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 is a yummy, crunchy snack from India and Sri Lanka. Its name comes from the Tamil word for "twisted," which describes its cool spiral shape. You'll find Murukku everywhere in Indian states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. In Andhra Pradesh, people sometimes call it murkulu or janthukulu.
This snack is also super popular in other countries where many people from India and Sri Lanka live, like Singapore, Fiji, Malaysia, and Myanmar (Burma). In Burma, it's known as sagalay gway, which means "baby sparrow coils." It's often eaten on its own or as a crunchy topping for local dishes.
Murukku has many different names depending on the region. Some common names include chakkuli, chakali, chakri, chakralu, and jantikalu.
This snack is usually made from rice flour and a special flour called urad dal flour (which comes from black gram beans). There's a similar snack called Chakli, but it often includes an extra ingredient: bengal gram flour, also known as chickpea flour. Murukku is known for being quite crunchy, so it's a fun snack to munch on!
Contents
Making Murukku: Ingredients and Steps
Murukku is typically made using rice flour and urad dal flour. These flours are mixed together with water, salt, a little chilli powder, and a spice called asafoetida. Sometimes, people add sesame seeds or cumin seeds for extra flavor.
How the Dough is Made
All these ingredients are kneaded into a soft dough. This dough is then shaped into its famous spiral or coil forms. You can do this by hand, or by using a special tool called a mould that pushes the dough out in the right shape.
Frying the Snack
Once shaped, the spirals are carefully placed into hot vegetable oil. They are deep-fried until they turn golden brown and become super crispy. That's how Murukku gets its delicious crunch!
Different Kinds of Murukku
There are many different types of Murukku! The kind of flour used and how much of each ingredient goes in can change the snack a lot.
Crunchy Mullu Murukku
One popular type is called Mullu Murukku. Mullu means "thorns" in Tamil. This snack has a rough, uneven texture that makes it extra crunchy, almost like little thorns.
Hand-Made Kai Murukku
Another special kind is Kai Murukku, which means "hand murukku." This one is made by hand using a stiffer dough. It takes skill to twist these by hand!
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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 Fun Varieties
There are many other delicious varieties of Murukku to try:
- 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 murukku (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)
