Chakuli/Muruku

Chakuli/Muruku

Prep..............................Wet Chakulis

Ingredients:

• 1 cup urad flour
• 4 cups rice flour
• 2 tbs sesame seeds
• 2 tbs cumin seeds
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 tbs room temperature butter
• 1/8 tsp  baking soda (optional)
• 1/8 tsp powdered hingh(optional)



Bubbling............................not ready

• 1/2 gallon of oil to fry

Prep:

Wash and dry the chakuli mould.

One small dish of water to keep the mould moist in between making batches of chakulis.


One small bowl or dish of water to moisten hands.

One hand towel to wipe hands as need be.

Not bubbling............remove from oil

Cut several 3"x3" pieces of parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Couple of large trays or plates to assemble the wet chukulis.

One large bowl lined with paper towel to place the fried chakulis

Method:



Chakulis.........draining on paper towel

Using a thick bottomed pan, dry fry urad flour on medium heat. Meticulously fry till the flour is slightly browned here and there or the raw flour smell disappears. Turn the heat off and add the Rice flour  to it. Mix everything together for a couple of minutes and pour the contents into a mixing bowl.. When cool add the remainder of the ingredients to the bowl and thoroughly mix everything together. Then,slowly add about 2 1/2 cups of water and knead everything to form a soft dough. Divide dough into smaller pieces that fit the chakuli/muruku mould. With wet hands pick up a small piece of dough and shove it into the lower chakuli mould. Squeeze the dough into chakulis using a clockwise motion, on the pre-cut parchment paper or aluminum foil. Thoroughly heat oil in a wide mouth pan (wok, bandalae) making sure the oil does not over heat. Slide several of the wet chukulis in the hot oil and cook for several minutes, till most of the bubbling stops. Remove the chakulis from oil using a long slotted spoon(jara) and place them in a bowl. Repeat the process till all the dough is done. Store in air tight containers when cool.

Cooking tips:

Keep hands and the mould as dry as possible while sliding the wet chakulis in hot oil, to prevent oil splashing. Add chakulis in a single layer in the hot oil, a little overlap is OK. Turn and push the chukulis around every now and then while cooking. You can pre-make several of the wet chakulis before heating up the oil. Keep the mould moist (inside portion) by placing it in water in between making separate batches of chakulis.

Serving tips:

Serve as snack anytime.