Moong dal Murukku/Chakli

My mom used to tell me she makes this murukku often.Its a tradition to make sweets and snacks during the festivals.The saying goes - " enna pathiram vekanum " (means you have to keep an oil vessel ie., you have to make fried stuff during festivals) :)

I'm kind of jittery when it comes to making murukkus because it can either be really tasty or be ruined totally!This I found is a fool proof recipe for murukkus(thanks mom!).I was even able to shape them into circles! :) was i glad!

You need
All purpose flour/maida 5 cups
Moong dal 1 cup
Salt to taste
Ajwain/Carrom seeds 2 tsp
Chilli powder 1 tsp (optional)
Oil to deep fry
and the murukku press

• You need to do some prelim preps for this recipe.

1. Steam the moong dal with 1 and half cups of water in a pressure.The dal should be completely mashed.If u see lumps, blitz it in the mixer for a few seconds.
2. Put the maida in a cotton cloth and tie it tightly, you need to steam this parcel for about half hour.Once you steam this, the maida will be like a hard mass but you can break it with a rolling pin.This will be a lumpy mix, you can put this in the drier jar of a mixer and powder it fine.And sieve it to prevent any lumps.

• Once the above steps are done, we can mix up all this up with the rest of the ingredients.You can add a little more water if needed ( the water from the dal is sufficient).
• The murukku mix needs to be nice and soft else it would be difficult to press it out.(like a chapati dough).You can use any shape of mould to make the murukku.I used to shaped a 2 petal one and the star one.

• Heat the oil to deep fry.
• Apply oil on the inner sides of the murukku press and put the dough little by little and squeeze it out of the press.The long strands of the batter can be rolled into rings of murukku and dropped into the oil.
• Fry until brown.

• Yummy crispy murukkus are ready!Store in an airtight container!