Murukku facts for kids
Murukku
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| Place of origin | India |
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| Region or state | India: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Sri Lanka: Jaffna, Batticaloa |
| Associated national cuisine | India, Sri Lanka |
| Main ingredients | Rice flour, Urad dal flour (Black gram), Salt, Oil |
Murukku (Malayalam – മുറുക്ക്, Tamil – முறுக்கு) is a savoury, crunchy snack originating from the Indian subcontinent. The name murukku derives from the Tamil word for "twisted", which refers to its shape. In India, murukku is especially popular in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. It is called murkulu or janthukulu in Andhra Pradesh. It is also popular in countries with substantial presence of Indian and Sri Lankan diaspora, including Singapore, Fiji, Malaysia, and Myanmar (Burma). Murukku, called sagalay gway (စာကလေးခွေ; lit. baby sparrow coils) in Burmese, is a common snack and is used as a topping for a regional dish called dawei mont di.
Other names of the dish include Kannada: ಚಕ್ಕುಲಿ chakkuli, Odisha: ଦାନ୍ତକଲି Dantkali Tamil: முறுக்கு murukku, Marathi: चकली chakali, Gujarati: ચકરી chakri, Telugu: చక్రాలు chakralu, or జంతికలు jantikalu and Konkani: Chakri or Chakkuli.
Murukku is typically made from rice flour and urad dal flour. Chakli is a similar dish, typically made with an additional ingredient, bengal gram (chickpea) flour.
It is the origin of the saying in Tamil: பல்லற்ற தாத்தாக்கு முறுக்கு வேண்டுமாம் ('Toothless grandfather wants murukku'). It means someone wants something which they cannot use. (Murukku is quite hard and is not recommended for people suffering from a toothache, or wearing braces since it is known to have broken both.)
Ingredients and preparation
Murukku is typically made from rice and urad dal flour. The flours are mixed with water, salt, chilli powder, 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 extruded 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. Mullu Muruku has an uneven texture that gives it an extra crunch. 'Mullu' refers to thorns in Tamil and the snack derives its name from this. The Kai Murukku (literally, "hand murukku") is made by hand using a stiffer dough. Pakoda murukku is another ribbon-shaped variety of the snack. Attayampatti Kai Murukku, a town in Tamil Nadu, is known for its unique variety of murukkus, known as Manapparai murukku. This Manapparai murukku got famous because of Mr. Krishnan Iyer who prepared and sold this first in Manapparai. In 2010, the Tamil Nadu government applied for a geographical indication tag for Manapparai Murukku.
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Kai (hand-prepared) Murukkus
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A larger variety of Kai Murukku
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Murrukku and similar snacks
Other varieties include:
- Rice and lentil murukku (Mullu murukku)
- Light crispy murukku (Thenkuzhal murukku)
- Coconut milk murukku (Thengaaippaal murukku )
- Wheat flour murukku (Godhumai murukku)
- Spicy murukku (Kaara murukku)
- Garlic murukku (Poondu murukku)
- Fish murruku (Meenu murukku)
- Ring murukku (Kodubale)
- Butter murukku (Venna murukku)
- Besan Murukku (Kadale murukku)
- Rice murukku (Arisi murukku)
- Sweet murukku (Achchu murukku or Achappam)
- Mint Murukku (Puthina murukku)
