Murukku

Murukku is a savoury, crunchy Indian snack. The snack originated in the Tamil Nadu state, and its name derives from the Tamil word for "twisted" (Tamil: முறுக்கு), which refers to its shape. Murukku is popular all over India, and also in other countries where Tamil diaspora is present: Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia.

Murukku is typically made from rice flour and urad dal flour. It is sometimes called "chakli"; chakli is a similar dish, typically made with an additional ingredient, bengal gram (chickpea) flour.

Ingredients and preparation

Murukku is typically made from rice and urad dal flour. The flours are mixed with water, salt, asafoetida and either sesame seeds or cumin seeds. The mix is kneaded into a dough, which is shaped into spiral or coil shapes either by hand or using a mould. The spirals are then deep fried in vegetable oil.

Varieties

The dish has many variations, resulting from the types and proportions of flours used. The Kai Murukku (literally, "hand murukku") is made by hand using a stiffer dough. Pakoda murukku is another ribbon-shaped variety of the snack.Manapparai, a town in Tamil Nadu, is known for its unique variety of murukkus, known as Manapparai murukku. In 2010, the Tamil Nadu government applied for a geographical indication tag for Manapparai Murukku.