How to make Murukku (chakli)
Festivals in India are too many to sit and count. The country is almost always bursting in celebration in different location housing different cultures. People get together, share sweets and gifts and enjoy much fanfare observing some aspect of their heritage/religion. One cannot even come to imagine the bewitching time children have. For them, its more about holidays, cousins/friends getting together and most importantly - the food. For them, the importance of any given festival is decided by the food prepared - the more they like the snacks/sweets prepared for a particular festival, more they like that festival. At least that was how it was for me. I loved festivals like Diwali (crackers, new clothes and abundant savories prepared ) and Krishna Jayanthi ( I loved drawing small feet in the floor of our house and of course seedai's and Thattais) - and oh Vinayaka Chaturthi for those absolutely heavenly Kozhukattai's.
How to make Murukku (chakli)
One such savory prepared for Diwali and Krishna Jayanthi in our house by my mom used to be these Murukku. We used to love it to death and it used to get over even before one finished spelling the word Murukku. So much so that we pestered our mom to prepare it even otherwise, which she did in these huge air tight containers. Absolute bliss! I miss sitting around, having my mom prepare those as and when I craved for it. Times have changed - Now I am the one preparing this as and when my family craves for it!!!!! And thus during one such occasion, I prepared these and needless to say - they are over and I am being pestered to make some more.....I miss you mom :( I know what you went through :) How to make Murukku (chakli) All said and done - it can be prepared in a jiffy, if like me you don't have the time and patience to make it the traditional way. The traditional way dictates that you prepare the rice flour from scratch at home. The taste is beyond explanation. But instead of not doing it altogether, instead one can use Rice flour. I have always had the advantage of getting good quality rice flour from the stores and I use the same to make snacks which entail making some from scratch. These still come out extremely crunchy and yummy for me and lasts for at least a week in its crunchy taste ( I don't know after that since however many I make, they have never lasted more than that!) Lets go to the recipe shall we? How to make Murukku (chakli)
  • Cook time:
  • Prep time:
  • Yields: Makes around 10-15 medium sized murukkus
Ingredients
  • 2 cups rice flour (sifted well - also make sure there aren't any stones/debris etc)
  • 2 tsp. Urad dal flour ( see how to make Urad dal (black gram) flour here )
  • 2 tsp. melted butter (nope - ghee will not do)
  • approx 1/4-1/2 tsp Asafoetida powder
  • salt to taste ( it varies from family to family - apprx. 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp or as per taste)
Method
1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Adding water little by little, form a stiff dough.
3. Now there are two ways to go about making these Murukku using the Murukku maker ( yes you need this to makeĀ  murukku ) Among different attachment that you get for this maker - you will find 1 star and 3 stars plates. Lets start with 1 star shall we? Using 1 Star attachment
4. Take the 1 star attachment and fix it to the maker. Alternatively take a damp clean cloth and lay it on the counter. Or use plastic sheet lightly brushed with oil/butter. Take a small amount of dough and place it inside the maker - the one which has narrow hole in it
5. Now place the other mould which is used to press the dough through the hole on top.
6. Press the dough on the plastic sheet and you will find the dough coming out shaped as per the one star attachment. Slightly rotate the maker round and round until you make a circle.
7. You can make as many spirals as you please.
8. Just remember that you would have to remove it from the plastic to your hands and then drop it into the hot oil.
9. With practice it gets easier to retain the shape of the circle while dropping into the oil.
10. Even if it gets shapeless - don't worry. It still tastes yummy :). Start with says 2 spirals, then slowly increase it as your confidence grows. Using 3 Star attachment
11. This is much easier than 1 star - in the sense that you don't have to worry about maintaining the shape per se. Repeat the same process as mentioned for 1 star
12. - only that you wont get spirals to form a circle. Make sure you just spread it wide on the plastic and drop it in the oil.
13. You can completely skip the plastic/cloth for this attachment and if you are comfortable enough, just press the dough right on top of the oil. Press it until a sufficient amount has dropped into the oil and break off the rest of the dough from dropping - just stop pressing the maker.
14. Now fry them until done - You can make it red, light brown or golden as per preference.
Drain them on paper towels. How to make Murukku (chakli) Let them cool and store in air tight containers. Crunchy snacks right from heaven :) How to make Murukku (chakli)

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8 Member Reviews

By Payal on Nov 1, 2012

anyhow it came out too hard \"frown\".Didn't liked the recepie.

********************

There could be two possibilities why yours came out hard.

