 to 4 cups rice in water for 4 hours. Drain water and wash thoroughly. Drain water completely and spread on a thin cloth or paper. Dry overnight indoors. Next day grind the dried rice to a fine powder. Sieve to make a fine powder. Store in an air tight container upto 2 months. Ensure that the dough is not too soft or hard, It should be just right to come through the press to form murukkus. Always keep the unused dough covered while the rest of the murukkus are cooking. While one batch of murukku is frying, start pressing the concentric circles/murukkus for the next batch to be fried. Do not prepare all the murukkus at once as they will dry out. Do not fret too much if the murukku breaks while pressing into concentric circles. With practice, you should be able to make perfectly shaped murukkus. Mullu Murrukulu Ingredients: Rice flour - 2 cups Urad dhal - 1/2 cup Punalapappu(roasted chana dal/dalia/pottu kadalai) powder - 1/4 cup Ajwain Seeds / Vaamu - 1 tbsp Butter - 2 tsp - Do not compromise or substitute Hing - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Chilli powder - 1 tsp Green chilli paste - 1 tbsp (optional for extra spice) Water - 1 1/4 cups - 1 1/2 cups (as needed to make the dough) Oil - for deep frying Method: Dry roast urad dal on a slow flame till light brown and grind along with putnala pappu into a fine powder.Mix the flours, chilli powder, salt and ajwain seeds well. Heat butter in a pan,add hing and fry.Add the butter to the flour mixture and mix with your fingers so that it gets well incorporated into the flour mixture. Add warm or room temperature water and make a soft dough. Cover with a wet cloth and set aside. Heat oil for deep frying. Prepare the murukku press by placing the star (chakali) attachment. Fill with dough. Press into a spiral murukku to a back of a big spoon. Gently place the pressed murukku in the oil. Fry until both sides are done and the bubbles around the murukku in the oil subside. Remove and place in a tissue paper to drain excess oil. Allow to cool and store in an air-tight container. Andhra Chekkalu (Thatai) Ingredients: 1 cup rice flour 1 cup water 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1/2 tsp green chilli paste 1 tsp ginger garlic paste salt to taste 1 tsp cumin seeds 2 tsp white sesame seeds 1 1/2 tbsp channa dal - soaked in water for an hour and drained 1 tsp ghee chopped curry leaves oil for deep frying Method: Soak channa dal for an hour & drain them.In a bowl add rice flour, white sesame seeds, soaked & drained channa dal,ghee, salt, chilli powder, green chilli paste, ginger garlic paste, jeera, chopped curry leaves,1/2 cup water & mix well. Boil half a cup of water, remove from heat and add to the bowl, mix well, knead like a chapathi dough. Make small lemon sized balls with the dough. Take two clean ziplock packets or any plastic sheets.Place a ziplock packet on the puri press, spread some oil on the packet & place a ball in the centre, cover the ball with another packet & close the puri press tightly to make a thin chekka. slowly peel the chekka from the sheet & spread on a clean towel or paper towel.Repeat this process with all the balls. Heat oil in a kadai,remove each chekka from the towel & slide into the oil.Deep fry till crisp & golden brown on a medium flame. Remove & keep aside to cool. Cool completely before storing in an air tight container. Serve as a snack. Pesarapappu Murukku Ingredients: 1 cup yellow pesarapappu (yellow moong dal/yellow paasi paruppu) 3 cups Rice flour 2 tbsp white sesame seeds 1 tsp salt or to taste 1 tsp Red chili powder Method: Pressure cook pesarapappu with water for 4 whistles.Let all the pressure cool off. Open the cooker lid, If you have any left over water in dal, drain it into a bowl and save it for kneading.Mash the dal into a smooth paste.To this smooth paste, add rice flour, salt, sesame seeds and red chili powder. Mix it thoroughly until the mixture turns into a dry powder.Add ¼ cup of warm water or the left over water after pressure cooking dal and knead the dough to get a soft ball. By the end of the kneading process, the dough should not stick to your hand. (if it is sticking to your hand, you added more water than required, just add little rice flour and adjust it.If it is too dry to form a ball, just add little more water) Divide the dough into batches so that each batch can be filled into the Muruku press.Heat a wide heavy bottomed vessel with enough oil for deep frying. Take the muruku press and use the disc with a star hole or a medium round hole.Fill the press with the dough and once the oil is hot, reduce to medium flame and using circular motion, press the muruku gun (press) to make good circles. While pressing the dough into the hot oil, you will find the oil froth up in bubbles which will eventually subside as the murukku turn to a golden shade. Remember the frying has to be done on medium flame to achieve that golden color and crispness.While frying a batch of murukku, cover the rest of the dough to prevent it from forming a cake (dry layer). When the oil froth subsides down, take a fork and tap the murukku, you will feel the hardness of murukku when tapping, a quick way of knowing that they are well cooked.Since the dal is pressure cooked, these murukku will not get dark brown unlike the murukku made with dry flour. If your murukku turns dark brown then you have over cooked it.When the muruku turns into golden color, turn over to the other side and let it also cook to a golden brown. Use a slotted ladle to remove onto an absorbent paper and cool. Repeat the same process till the rest of the dough is done. Cool completely before storing in an air tight container. Sago Murukku Kaara Boondi Cornflakes Mixture Make Kaara boondi with besan,salt.Mix boondi with salt,chilli powder or garlic karam and deep fried curry leaves,keep aside.Deep fry Corn flakes and mix well salt,garlic karam.Deep fry peanuts and keep aside.Deep fry dried potato sticks (thin potato sticks are dried in sun,found in stores) and keep aside.Now mix boondi,cornflakes,fried potato sticks,pottu kadalai and roasted peanuts.
@GeetaKashyap Geeta proportion of Rice flour and urad dhal powder may be the reason. saute uraddhal till it turns light brown. For Grinded Pulungal arisi (boiled rice) maavu 3:1 is the proportion. You can use pottukadalai maavu. For One cup grinded pulungal arisi maavu add three tap of powdered pottukadalai and add one spoon hot ghee or oil to the dough. You can get crispy thenkulal Murukku. What is Chakli?
Veenagaaru, Chhala chhala thanks. Which oil would be ideal for deep frying? Wish you a happy and prosperous Deepavali.
Thanks, periamma, I will try this recipe. Chakli, butter chakli, muruku, muchhore are all related, say they are cousins with little differences. I have nearly 25-30 recipes! The problem is,, I don't know, it never turns out good. Which oil do you use? Wish you a happy and prosperous Deepavali.
Hi Geeta Wishing you a very happy Diwali My failproof chakli mullu murukku recipe Rice flour - 4 cups roasted dalia pottukadalai maavu - 1 cup 1 tbsp melted butter Salt red chilli powder to taste. Jeera sesame seeds - optional Oil - canola or vegetable or grapeseed oil I add 2 tsp of hot oil over red chilli powder
Geeta, The secret is adding the butter or ghee first. Increase the amount if you were previously adding to maybe one or 1 and 1/2 tblsp. Add the butter and salt first and use your fingers to work it in very very well into the flour till you get crumb like consistency. Like you do for pastry or cakes? Basically the ghee has to coat each particle of your dough mix. Then add rest of ingredients and continue as usual. For me this was the secret Happy Diwali!
Kindal ceyyate, I do make chaklis but not up to the mark. So trying to fine-tune. Wish you a happy and prosperous Deepavali.
