Munthiri Murukku, a crunchy and delicious snack made from the rice flour and cashews as main ingredients. This murukku is so easy to make and it has such a nice flavor from the cashews. It's one of my recent favorite snacks to make for evening tea.

If you're looking for something different from the traditional snacks to make for this Diwali, then i would highly recommend to try this murukku. 

Rice Flour

For this murukku, i have used the store bought rice flour. Make sure to use the fine variety of rice flour or you can use Idiyappam flour. 

In case you want to try this murukku with home made rice flour, i have a recipe for that, so do check it out here.

Cashews 

I have used 15 whole cashews for 1 cup of rice flour. If you have splitted cashews only, then  use around 30 pieces. Make sure that the cashews are well soaked before grinding, it will help to make smooth cashew paste without any grains of cashews. 

Sesame Seeds

I always add sesame seeds or cumin seeds to the murukku for the flavor. Adding those elevates the flavor of the murukku to the next level. So i highly recommend to use either one of those depending on your liking.

In this recipe, i have used white sesame seeds but of course you can use the black sesame seeds too. Taste wise both are the same.

Now let's check out how to make this crunchy and delicious murukku.

Munthiri Murukku | Cashew Murukku

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 6 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Cashew Murukku, Munthiri Murukku, Murukku Munthiri Murukku, a crunchy and delicious snack made from the rice flour and cashews as main ingredients.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Rice flour - 1 cup

Cashews - 15 

Sesame Seed - 2 tsp

Butter ( melted) - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Water - as needed

Oil - for frying

Procedure

First soak the cashews in 1/4 cup of warm water for 30 mins and then grind into smooth paste in a mixie/blender. Then in a large bowl, measure and add the rice flour.

Add salt, sesame seeds and butter to the rice flour.

Mix it all well together and then add the cashew paste and mix it with the flour.

Then add the water(i used the mixie jar washed water) as needed to make a soft dough. Next take the murukku press and use the star shaped disc for the murukku press and fill the press with the dough and close it with the lid.

Heat the oil for frying and then press the dough in concentric circles or as you wish on a wooden board or on small plates. Once the oil is well heated, then gently transfer them into the oil. Cook till the shhh sound stops and then take it out of the oil.

Delicious and crunchy Munthiri Murukku / Cashew Murukku is ready.

Related: How to make Mullu Murukku

Notes:

• Store it in a air tight container and it stays well for up to 7 days.

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Maravalli Kizhangu Murukku, a delicious and crunchy murukku made with cooked tapioca roots. This murukku has a unique taste from the tapioca and makes it more addictive. 

If you have followed me on IG, you might already know that how much we like maravalli kizhangu. I often make them as a snack for evening time. Steamed maravalli kizhangu with salt and freshly grated coconut is absolutely delicious. 

Last year, around diwali time, i came to know about this murukku through social media(now can't remember where it is from ) and tried it in a very small quantity for the first time and it turned out super delicious. Ever since it's been added to my snack list and i have already made it 3-4 times and every time we loved it. 

So if you're looking for a unique murukku recipe to try for this Diwali, then definitely give this a try. I'm sure that you would be amazed by its taste and texture.

Maravalli Kizhangu / Tapioca Roots

Usually, here in Canada, i buy maravalli kizhangu/tapioca roots from Walmart as well as Indian Stores. Both are the same and taste similar. If you're not using maravalli kizhangu much in your cooking, then check out this post when i shared how to peel and use the maravalli kizhangu. 

Maravalli kizhangu has a lot of starch like potatoes so adding maravalli Kizhangu to the rice flour makes the dough more pliable and the dough doesn't break often when you make murukku.  That's one thing that i really love about adding the maravalli kizhangu to the murukku dough.

Cooking the maravalli kizhangu

For this recipe, cook the maravalli kizhangu in a steamer plate instead of boiling it in the water. Because when boiling it in the water, maravalli kizhangu tends to absorb a lot of moisture so later while frying murukku, it seems to absorb a lot of oil. 

So to avoid the excess absorption of  oil in the murukku, i highly recommend to steam cook the maravalli kizhangu. You can steam it in an idli plate or any steamer plate without touching the water.

Now let's check out how to make this yummy maravalli kizhangu murukku.