  1. Your frying temperature was not right and you fried too long. If its in the oil for a long time, your chaklis will come out hard.
  2. You did not seive the flours properly. And if you did, the quality of your flours probably required a little more butter and water to make the dough. The dough was probably too stiff and the lack of moisture made it hard.   --DK

By Smitha on Sep 16, 2012

It turned out really well. My little girl loved it.Thank you soo much. All the dishes which seem so complicated is made

so simple by you.

Read All 8 Reviews →

83 Comments

By Hemalatga on Sep 11, 2018

I have been following this recipe and it always comes out well but this time I made it was breaking in the oil the shape did not retain what must gone wrong can you help

By Varsha on Nov 16, 2015

What should be approx. deep-frying temperature for chakali? I have a temperature gauge to check it.

By Ranjit Wickramasingha on Jun 7, 2014

can this murukku be baked instead of fried?

By Ranjit Wickramasingha on Jun 7, 2014

Can this be baked instead of frying? Should the recipe change then?

By priyanandini kini on Jun 1, 2014

Vow, I'm so happy, it came so well,same as my granny does. Thank u so much.

By Decima Frisk on Feb 5, 2014

Hi I just want to know what is 'Asafoetida powder'? I have never heard thar name before. Is there anything else I can use instead? I don't know if I can found that in Sweden. //Decima

Its a spice. Skip it.Won't harm the recipe --DK

By Archana Jain on Nov 20, 2013

I liked this dish

By Prashant on Oct 5, 2013

Is there a way to make them come out soft and chewy instead of crisp? That's how my grandma used to make them.

By Festivals of India: Ganesh Chaturthi | Kan Walk Will Travel on Sep 8, 2013

[...] typically offered to all visitors as prasad, along with snacks like steaming batata vadas, crunchy chaklis, spicy chivda, etc. Batata [...]

By Priya Karthik on Aug 25, 2013

can u pls tel me 1 cup is equal to how many ml? So it wil be easy for me to try ur recipes as well as nothing wil go wrong. Waiting for ur reply. :?:

By geeta on Aug 8, 2013

Dale, I think the dough is too thick to squeeze through a piping bag - it is, at least, as think as the bread dough. Would it be a disaster if I add more udad powder. Also, if I have to make the rice and udad powders myself, do I have to roast them before powdering or ar they used raw?

By Dale on Jul 13, 2013

Can't we use a piping bag instead of murukku maker?

By Aparna on Apr 23, 2013

Hi suja, yes you can use boiled moong dal instead of urad dal. Just boil moong dal and mash it and add it in the bowl while making the stiff dough. Make sure you also add some jeera / ajwain powder to give it an extra taste and digestion boost. This makes the chakli a little tender yet crispy.......just melts in your mouth.

By fabitha on Feb 20, 2013

:) awsome.. made them and are yummy

By chris on Feb 10, 2013

Loved the chaklis, they were both yummy & crisp.... Will be making more in the future for sure. I made the batter a little too dry as they kept breaking while trying to make the circles. But no one cared as they were delicious all the same. thanks

By Zara on Feb 3, 2013

superb crumcious ī€Žloved it

By kamal on Jan 15, 2013

OR SUMTHING BIGGER THAN THE NORMAL HOUES HOLD ONE.....

By kamal on Jan 15, 2013

HELO I WOULD LIKE TO IF I CAN GET A INDUSTRIAL MURUKKU MACHINE...

By suja on Dec 10, 2012

can i make this without urd dal powder (is there a substitute for urd dal ? ) i also want to know why is urd dal powder so important for this recipe. please reply

By Sunitha on Nov 15, 2012

Which raw rice can be used for making rice flour?

By Baima Vasanth on Nov 15, 2012

I tried it for the first time,it came out really good and tasty got lots of appeciation from hubby,in laws and office staff. thank u so much.

By Kajal on Nov 13, 2012

Hi DK, Happy Diwali!! In this recipe, you have mentioned that the ghee will not do when in the other murukku recipe(the one with the moong and chana dal flours), you have said we can replace the butter with ghee. Can you please clarify? I am going to try these tonight and due to such a lovely weather in UK, I am not very keen to go out to get the butter :) Thanks! Kajal

Its just for the texture, but if you don't have butter, you can use ghee. Will add in that to the Tips section. Happy Diwali --DK

By Sunitha on Nov 13, 2012

Do I have to put only 2tsp Urad dal only. I am recomifring it before preparing it??

Yes. Its 2 tsp only :) Happy Diwali --DK

By namita on Nov 10, 2012

rice is frying or not

By pooja on Nov 7, 2012

hi,very nice and simple reciepe.i just want to know 1 cup is equivalent to how many grams?

