Snacks

Method of Preparation :

Wash and dry the murukku press/nazhi. Murukku Press/nazhi is a device comes with minimum 6 discs with thin holes, bigger holes, star shaped holes and flat rectangular holes, to make savories of different shapes.

In a frying pan, roast rice, black gram lightly on a low flame. Allow it to cool and grind into fine powder using a dry grinder. Collect this in a shallow vessel and add white sesame seeds, asafoetida and salt.

Heat half-a-cup of sunflower refined oil and add to it. Knead the mixture into a soft dough by adding enough water and keep it covered with a wet cloth, else it dries.

Heat the remaining oil in a heavy bottom frying pan.

Smear the inner side of the press with oil and fix any one of the disc in the muruku press and fill the lower portion with dough, fix the other one on top of it. Hold both the side handles together and press making two rounds of spirals on a plastic sheet. Make 4 or 5 of these ready.

Slowly drop the murukus and fry them on a medium flame. While they are frying keep another batch ready. Remove when medium brown. Repeat the procedure.

Handy tips :

Think of making `murukulu' only when you have the muruku press handy.

Do not fill the muruku press to the brim, leave enough space for the upper part of the press to go in.
Test the heatness of oil, by carefully dropping a small ball of dough into the hot oil. It must float and emit signs of frying.

Drop each muruku carefully and put it in the hot oil holding it one inch away from it.

While mixing the dough, have some dry flour handy in case the dough turns out too soft. At the same time the dough should not be too hard either.

Pressing out the `murukus' is not very easy. It comes with practice.