Mullu Thenkuzhal / Mullu Murukku / Chakli

This year, I was not going to make anything for Deepavali.  I usually make quite a few snacks and in the end regret it because I end up eating most of it. 

My husband’s nephew and wife were supposed to visit us for the festival.  It was their thalai deepavali (the first one after they got married), but because of a job change and move, they could not come.  Another cousin was going to visit with her husband, but they were coming after deepavali. 

Anyway, after telling my family that this year, I was not going to make anything – I started feeling guilty, and caved in.  My memories of deepavali are always about new clothes, crackers (fireworks) and all the bakshanams (farsaans) my mom used to make.  This was a big production each year with preparations starting the week before deepavali.  While I don’t make as much as my mom used to, I still wanted to create memories for my kids.  So I made mullu thenkuzhal, a healthy mixture and regular thenkuzhal.  I also made kalakand.

I have already posted recipes for thenkuzhal, mixture, and kalakand.

Mullu thenkuzhal is the perfect name for this snack.  Mullu, in Tamil, means thorn.  If you look at the pictures, it does look thorny, right?  It is a super easy snack to make and tastes great.

My mom used to dry roast the channa dal and moong dal, and get these powdered in the flour mill.  I used store bought moong flour and besan to make these.

 Here is what you need:

• 4 cups rice flour
• 1 cup moong flour (store bought)
• ½ cup besan (Gram flour, garbanzo flour)
• 1 tsp. white sesame seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
•  ½ tsp hing (asafetida)
• 2 - 3 Tbsp. butter
• salt to taste
• Oil for deep-frying

 

Here is how I made it:

1. Dry roast the sesame seeds for a couple of minutes.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together. 
3. Melt the butter slightly and mix that in
4. Add water and knead to make a stiff dough.
5. Heat oil for deep-frying
6. When the oil is hot, put a big ball of dough into the murukku/chakli press, with the right disc. 
7. You can either press out the chakli directly into the oil (like I do) or you can use flat greased spatulas and spoons as surfaces for you to make the chaklis and then slide them in the oil.
8. Fry on medium heat till the thenkuzhal is crispy and golden brown
9. Continue till all the dough is done.

 

Store in an airtight container after they have cooled down.