By pooja on Nov 4, 2012

Hi ur recipe is nice but where will i get Asafoetida powder.

In any Indian Grocery store. Popular Brand for it is LG --DK

By shereen rahil on Oct 5, 2012

hey i really dont undrstnd how to give that exact shape to chakli..plzzz show again

By deepajoseph on Sep 9, 2012

its realy cool.my kids lov it...thank u :wink: :wink:

By eliza on Aug 18, 2012

where do i buy a Murukku maker?

By raji on Aug 6, 2012

hi i like this site tasty receipe muruku iwant how to prepare maida muruku

Will post it next time I make it Raji :) --DK

By raji on Aug 6, 2012

Hithank u for giving a receipe of tasty muruku i want how to make maida murukku

By Chaitra on Jul 9, 2012

8) it helped my mom very much. nice , good and excellent.

By shaleni on Jun 15, 2012

:arrow: thank you...you've help me to do my project!! :idea: ahak2 :-D :lol:

By An Indian Dish for Every Occasion | Indian Cooking Lessons on Feb 12, 2012

[...] Dishes for Janmashtami Celebrations: Gopalkala, Kalakand, Kheer, Murukku, Peda, Shirkhand, and Singhare Ki [...]

By Siri on Nov 25, 2011

hi there, have been following your recipes from some time now and today i tried chakli for long awaited thanks giving break and turned out to be a sooper hit in my ltl nest..thanks much..

By mina on Oct 27, 2011

So what would happen when u use ghee instead of melted butter and how do u make it crispy.

By meenakshi on Oct 24, 2011

hi, can I also bake this instead of frying? thanks.

By gayatri on Oct 18, 2011

hi, very easy and good recepie thanks for it. Can i pour some hot oil in it?

By gayatri on Oct 18, 2011

:) Its good and easy one. Thanks and i did itand it came not too good but good. Thank once again.

By Anand on Oct 13, 2011

Simple and easy to follow receipe me and my wife planned to prepare it for this deepavali, so we thought we will give it a try, muruku summa pattasa vanduchi....... we will make a lot during deepavali and will propably take some to my my collegues at work

By Nandini on Sep 27, 2011

I made this and the taste is VERY YUMMY. However, I also had the same problem with the popping and splattering of oil. I think it's because unsalted butter we may get in the US has some water in it.

By faritah on Aug 28, 2011

hi sometimes the muruku turns out to hard to eat.. i do remove it wn the muruku is browned.. bt still its hard.. wats wrong??

By faritah on Aug 28, 2011

hey.. sometime sthe muruku turns out to be to crunchy and not tat soft and good texture... its somteimes hard to eat as well.. can u give me the tips wn exactly to remove from the oil.. i knw wn its brown, bt still it ends up a bit hard..

By Ranjana on Aug 9, 2011

Hi DK!! I made this recipe so many times and it turned out very nice each time. But this time, something in murruku makes a loud pop sound like pop corn and the oil is splattered...all over...any idea why this is happening? Thanks...

I think its the quality of Urad flour. Mostly rice flour - even store bought works out alright - but urad flour if not ground smooth or if it has debris tends to pose a problem. Try with another batch urad flour and if it repeats, then it mostly it. Did u use store bought or home made? If home made, grind it to smooth powder and sift it if necc.

By sarala on Aug 3, 2011

It is really a very good preparation. God bless you to share such good recipes.

By Maria John on Jun 16, 2011

Hey I tried out this came out good..Thanks very nice clicks... Maria John

By aa on Mar 9, 2011

what happens if you use ghee instead of melted butter, it same right?

By WYF: Festive food event roundup | WYF: Festive food event roundup healty| WYF: Festive food event roundup > | healty foods | healty diet | healthy food on Dec 2, 2010

[...] from Chef In You : Murukku (Chakli) and Besan [...]

By Durga on Nov 12, 2010

Excellent recepie. Can I use rice flour from shop? I'm staying in Houston, I miss murukku badly :(

I tend to use store bought rice flour only :) It works perfectly for me.

By Krithi on Nov 4, 2010

Hi, I jus love you so much. You made my day today. I tried your murukku recipe today for my thala Deepavali. It came out so well that my husband took them for his colleagues :) I have tried ur uppu seedai and vella kozhukatai everything came out great. Thanks

By Y.V.Sarma on Nov 3, 2010

Hi! My mom loves your site. This is a request from her. Do you know how to make kai murukku? (Picture at: http://www.meenasfinefoods.com/images/kai_murukku.jpg)

By Priya on Nov 1, 2010

Hey, Can i use rice flour from the indian store? I think it is laxmi brand.. Thanks Priya

By Bhavya on Oct 21, 2010

Hi, Please tell me 1 cup = ? KG IS it approximately 125 gms? I am asking this so that i can put exactly 2 t sp of URad dhal. Bhavya

By ayesha on Sep 27, 2010

I'm trying this recipe today :)but shouldn't we add in red chilli powder?

