Murukku is a traditional Indian savory snack prepared with rice, lentil flour, cumin seeds and butter during festivals like Diwali and Krishna Jayanthi. My mom used to prepare this murukku flour at home. I got recipe from her and prepared the flour at home in her style.

Ingredients:

Yields 20 or more murukku

• 2 cups - Raw rice
• 1/2 cup - Boiled rice
• 1/2 cup - Whole black gram without skin / ulunthu
• 2 tbsp - Butter
• 1/2 tsp - Cumin seeds
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Preparation method:

1. Soak rice for 1 hour and drain water completely. Spread them in a cotton cloth( as shown in the picture) and let them dry for 10 to 15 mins (do not over dry). Grind them to a fine powder in a flour mill (alternatively you can use mixer grinder to do so) and sieve it, set aside.
2. Dry roast boiled rice and whole black gram each separately until slightly golden brown. Allow them to cool and then grind them separately in a mixer grinder to a smooth powder. Sieve both flour and set it aside.
3. Now take a mixing bowl, add sieved raw rice flour, boiled rice flour, whole black gram flour and mix well. Then add butter, cumin seeds and required salt, mix well and add water, knead into a soft dough. Set aside.
4. Heat oil in frying pan, fill the murukku press with this dough with murukku mould. Grease reverse side of the ladle with little oil and make murukku on it then drop them in oil.
5. Deep fry them over medium flame to slightly golden brown or until hiss sound stops completely. Use paper towel to remove excess oil. After murukku is cool down store it in an airtight container.

Notes:

• You need to wait till bubbles stop to make sure Murukku is well cooked.
• The dough has to be in a correct consistency, should not be sticky or too hard.
• Butter is must ingredient in this recipe since it helps the murukku to stay crispy for long.
• i used 4 hole iron murukku mould. If you use the mould with less number of holes you get perfect shape of murukku.
• Make sure raw rice flour, boiled rice flour and ulunthu flour are very fine. Sieve twice or thrice to make sure it is fine. Otherwise murukku will burst while frying.
• My mom makes large quantity of this murukku flour, so she used to go to flour mill to grind rice and ulunthu flour. You can store this flour in freezer to make instant murukku later.
• You can replace raw rice flour with store bought rice flour