Today I Really Made Murukku

I think I am on a roll, now I don’t think I have done anything Indian of this magnitude all through my blogging or actually in my life.  It must be the Diwali Spirit of sorts that’s making me Try out making Murukku, then I had Crocodile Varuvel, and now making Murukku.  Even the Indian man at the store who has known me since I was a kid asked me how come I didn’t buy the readymade Murukku like my family usually does and I seem to have carried on that tradition.

You know my love for good Murruku goes back a long long way that at Christman my Grandaunty would give me two big milk tins.  Everyone got presents and I got two big tins of Murukku.  So today is history for me.

Ok I cheated, I bought a bag of ready mix Murukku Mix, but truth be told if you followed the directions on the back, 100 percent it would not have worked, so you still needed to learn and watch other people as well as get their advice on certain tips.

So here goes.

Baba’s Murukku Mix                          1 bag

Now don’t follow the directions on the back because frankly it is a load of crap

Butter                                                  60 gm

The recipe says 30 gm of ghee, I added half and half but Butter is good as another Grandaunty of mine Aunty Letchumi used to add in butter into her Murukku and it  was till this day remembered as Just Heavenly Divine.  Pity none of my aunties ever had picked up her skills. I should ask my Aunties for the mothers recipes and see how it goes.

Water                                                 380 ml

As written on the recipe on the package but you may need more depending on the temperature

of the day. I used more today despite adding in more butter.

Cumin Seeds                                      1 tsp or a bit more – I prefer more

Black Sesame Seeds                          1 tsp

Sesame Seeds                                     1 or a little more

Now this does not appear on the package at all, and there are no spices of any sort in the

Baba’s Murukku Mix at all. I do not understand how they can just omit this and claim it is

grounded as part of the ingredients.

A little Salt

Oil for deep frying

5 sen or 10 sen coin

Murukku Press – I have a generic plastic one which believe it or not is still Patent Pending.

I tried using the triple star but it was a big mess, so use the single star if you are a beginner like me

 

The Method:

Now this method of preparing the Murukku I learnt from my neighbor Mala.  Of course Baba’s does not tell you to do anything of the sort. One would think they produce Murukku and need to hide the right way of preparing the stuff.

Going off a tangent here but I think it is damn silly for a company selling a certainfood  product and not providing a good and thorough recipe because if I used your product and follow the recipe given and if the food does not come out as shown or even in taste, I would never ever buy your product again.  Now a few of the Indian Spice producers, no names mentioned are known for this silliness.

It is silly for a producer of ingredients to do this because most novice cooks will use your products and if it spoils they will never ever buy your product and will even go as far as to tell others your products do not work.  Hope someone reads this and tells them.

Anyhow back to the recipe…

1. Dry fry the Murukku mix. Make sure it does not ever get brown as it will affect the taste almost instantly.  Fry it for about 8 to 10 minutes.
   

   Always Dry Fry on low flame.

2. Dry fry the spices as well till it is fragrant.
   

   Dry Fry on low flame till it is fragrant

3. Mix the flour and the spices and add in salt. Leave it to cool.

4. Add in the water and knead till it is a dough but not a hard dough.  This is not easy to describe but it should be soft enough to press through the Murukku Mould.
   

   This dough is rather hard as you can see the cracks so add a bit more water and butter.

5.  Now fill the Murukku press, do not be smart and fill it too much as it is not easy to press at all. Ask my official presser, my brother who talked too much and regreted because I screamed out for him to help me today.  Here are the photos as he pressed them out with all his might.
   

   Lift it high enough so you can see what you are piping and move your hand in circular motions...

   

   Go round and around, about five times and make sure you do not overlap..

   

   Not bad for a beginner Murukku Presser

   6.  Now I think this should have been done before I started the pping bit, heat the oil.  Use new oil as Murukkus are good at absorbing flavors and getting all wrong colored.  I piped my Murukkus on the back of my cookie trays as I found the method used by my neighbor Sarojini far too tedious.  The results were something else. The first lot was all over the place.

   

   I swear my Murukkus looked like Floating Sanskrit in the oil.

   7.  Swirl the Murukku, will I used a large chopstick, always work well with my Chopsticks no matter what I do, so readers please don’t shake your heads. DO NOT leave the Murrukus till it is golden brown as it will have a slight bitter burnt taste.

   

   The wonders of Chopsticks

   8.  Do you notice the coin in the oil, well as i was told earlier it prevents oiliness, and for some reason, my Murukkus were not oily at all.  I was told to use a one sen coin but I could not find any.  I do not know what the science of this coin in the oil is but it works.  Still do drain the Murukku.

   

   Strain off any oil, but frankly with the coin in the oil and all, there was almost nothing. My fingers were not oily at all.

   The end…. why because it was all finished before I could get a whole plate of it.  Try this recipe, it will surely work, but be prepared for the squeezing, it is a tough tough job. Murukku will be something I will not sell unless I am paid really really well.  Happy Diwali everyone.