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JEYASHRI SURESH
This is a savoury snack popular in south India.
It is crispy and tasty and easy to prepare. Tomato murukku with a hot cup of tea is heavenly. Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes Makes: 16 murukku Ingredients: Rice flour: 1 cup Besan (kadalai maavu): ½ cup Ripe tomatoes: 3 Red chilli powder: 1 tbsp Cumin seeds: 1 tsp Sesame seeds: 1 tsp Salt: As needed Asafoetida: 2 pinches Oil: For deep frying Method: 1) Puree three ripe tomatoes into a fine paste. 2) Strain the mixture to get rid of the seeds. 3) Use ½ cup of water to strain. 4) I got 1¼ cup of puree. 5) In a wide bowl, take ½ cup kadalai maavu, 1 cup rice flour, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tbsp red chilli powder, 2 pinches asafoetida and salt. 6) Add 3 tsp hot oil. This will give a nice crunchiness to the murukku. Mix well. 7) Slowly add the tomato puree. 8) Make a soft and crack-free dough. I used the thenkuzhal achu (mould). 9) Place a portion of the dough in the achu. 10) Close it and squeeze the dough gently into the oil. 11) Cook on both sides. 12) Once the oil sound subsides, take out the murukku. 13) Drain the excess oil with a kitchen towel. 14) Repeat this process for the rest of the dough. 15) Always keep the dough covered. Do not store it as it will get sour.
Notes: a) Straining the tomato puree is to remove the seeds. Otherwise, they may get stuck while squeezing. b) Adjust the quantity of the red chilli powder according to the sourness of the tomatoes.
Jeyashri Suresh runs the vegetarian food website www.jeyashriskitchen.com
