Murukku | Janthikalu | Diwali Special Recipes

Deepavali/Diwali is just around the corner isnt it? Can’t believe we are in November already, time seems to be flying so fast 🙂 For me, Deepavali would be incomplete without murukku or janthikalu. We would be eagerly waiting for amma to prepare this savory snack and munch it hot-hot out of the oil. She used to make a big dabba full of murukku that would last until deepavali. Diwali is such a happy festival – the joy of making many sweets and savories, buying new clothes and waiting for the crackers! Any festival is great but deepavali is special 🙂

After marriage, we celebrate our deepavali at my in-laws place and though the way of celebrations are different, the joy is the same! With so many of us around the house, MIL makes her signature dishes in huge quantities. Murukku, Adhirasam, Thattai, Rava Laddu, Acchu Murukku and Gulab Jamun. Every one of us await this festival at home to savour all these goodies. It definitely is a lot of work and all of us sit together to prepare everything until late at night. Hopefully we would be going home during the weekend, for Diwali 🙂

MIL’s murukku recipe is quite different from what I am sharing today. This is my Amma’s recipe. This yields crispy murukku or janthikalu for sure, hence a fail proof recipe. It is super simple to make and lasts for more than a week when stored in an air tight container. My murukku press is slightly different and I was not satisfied with the thickness of my murukku. Next time I am going to look out for a traditional press, to get the authentic shape. By the way, who cares about shape as long as the snack tastes great right?! Murukku is an awesome tea time snack to munch on 🙂

To make Murukku | Janthikalu

Servings: makes about 15-20 medium sized Murukku
Time: 30 mins
Difficulty: Medium
Print

What I used –

Rice Flour, 1.5 cups
Urad Dal Flour, ⅓ cup
Sesame Seeds, 2 tsp
Salt, as required
Hot Oil/Butter, 1 tbsp
Oil, to deep fry
Water, as required

How I made –

1. In a bowl add rice flour, urad dal flour, sesame seeds, salt and hot oil. Mix well. The mixture would be crumbly.

prep1

2. Add water little by little until all the flour comes together and forms a firm dough. Pinch a ball out of it and stuff it in the murukku press until it’s full. Close the lid of the murukku press.

prep2

3. Heat oil in a kadai. Start pressing the murukku onto a small plate or butter paper or plastic sheet. Start from one end and go on in a circle until the starting point is reached. Prepare two murukku at a time. Reduce the flame to medium and gently drop the pressed murukku into the oil. Oil starts bubbling. Give it a few seconds before flipping. Let it fry until its golden brown. The bubbling of the oil would reduce as the murukku is cooked fully. Remove it on a tissue paper. Repeat the same for all the dough.

prep3

4. Store in an air tight container and munch away during tea time 🙂

Note –

The ratio to rice flour and urad dal flour is 5:1. Follow this ratio for crispy murukku/janthikalu.
To make rice flour at home, wash and dry the rice for 6 hours in shade and grind into a fine powder either in a rice flour mill or in a mixer. Sieve it couple of times to have the fine flour.
To make urad dal flour at home, roast the urad dal without oil until golden brown. Let it cool and make a fine powder in the mixer.
I used homemade rice flour and urad dal flour. Store bought packets can be used too.
Adding hot oil or butter to the dough while making ensures fail proof crispness as well as softness – highly recommended.
As the dough tends to go dry after some time, keep sprinkling few drops of water to make it moist again.
The consistency of the dough is very important. Too dry – murukku would be hard to press. Too watery, murukku doesn’t come crispy.
I did not add any chilli powder as we like plain murukku. If desired, ½ teaspoon of red chilli powder can be added.
Remove the murukku from oil when is slightly golden brown as it keep cooking even after removing it out.
Keep the oil on medium flame and fry two murukku at a time to maintain the temperature and to get crispy murukku.