Your choice totally :)

By Shanthi on Sep 13, 2010

Hi DK, this site is wonderful and a varaprasadham for beginners like me. Ur recipes and the way of explaining it are great and even those who do not know anything about cooking can be a master.Thanks for the good effort. Well done.Cheers

By Prakash on Sep 11, 2010

Tried it today, great recipe. Do you have the recipe for Tape pakoda or ribbon pakoda? keep up the good work.

Did u search the site? Its already there here http://chefinyou.com/2007/11/ribbon-murukku/

By Aparna on Sep 1, 2010

Not sure if my earlier comment came up, but my query was, can I store the prepared dough for a day, and then deep fry the murukku the next day :?:

I have personally never tried it that way. I usually prepare the dough only when I need it - its quite simple. But well, you can try

By Aparna on Sep 1, 2010

I had a question ... can I make the dough and store it for a day in the fridge and use it to make the thattais the next day :?:

By yamuna on Aug 31, 2010

Hi... ur pics and the way u have explained is too good.. i am going to prepare it for the first time.. i have bookmarked ur link to cook one by one... great work... thanks for sharing it with proper steps

By Aarthi on Feb 5, 2010

Hi, I had bookmarked this recipe for sometime now. Finally I tried it today. This isthe first time I am making murukku and it turned out great. Thank you so much for the recipe along with wonderful photos. I felt very accomplished today :) thanks again Aarthi

I am glad you liked them Aarthi :) Thanks for letting me know --DK

By Vinaya on Nov 3, 2009

Hi Chef, I tried this recipe for Diwali and it came out really nice and crispy, really easy for a second-timer like me! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe...I have added a link to your blog in my post...Hope you dont mind! Cheers

Dear Vinaya, I am glad that you liked the recipe and it was useful. Thanks for your feedback :) And sure, adding a link would be wonderful.

By Ambika on Oct 22, 2009

Perfect murukus..Isnt 2tsps of urad dal too litlle for 2 cups of rice flour?I used to make it with more urad dal.... does more urad dal make the murukku harder or softer?

Hi Ambika, for some reason your comment went into spam, hence the delay in answering your query. Apologise for the same. Well the purpose of adding Urad dal is multiple - for adding softness, for adding color, for taste. It also helps to add a little to the crunchiness! But mostly I think it is what helps the melting of the murukkus in the mouth along with butter. I find that for my tastes 2 tsp is sufficient. It was also what my mother made - you can of course increase the qty a little bit and check out if it suits your palate better since we all have such different tastes. Hope this helps :)-- DK

By Lavanya on Oct 16, 2009

Hi, Thanks a lot for this wonderful receipe.. i just tried it out and it has come out excellent.. thank agains Smiles Lavanya

By Vidhya on Oct 16, 2009

Was searching for a recipe for murukku for diwali and found your site. one of the few sites which has an easy recipe with rice and urad flour instead of the traditional grinding the rice and urad dal. I would have given up had i not found your site. Sure looks easy and yummy. Thanks for this recipe.

Thanks Vidhya :) I am always trying to see if I can get shortcuts for a long recipe - I am glad this is helping you too :) -- DK

By mary on Oct 16, 2009

ok...so I was not a huge fan of murukku-but ate it from time to time.However your step by step instructions sparked something in me to try it for the very first time in my life. I have been in the US for 30yrs & decided that this was the year that I would attempt to make classic Indian things that I have never attempted. And guess what-the instructions were perfect, murukku came out perfectly..what a glorious success for me! A couple of my friends said that flavor was on the mild side and that I shld be adding more asatefetida etc. However for me this was perfect. My family enjoyed it as well..and I have made this more than once now. Thks for your superb recipe-one can always add to this basic recipe..it was truly very easy and fun to eat..

Hi Mary, thanks for your kind feedback. Yes, you can increase other flavoring of your choice - we all have so many myriad taste preferences and this recipe can be easily made to accommodate those. I am glad it worked perfect for you and I appreciate you taking time to let me know the same. :) --DK

By Lavanya on Oct 15, 2009

hi chef, thank youuu very much for the recipe,the murruku turned out great.i made this for diwali.i made the ribbon murruku from ur site too fro diwali.ur recipes are simply perfect,i follow it blindfolded and get the perfect dish out of it.i tried making rava laddoo from another site (aayis recipe),the recipe was to cook rava for couple of min in water and then make balls.i even used less amount of water ,but all that came in the end was a sugary mess more like rava kesari.i was very disappointed.i had to add more roasted rava ,sugar and i cant taste it as i was making it for diwali,it took about 3 hrs for such a simple dish like rava laddoo. I should hav tried ur recipe which was so simple and easy.Anyways i hav learnt a lesson,not to try recipes from unknown sites atleast for such special occasions.keep on ur good work,u can hardly imagine how new cooks like me are benefited by ur site. thanks

Dear Lavanya, I am glad to hear that Murukkus came out very well for you :) Thanks for your words of appreciation and feedback. Hopefully I live up to them always :) Happy Diwali :)---DK

By Murukku (Chakli) « Foodshots on Sep 13, 2009

[...] Festivals in India are too many to sit and count. The country is almost always bursting in celebration in different location housing different cultures. People get together, share sweets and gifts and enjoy much fanfare observing some aspect of their heritage/religion. One cannot even come to imagine the bewitching time children have. For them, its more about holidays, cousins/friends getting together and most importantly – the food … [read more] [...]

By peabody on Sep 11, 2009

Interesting. I have never seen them before, they look really cool.

By Mullu Murukku Recipe | How to make Chakli | South Indian Rice … shaping on Sep 11, 2009

[...] Read the rest here: Mullu Murukku Recipe | How to make Chakli | South Indian Rice … [...]

By Mona on Sep 10, 2009

They look perfect!

By Alka on Sep 10, 2009

Ok pass on to me your Residential Address, and you dare not finish these before my arrival...lol I truly miss home made chaklis..I remember mom washing, rinsing and sun drying rice to make the dough, the neighboring aunts would help each other to make dough and for frying.We simply lacked the patience watching chaklis being fried at low temp....It use to feel like waiting till eternity to get the first fried batch of chaklis.And Mom would heave a sigh of relief as soon as the first batch was out, since we use to disappear from kitchen rushing outside home,to share freshly made, crispy chaklis with friends in neighborhood.Nowadays its just a trip to Mall that can fetch u chaklis of hundred flavors, but I wonder why eating the store brought stuff do not give me that satisfaction.Is it the nostalgic memories that make the food of past more satisfying, is it magic of love, that dear mothers sprinkle in food when they slog for hours in kitchen just to see the family munching on such foods, even if it do not bring a "Thank you" in response.Just what it is that makes home made food special?Will our kids feel same about us in future , the way we feel about our parents ? Well Off with my blahs blahs, The pictures are to die for..seriously !

About the kids stuff - I wonder about that too! I actually don't know what they will think like the way I thought about my mom! My mom actually made lots of home made stuff unlike me ;) LOL As for coming to my place - you are more than welcome! I have like 2 leftover for you and its been eyed closely - any time someone is going to say "Hey Look there" and while everyone's looking, they are going take it and eat..hehehe But I promise to save it for you provided you bring those yummiest looking Pav Bhaji's for me :) :)

By peanutts on Sep 9, 2009

Hi, I am new, But i have to say I am so happy to find a blog that features baking without eggs, HAve been trying to find good , tried and tested recipes without eggs. THanks a bunch

Thanks for your sweet comment. I am glad you like what you see :)

By Shri on Sep 9, 2009

Impressive!I can never make these!I tried once but I made such a mess of the kitchen...!

By Srivalli on Sep 9, 2009

awesome girl..i love these!

By Priya on Sep 9, 2009

Prefect murrukus, looks simply superb.

By chitra on Sep 9, 2009

Wow , perfect ..Love the shape of single star attachment :)

By Parita on Sep 9, 2009

So perfect! I usually add some minced ginger and green chillies as well, gives a wonderful kick!

By EC on Sep 9, 2009

These look so crispy and tempting..thanks for participating

By jayasree on Sep 8, 2009

Perfect... Lovely step-by-step pics as always.

By neha on Sep 8, 2009

Looking so perfect... My all time favourite...

By Chakh...le...Re!!! on Sep 8, 2009

Thats sooooooo yummyy!! Chakli is my fav snack. I miss my mom's chakli seeing yours.

By Pavani on Sep 8, 2009

Crunchy & absolutely delicious. Pics are toooo tempting DK.

By PJ on Sep 8, 2009

Hi Divi,I totally agree with you-The taste is heavenly!!Right now i a trying to pull one of these through the screen hihihi..Reminds me of mom too..wish I had got he murukku maker..