A Pearly Snack Delight

The savory snack item that was the challenge for Srivalli's ICC this month was truly unique...the Sago Murukku (Indian-style fritters) were very attractive with the pearl-like sago popping up here and there in the murukku...was a great experience for me...especially because I dont use frying as a cooking technique  much any more...it  is usually baking or stir-frying nowadays...so this challenge was a great reassurance to myself that I still know how to make fried foods:)))

So, what is Murukku? According to all-knowing Wikipedia...Murukku (Tamil: முறுக்கு, or Muruku in Telugu or Murkoo), known as Chakli in Marathi and Kannada and Chakri in Gujarati, is a savoury snack popular in India, Sri Lanka, Fiji, and elsewhere among ethnic Indian populations. Murukku is believed to have originated in Tamil Nadu[1][2], with the town of Manapparai & Karamadai best known for it. Murukku is typically made from a mixture of urad and rice flour, salt, and flavourings such as chili, asafoetida, ajawain, or cumin

The special notes/learning experiences for me with this recipe for Sago Muruku was that it ended up being better to use a relatively not-too-moist/not-too sticky dough...this way the murukku ended up being crisp...also, it actually ended up taking nearly 8 - 10 hours for the sago to soak up the buttermilk and become really soft. The end-result was very much to all our liking...very pearlescent and cute...and very crunchy indeed.

I cant wait to try out next month's challenge!

Recipe for Sago Murukku(Indian-style fritters)

Prep time: 15 mins.

Cook time: 30 mins.

Ingredients:

Rice Flour 2 cups

Besan flour 1/2 cup

Fried gram flour - 1/2 cup

Sago - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Curd - 50 gms (half of half cup)

Chile powder - 1/2 tsp or as per taste

Special Utensil:

Muruku Achu/mould

Method to prepare

Soak Sago in Butter milk for atleast 3 hrs(took me 8-10 hrs), please ensure that you soak it enough else you may risk having the sago burst.

Mix all the flour together, heat 50 gms oil, mix to the flour along with salt and chili powder. Then add the buttermilk soaked sago slowly and knead to a chapati dough consistency

Heat oil for deep frying.In the muruku achu, add the dough. When the oil is hot, press down directly as as murukus.

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

Notes:

Ensure sago soaks in buttermilk well and is soft or else it will burst when you press it down in hot oil.

Cook on medium flame to ensure even cooking.

Fried Gram flour is fried channa dal that is available commercially. It is general sold as the dal, we have to powder it at home. This is also referred as chutney dal as it is used in making coconut chutney.

10 minute recipe - Indian Style Pancake

Hope all my readers had a great weekend...wonder how many folks got an Apple Ipad...I didnt!!! But then, I am technologically - challenged...dont even use my cell phone to its fullest potential...sigh!!! And I dont even want to move out of the dark ages into the more technologically advanced world of today:)) I am sorry that I cannot understand all the excitement behind every new and cool gadget...I do buy gadgets...but only if I can justify to myself that it will add value to my life...thankfully the kids are not old enough to get all hyped-up about every new tech invention...I have a few more years of peace:)) Of course, I do get excited when Apple's stock price moves...while others probably dont understand my level of excitement there...

Anyways, that, I promise is my only random, bears-no-connection-to-anything-whatsoever thought of the day...and here is a recipe for a really quick 10-minute (South)Indian style pancake...it is a variation of the vella dosai that is commonly prepared in south-indian homes...my mom would make it often when I was a kid and it was a wonderful snack/breakfast that I looked forward to, even in those days, filled with strong likes and dislikes when it came to food...I continue to like it even today and luckily for me, the kids like it too...so I do make it at home quite often.

This south-indian style pancake goes to the Pancakes event over at Priya's Easy n Tasty Recipes...also sending it to Priya's CWS - Cardamom seeds event...

Recipe for South Indian Pancakes(jaggery dosa):

Serves: 7 to 8 pancakes(depending on size)

Prep/cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients-

Whole wheat flour - 1 1/2 cups

Semolina/cream of wheat/rava - 1/4 cup

Jaggery - 3/4 cup crushed(could also use cane sugar)

Cardamom - 1tsp powdered

Cooking oil(or clarified butter aka ghee) - 1/2 tsp for each pancake

For topping(optional) - 1 banana sliced and roasted lightly in cooking oil or clarified butter/ghee

Method:

In a pan, add enough water to just submerge the crushed jaggery and then let the mixture come to a boil...will take 3 to 4 minutes on medium-high flame...set aside to cool.

In another mixing bowl, mix all the flours alongwith powdered cardamom...add the jaggery mixture and mix well to ensure there are no lumps in the batter.

Take a skillet and add a ladleful of batter to it...spread in circle (as prefered) and cook on a medium-high flame for a minute or two..and then flip the pancake with a spatula and cook until both sides are golden brown.

Serve with an optional topping of sliced bananas roasted(in oil/ghee) or as is.