Do you know the savory,snacky,salty cousin of the famous Indian sweet,Jalebi ?? Well,if you ask me,it ought to be a "Murukku" or "Chakli" in Hindi .Murukku is a very famous South Indian snack made with rice flour and Black gram flour as the main ingredients plus other mild spices that varies from state to state in India.Chakli on the other hand is the North Indian version made with an additional main ingredient,the besan/Gram flour/Chickpea Flour.They ,more or less, look twins :D.Murukku is made with a special cookware called Murrukku press a.k.a"Seva Nazhi" in Malayalam.
I've loads and loads of memories attached to Murukku which my amma darling used to make for us .During those days,it used to be quite time consuming as the Murukku maker,Sev Nazhi used to be quite complicated one compared to the ones available nowadays.You ought to have Sumo muscles or strength to press them into aptly shaped murukks.
I remember how momma used to ask me to help her making those murukkus .Even though I used to be a little sumo :D ,I mean,chubby since birth and I had like Sunny Deol would say,"Dhaii kilo ka haath"and I would be praying ,"Daivammey minnichikkaney !" BUT "Ividey scene ellam contra" ; I would be pressing it forever and asking my amma,"Mom,is it poo*** yet..err ..something coming out ??" and my amma would be LOL'ing...and amma would say,"Molu poikkotto-amma pinne vilikyaam...joli kootadey "/my dear daughter go-study or play ..once I am done making will call you...don't increase amma's workload ...And I was like,"That's all I want to hear"..I would run for my life as if I just had a WWF with someone ...massaging my tender wriggly arms ...OH Lord!!
Once amma would make them,I would be there without a call as if I was in an invisible cloak before..I would better !..because on the other side my bro would be also keeping an eye ....my mom would sense the trouble coming ..so like clever kids,cleverer mom she was...she would hide lots of them in a tin in our storeroom and she would keep another one exclusively for us...She said it was an evening snack..but for me and my brother...it was anytime snack....eeeehaaa....
And my mom and dad would be grinning like..."Look at them no one has to remind them to eat those snacks !!" Well,it was a competition at home !! Alas...since it was a snack,Bro Won !!
And my next agenda would be where did mommy hide rest of them?...She always hid it beside a long stick -like a reminder of the outcome if I or my bhaiya committed any crime of stealing'em....So,I would with a deep sigh watch my mom serving all the guests who would visit us ,sometimes distributed it to our neighbours ,sometimes came as a surprise surprise in my lunch box....My dear friends it was a biiig golmaal...
I never ate any store bought murukku when I was little until I Left India.Then I don't buy snacks that much even though I gain weight without so.However,if I am a sweet person ,my hubby, just like my bro, is a snack person ..He loves murukku!!...And I hate buying from stores as much as I can..So,I woke my mom as always from sleep one day as if it was an emergency and took the recipe through phone..And I've been making since then...My mother is very happy if she comes to know that I am making exclusively for my hubby..which my parents say is their priority ...(Otherwise they think he is starving :| )...
So,though murukku is made with rice flour and black lentil flour and some spices,my amma's version is exclusive one- one of a kind..all my friends used to be a big fan of !....However,she used to wash rice,dry it ,roast and grind it to make murukku traditionally ,my amma suggested that I can also use the ready made rice powder as well ..so,as you might have guessed,I chose the latter easier version....
So,pls watch my quick video which has the Murukku recipe and will show you how to make a murukku Kerala style with my mother's secret ingredients that takes this murrukku to an awesome another level...Not only that I also have a Christmas DIY- my edible Christmas tree !! Pls watch to see how I made a Christmas tree that I can eat !
So,what do you think,"Naughty or Nice " ?? Will you let the Santa know,I've a long list for him ,so pls share ;D...
Ho hO Hooo
