My instant arisi murukku is a spiral murukku made with a combo of rice (arisi) and besan flour (gram flour). Typically, murukkus are made with a proportion of rice (arisi) flour and urud dal. However, I wanted to simplify my recipe and did not want to use dal which requires a grinder to pulse the dal. Instead, this instant arisi murukku is made from besan flour or gram flour which gives it an extra boost of flavor without needing a grinder. It is important in this recipe to get the consistency of the murukku dough correct. If the murukku dough is too dry, then the murukku will not only be physically difficult to pipe but the dough will break as it is being piped. If the murukku dough is too wet, it will result in a sloppy shape and cause the murukku to retain excess oil after frying. So please follow the measurements in this particular recipe, as this one isn’t as forgiving as my others if you eyeball out the measurements.
Murukku Maker
A murukku maker is a dough press that is so versatile. They come with many different plates that attach to the bottom, each with different hole shapes so that they can be used for many dishes. The star-shaped plate is used to pipe spiralized murukkus but can also be used for various varieties of homemade Indian snacks. In addition, I use my murukku press to make idiyappam, a classic South Indian rice noodle. The press comes with a rotating handle which helps easily extrude the dough and really makes the whole murukku making process easier. My go-to murukku murukku maker is a golden exterior brass maker which costs about ~$38 USD and is definitely worth the money for the amount of time it saves.
Murukkus without a murukku maker
However, if you are not looking to add another kitchen gadget to your shelves, you can use a piping bag. If you don’t have a murukku maker, you can use a piping bag with a Wilton 18 (open star) tip. You can also simply cut a ¼ inch hole to the piping bag instead. However, without a tip, the murukkus will not have added texture that is formed when with the star shaped tip is used. Just note that this method will require a bit more arm strength to push out the dough. When using a piping bag, I recommend dividing the dough into smaller portions to make it easier to push out the dough.
Tips for making murukku
Grease your murukku maker or piping tip/bag before using. Greasing the murukku maker ensures that the murukku dough can easily be extruded from the tool. Cover the murukku dough with a damp towel when it is not being used to prevent the dough from drying out. Pipe out your murukkus on a square piece of parchment paper. Use parchment paper for easy transfer of the murukkus into frying oil. It can be difficult to form a perfect spiral directly into the oil so it is best to pipe out the spiral before transferring it to the oil. Others often recommend using their frying spatula but I recommend against this method. This is because the spatula often gets hot during the frying process which can lead to burns. In addition, it limits how many murukkus you can pipe at one time.
Fry murukkus on low heat (325F) so they cook through. Cooking on high heat will cook the exterior of the murukku before the center of it is fully cooked. Cooking on low heat ensures that the murukkus are crunchy and remain that way for a long time! It should take about 1-2 minutes for the murukkus to cook at this temperature.
Get family members to help make the murukkus. If you are making murukku during the holidays like Deepavali, make it a group activity. This expedites the murukku making process and it is loads of fun. Checkout this article on how you can make other snacks and sweets for your Diwali/Deepavali sweets and snacks gift boxes.
