Murukku - Indian Savoury Snack

I thought of posting this recipe next week, but because of public demand;) I am posting it today itself:)

Murukku is a traditional savoury snack popular in India, originated in Manapparai, a town in Tiruchirapalli(Trichy) Tamil Nadu, India.
It is prepared usually with various combinations of rice flour, Black gram (Urad Dal/Uzhunthu) flour, Split chickpeas (Kadalai paruppu/Channa dal) flour,

Fried split chickpeas (Udacha kadalai/Chutney dal) flour, etc, with spices like, chilli powder, asafoetida powder, cumin seeds, ajwain, sesame seeds, etc.

It is usually prepared with a Murukku maker (a kind of farsan maker) and can be prepared using different design plates as shown below:

Ingredients:
Rice flour - 4 cups
Besan (Split chickpeas/Kadalai paruppu/Channa dal) flour - 1 cup
Black gram (Urad Dal / Uzhunthu) flour - 1 cup (you can do it at home by frying it nicely and grinding it)
Cumin seeds - 1-2 teaspoons (adjust to ur taste)
Asafoetida powder - a pinch
Butter - 2 tablespoons
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
Murukku maker

Method:
Mix all ingredients except oil with little water(I used warm water) to make it a nice soft dough.

Close it with a lid or damp clean cloth and allow it outside for couple of hours.

Apply oil in hands so that it wont stick to your hands, add the dough to the murukku maker.

On greased polythene sheets, squeeze the dough from the maker and make murukkus.

Meanwhile heat oil in pan for 5-10 minutes.

Then slowly put them one by one in oil(lot of bubbles will appear).

Fry them until they are golden brown(bubbles start disappearing as they are cooked).

Murukkus, a wonderful snack for tea-time, are ready.


Cooking time : 45 minutes
Makes 30-40 numbers.