Crispy Murukku: Tips From the Mill Kitchen

Murukku is simple – rice flour, urad dal flour, butter, seasoning – and yet it fails in a dozen ways: soft, oily, breaking in the press, dark outside and raw inside. Here is what the families who work at Vaigai Oil Mills have learned.

Flour

Use fine, dry roasted rice flour. Roast urad dal until pale gold before grinding – raw urad flour makes murukku hard. The classic ratio is 4 parts rice flour to 1 part urad flour.

Fat

Two tablespoons of soft butter or a tablespoon of hot oil rubbed into the flour is what gives the crisp, short texture. Too much and the murukku dissolves in the oil.

Dough

Add water little by little to a soft, smooth, non-sticky dough. Do not rest it long – rice flour dough gets stiff and cracks in the press. Make dough in small batches if you are frying a lot.

Oil and temperature

Chekku kadalai ennai gives murukku its traditional flavour and a high smoke point. Heat to about 175°C: a small piece of dough should rise in 2–3 seconds. Too hot and the outside browns before the inside cooks; too cool and the murukku soaks oil.

Frying

Press onto a greased ladle or directly into the oil. Fry until the bubbling nearly stops – that sound is the moisture leaving. Drain on a wire rack, never on paper.

Flavour

Sesame seeds, cumin, ajwain and a pinch of asafoetida are classic. For thenkuzhal, use only cumin and pepper. Add a spoon of chekku nallennai to the dough for a deeper flavour.

Store murukku in an airtight tin once fully cool. It stays crisp for two to three weeks.