Maida Muruku

Ingredients :

• 2 cup maida flour/all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp finely-powdered urad dhal
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 5 tsp or needed salt
• 60 ml ghee/Butter
• 1/4 cup warm water
•  oil for frying

Method :

Steam cook maida flour for 5-6 mins or upto 1 whistle.Let it cool.

 Mix the steam-cooked maida,powdered urad dhal,ghee, cumin seeds,needed salt with warm water into a thick dough.

Heat oil in a non-stick kadai and take lemon sized dough and put them in the muruku mould (Star Shaped Murukku Plate ) and press or squeeze it .Deep fry them till golden brown.

 Do other murukku also using the same Murukku apparatus(which looks like stringhoppers apparatus) and deep fry them till golden brown.

Good as appetisers snack for kids.

Maida or wheat flour chips

Ingredients :

• All purpose flour/Maida/wheat flour - 2 cups
• Salt - 1 tsp
• ajwain/carmom seeds - 1 tsp
• ghee - 1 tsp
• Water - 1/2 cup
• oil for deep frying
• Red chilli poder 2 tsp

 Method :

 Take a large bowl and mix maida/wheat flour, salt and ajwain seeds,red chilli powder. Add ghee and to this and mix well .

Make a hole in the center of the flour and add water slowly while mixing, till it forms a pliable dough. 

 Knead the dough till smooth (about 4 - 5 mts), cover and leave it for 10 - 15 mts.

Divide the dough into 2 halves and roll out into thin puris.

Cut each puri into long strips 1 cm wide and then again diagonally into diamond shape.

Heat oil in a deep kadhai (To check if oil is ready for frying, a pinch of dough dropped in should pop up/float immediately on top) and fry these diamonds in batches till golden brown.

Serve with a hot cup of tea or soup of your choice. These can be stored in air tight containers and their shelf life is longer too

Kara boondi

Ingredients:

•  Gram flour -2 cups
• Rice flour – ¼ cup
• Cashew nuts – 10
• Curry leaves – few
• Chilli powder - 1tsp
•  Asafoetida – 2 tsp
• Salt to taste
•  Oil – for deep frying

Method :

 Take a bowl and mix the gram flour, rice flour, a pinch of salt and little amount of water into a smooth batter.

Just like bajji batter. Heat a kadai with oil.

Hold a bhoondi strainer (holed ladle) over the hot oil and pour a spoon full of batter over the strainer.

Carefully hold the ladle.The batter will fall as small balls in hot oil.When it is deep fried remove from the oil.

Drain the excess of oil completely.In a separate bowl mix salt, chilli powder and asafoetida.

Sprinkle this chilli powder over the fried bhoondi.

Take a separate pan and add 1 tsp of oil.Fry the curry leaves and cashew nuts.Mix with bhoondi.

Saggubiyyam chakralu/janthikalu/murukku

Ingredients:

• Rice Flour 2 cups
• Gram flour 1/2 cup
• Fried gram flour - 1/2 cup
• Sago pearls - 1/2 cup
• Salt to taste
• Curd - 50 gms (half of half cup)
• Chili powder - 1/2 tsp or as per taste

 Special Utensil :

Muruku Achu/chakrala giddalu

 Method

Soak Sago in butter milk for 3 hours. Ensure that you soak it enough; otherwise you may risk having the sago burst.

Mix all the flours together.Heat 50 gms oil, mix to the flour along with salt and chili powder.

Then add the soaked sago slowly and knead to a dough, the consistency should be easy to be pressed through the murukku press.

Heat oil for deep frying.Place a small portion of the dough in the muruku achu.

When the oil is hot, press down directly in the oil as murukus.

Cook on medium flame to ensure the muruku is fried well.

Remove from oil with a slotted ladle and place on absorbent tissues to remove excess oil.

Muruku with 3 flours/Mixed flour muruku

Ingredients :

• Besan flour-1 cup
• Rice flour-1 cup
• Maida-1 cup
• Sesame seeds-1 tbsp
• Asafoetida-1 tbsp
• Salt-1 tsp
• Hot oil-1tbsp
• Water-1 cup

  Method :

 Steam cook 3 flours together for 1/2 hr. Now seive flour with out any lumps.

 Now add all the ingredients and knead the dough.

 Now take handful of dough in murukku achchu and press it at the back of your widemouthed spatula to make every single murukku.

 When the oil is hot enough drop four at a time.The oil would bubble,now turn them to another side.

 It takes approximately 20 sec. to cook each side in high flame.

 When they reach room temperature store them in an air tight container.

Precautions : 

While taking each handful of dough sprinkle it with little water so it does't get dry in the process.
If added too much of oil or water it may disintegrate and absorb too much of oil so take care.

Poosa(kaara poosa)/Sev

Ingredients:

*1 cup Besan/Bengal Gram Flour
*¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
*¼ tsp Haldi/Turmeric Powder
*2 tbsp Hot Oil
*Oil for deep-frying
*Salt to taste
*chilli powder 2tsp (optional)

Method:

Mix Besan, Salt, Hot Oil, Hing, turmeric,chilli powder(around 3 to 4 tbsps) to prepare a stiff dough.

In the Sev/chakrala gidda , choose a plate with very tiny holes.

Fill the dough into the utensil and press out strands to form a mesh directly in hot Oil. Deep fry on low flame and remove on kitchen towel.

 Let it cool, crush it and store in airtight containers. This can be used to garnish a variety of Chaats

Variations:

Ingredients like Chili Powder or Carom Seeds or Jeera Powder or Garlic Paste can be added to derive different flavor Sev. Either one ingredient or a combination of the above ingredients can be added.

Pesarapappu chakkalu/moong daal chakkalu

Ingredients :

* Yellow Moong dhal ( Paasi/pacha paruppu) - 1 cup
* Ravva//Sooji - 1 cup
* Onion - 1 small chopped fine
* Ginger - 1 inch chopped fine
* Green chillies - 4 or 5 chopped fine
* Curry leaves - 6 - 7 chopped
* Coriander leaves - few chopped
* Salt as needed
* Oil for deep frying

Method :

Wash and cook moong dhal in very little water. It should not become mushy  and it will take just 5 minutes to cook.

 Remove and drain water( can use the water in any curries or soups). When it is still hot, mix well with a spoon and add rava.

 Stir to mix well and leave them aside for 20 - 30 minutes. Next add chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves and mix well.

Heat the  oil for deep frying, Take a small ball size of the vadai mixture. Use a cloth/paper towel or plastic bags and tap mixture/dough on cover as thin as possible like round shaped (chakkalu).

Carefully drop them in oil and deep fry till crisp. Repeat until you are done with all the mix .

have as snack anytime or with a cup of coffee or tea in the evening