| Murukku | |
| Country: | India |
| National Cuisine: | India, Sri Lanka, Fiji |
| Region: | India: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Sri Lanka: Jaffna, Batticaloa |
| Main Ingredient: | Rice flour, Urad dal flour (Black gram), Salt, Oil |
Muṟukku (Tamil: முறுக்கு|muṟukku|twisting) is a savoury, crunchy snack originating from the Indian subcontinent. The name muṟukku "twisting" refers to its shape.[1]
In India, murukku is especially common in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. It is called murkulu or janthukulu in Andhra Pradesh. It is also common in countries with substantial Indian and Sri Lankan diaspora communities, including Singapore, Fiji, Malaysia, and Myanmar. Called sagalay gway (;) in Burmese, it is a common snack and is used as a topping for a regional dish called dawei mont di.[2]
Other names of the dish include Kannada: ಚಕ್ಕುಲಿ|cakkuli, Oriya: ଦାନ୍ତକଲି|dāntakali, Marathi: चकली|cakalī, Gujarati: ચકરી|cakri, Telugu: చక్రాలు|cakrālu or Telugu: జంతికలు jantikalu, and chakri or chakkuli.
Murukku is typically made from rice flour and Vigna mungo flour. Chakli is a similar dish, typically made with an additional ingredient, chickpea flour.
It is the origin of the Tamil saying Tamil: பல்லற்ற தாத்தாக்கு முறுக்கு வேண்டுமாம் ('toothless grandfather wants murukku'), meaning someone wants something they cannot use; murukku is very hard and can break teeth and orthodontic devices.
Murukku is typically made from rice and Vigna mungo "black gram" flour.[3] The flours are mixed with water, salt, chili powder, asafoetida and either sesame seeds or cumin seeds. The mix is kneaded into a dough, which is shaped into spiral or coil shapes either by hand or extruded using a mould. The spirals are then deep-fried in vegetable oil.
The dish has many variations, resulting from the types and proportions of flours used. Mullu muṟukku "thorn muṟukku" has an uneven texture that gives it an extra crunch. The Kai murukku "hand murukku") is made by hand using a stiffer dough. Pakoda muṟukku is another ribbon-shaped variety of the snack.[4] Āṭṭaiyāmpaṭṭi kai muṟukku, a town in Tamil Nadu, is known for its unique variety of murukkus, known as Maṇappāṟai muṟukku. This gained popularity because of Krishnan Iyer, who prepared and sold this first in Maṇappāṟai.[5] [6] [7] In 2010, the Tamil Nadu government applied for a geographical indication tag for Manapparai Murukku.[8]
Some of the murukku varieties include: