Murmuralu (puffed rice)

​

This is something you can make a large quantity of and keep in an airtight container for when you feel peckish or when someone drops in unexpectedly and what to serve some nibbles with a drink. The recipe is very south indian made with puffed rice which you can buy in any Asian store, but there are other versions of it made all over India. It is often one of the ingredients in Chudva or Bombay mix. It is a bit more-ish - just yum.

 

I large (xx grams?) packet of murmuralu (puffed rice)

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 teaspoons mustard seeds

1 teaspoon chana dal

1 teaspoon urad dal

3 dried red chillies

Salt

Large handful karyapak (curry leaves)

3 tablespoons sunflower oil

              

Take a super large and thick bottomed (so it doesn’t catch and burn easily) kadai (or wok or even a non-stick frying pan if you have one large enough), put on high heat. When hot add the oil. When it is hot but not smoky, add the cumin seeds, listen to them crackle nicely for a few seconds, then add the mustard seeds and after maybe fifteen seconds of them spluttering, add the chana dal and the urad dal and the dried red chillies. Let them sizzle for a half minute, then chuck in the karyapak. If they are fresh they will make a lovely loud sizzly noise. Let them fry – with the heat still high, by the way – and get as toasty crisp as possible. Then put in the salt. Make sure it dissolves a bit, stirring the whole thing round (ideally with a round steel salaki (spatula)) for a minute. Then put in the murmuralu. Stir repeatedly in great big lifts from the side, mixing everything and giving it all a turn at the bottom. It will probably take ten minutes of such stirring to get all the grains of puffed rice slightly toasty – both in colour and in texture if your try it.

 

Wait till it all cools and store in an airtight box. If you don’t let it cool, it will sweat and get soggy. If you ever come back to this and find them less crisp, you could always put them back in the kadai on high heat and crisp them up in a few minutes.