You're Never Too Old to Enjoy Murukku!!

Pretzels, potato chips, and Chex Mix are some examples of crunchy and fun snacks we all enjoy!

However, have you ever tried Indian snacks? Most Indian snacks are also gluten-free. Some examples are Murukku or Chakralu, Pappuchekkalu, Corn Flakes Mixture, and nutty pakoda. 

Whenever my relatives from India visit, they always bring these tasty and spicy snacks for us. It feels like Christmas but instead of presents, we receive snacks! I'm a big fan of edible presents any day! 

Murukku is a pretzel-like Indian snack. I love murukku because they are light and crunchy. Besides using gluten-free flours, you can also add ajwain seeds, whole cumin, or sesame into the mix. Every ingredient adds more flavor and taste to these snacks. 

Aren't you curious how we make this snack? Let's take a look:

Ingredients for the Dough:
- 3-1/2 cups rice flour

- 1 cup Roasted chana dal, finely powdered

- 1 tbsp Ajwain or Carom seeds

- 2 to 3 tsp chili powder
- 3 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
- 2 pinches of Hing (Asafoetida)

- 5 tsp salt

- 3 tbsp Vegetable oil, lukewarm (to mix into the dough)

- Water (as needed to mix flours into a tight dough, not sticky or wet)

Utensils needed:

Kitchen Press (use the single star disc in the press)

Large mixing bowl

Frying pan

Slotted ladle

Mesh strainer

Ingredients for Frying:

- 2 to 3 cups Vegetable oil 

Procedure

1) Sieve together rice flour and chana dal powder into a large mixing bowl, and then add the dry ingredients as listed above. Mix well and adjust the salt and chili powder at this time by tasting a pinch of the mixture. 

2) Next, add the warm vegetable oil into the mixture and coat it well. Slowly, add water to the flour until it forms into a soft and tight lump, but it's not sticky. Keep the dough covered. 

3) Insert the single star disc into the kitchen press. Take a handful of dough, and form a log and insert it into the press cylinder and then close the cylinder with the screw-on cap. 

Make murukku in spiral design starting from the center and then circling and towards outward circle to the desired size on a greased plate or on wax paper. Cover all the spirals with a towel until you have made 10 to 15 or so to fry.  

4) Heat the oil for frying until you feel the heat when you place your palm at a safe height above the frying pan. Test the heat by dropping a small ball of dough into the oil. If the ball sizzles and surfaces to the top, then it is ready. 

Slowly insert approximately 10 murukkus (reduce the number based on your frying pan size) into the oil and fry them until golden brown by turning them over in between for uniform frying. 

Remove them from oil using a slotted ladle and put them into a mesh strainer for the oil to drain further. Later transfer into a container. 

5) Cool them for 10 to 15 minutes to attain the proper crunchiness to serve. Store them in a tight lid container after it is cooled for 1 hour. Makes approximately 30 to 40 murukkus. It is best to store this snack in a tight lid container and can be enjoyed for 15 to 20 days. 

I like stacking my murukku or chakralu as high as I can before I pop them into my mouth. How do you enjoy murukku? 

Go to Flavor-town with these Game Day Snacks!

I have to be honest...I'm not an avid American football fan but every year, I'm ready to watch the Super Bowl. It's more than a game; it's an event filled with funny and inspiring commercials, halftime show, and fun with the family. Regardless of who your favorite football team is, everyone comes together to watch the BIG GAME on that auspicious Sunday in February. 

Even my parents get in on the action on Super Bowl Sunday. We're not carnivores, so Game Day doesn't include the usual wings, meaty chili, sliders, etc. We prefer spicy, crunchy munchies and hearty entrees such as the following:

Crackling, Crunchy Cashews

This past December, my husband and I actually bought a lot of crunchy and nutty snacks at Dadu's Sweet shop in Hyderabad, India. One of the snacks is called Cashew pakoda. It looks and tastes similar to the crackling, crunchy cashews on our blog.  The snack is made with besan flour (chickpea flour) and spices.

Picante peanuts

You can also make it with peanuts as shown in the picture above. Other snack ideas that go well with beer or wine for game day are corn flakes mixture or chivda. You can make enough for the whole game and more because we use corn flakes cereal to make the snack. 

Similarly, you can make another type of mixture with rice crispy cereal. As you can see, we like spicing things up with our breakfast cereals. The spices really kick it up a notch. We also spice things up with pancakes. We love our spices.

If you want to get really creative and try an authentic South Indian snack for game day, then you should try making Pappuchekkalu:

Pappuchekkalu (Rice and Lentil Crisps)

Good news for people with gluten allergies, these rice, and lentil crisps are gluten-free; they're made with a combination of rice flour, urad dal flour (white lentil flour) and soy flour. You have to give them a try. 

We also make various raitas or yogurt dips on game day. The most common dips are artichoke or spinach dip. However, our raitas are so much more flavorful than any old dip. 

We make our yogurt dips with all kinds of vegetables: beetroot, long squash, bell peppers, spinach, eggplant, cucumbers, and even tomatoes and onions. You can make raita with any vegetables. It's easy and delicious. 

Beetroot Raita served with corn tortilla chips

My favorite is beetroot raita. It's a little sweet but not like candy-sweet and goes well with tortilla chips, pita chips, potato chips or mini naan. 

It's a new year! New flavors and experiences. Check out the above recipes for yummy and kickass snacks for the Big Game in a few hours. We're serious about SNACKING!