Maravalli Kizhangu Murukku | Tapioca Murukku

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Yields : 32-35  
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Maravalli Kizhangu Murukku, Tapioca Murukku, Diwali Murukku Maravalli Kizhangu Murukku, a delicious and crunchy murukku made with cooked tapioca roots.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Rice Flour - 1 cup

Cooked and Mashed Tapioca Roots - 1/4 cup

Butter(melted) - 1 tbsp

White Sesame Seed - 2 tsp

Water - as needed

Salt - to taste

Procedure

First peel the tapioca steam and cut into small pieces(remove the center small stem if you have). Steam cook it for 5 mins or until it's soft. Let it cool completely and put it in the mixie jar and pulse it a couple of times or until it's completely mushy.

In a bowl, add the rice flour, mashed tapioca, butter, sesame seed and salt. 

Mix it all together with your finger and then add water little by little to make a soft dough.

Use the star shaped disc for your murukku press and fill it with the murukku maavu/dough. Then make a small murukku on the parchment paper/ small ladle.

Heat the oil for frying and then add a few murukku at a time and cook till the "shh" sound stops completely. Drain the murukku from the oil and place it on tissue paper.

Tasty and crunchy murukku is ready ! Cool it completely and store it in airtight container. 

Related:How to make Coconut Milk Murukku

Notes:

• Instead of white sesame seeds, you can also use black sesame seeds.
• You can use any murukku press disc to make this murukku.

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Coconut Milk Murukku | Thengai Pal Murukku

Coconut Milk Murukku, a delicious, crunchy and flavorful snack made from the rice flour as main ingredient and flavored with coconut milk. It's one of our favorite snacks to munch on any time. 

Back in days when we were in hosur, we used to buy this coconut milk murukku from the local bakery whenever we pass by that store. The flavor and the taste of the murukku is simply amazing. Later i had tried a few proportions to recreate that murukku taste and finally the recipe that i'm sharing today is my keeper for making this delicious murukku!

Before check out the recipe, let's see some of the FAQs 

Can i use store brought coconut milk for this recipe ?

Yes, of course ! But here, i have used homemade coconut milk only. Make sure to use the brand that doesn't have any artificial flavor for best taste and aroma. 

Why did my murukku break into oil ?

If the dough doesn't have enough moisture in it, the murukku breaks easily in the oil and also it breaks while squeezing the dough. So add a little more coconut milk in the dough, mix it well and use.

Why is my murukku not crispy ?

If the oil is too hot, then the outer turns darker easily and it won't be crispy. Cook it in the medium flame for the whole process helps to get crispy murukku.

Why is my murukku hard?

It doesn't have enough fat in it. Butter used in the murukku helps to keep the murukku crispy and as light.

Does the murukku burst in the oil?

Chances are there!!

1.  If the dry ingredients like rice flour and any other flour used in the recipe has any big granules. So make sure to sieve all the flour once before making dough
2. Once all the dough is squeezed, don't tempt to roll the left over dough into seedai and fry. It has the chance to burst.

Coconut Milk Murukku

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Serves : 25 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Coconut Milk Murukku, Murukku, Thengai Pal Murukku Coconut Milk Murukku, a delicious, crunchy and flavorful snack made from the rice flour as main ingredient and flavored with coconut milk.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Rice flour - 2 cups
Roasted chana dal/Pottukadalai/Dalia  flour- 1/3 cup
Butter - 2 tbsp
Cumin seed - 1 tsp

Coconut Milk - 1 cup(approx)
Salt - 1/2 tsp

Oil - for frying

Procedure

Take rice flour, pottukadalai flour, cumin seed and salt in a large bowl, mix it all well together, then add the butter.

Incorporate butter with the flour until it all mixed well. Next add the coconut milk little by little and make a soft dough.

Take the murukku press and add the three hole disc in it. Then fill 3/4 of the murukku press with the dough. 

Close the murukku press with the lid. Take a few slotted laddle or small plates and squeeze the dough in circles and keep it ready. Heat the oil for deep frying. Add a piece of dough in the oil, if it rise up immediately, then the oil is ready to fry murukku.

Add a few pressed murukku dough and cook it on medium flame.

When the "shh" sound stops and the murukku floats on the top, remove it from the oil and place it on tissue paper. Let them cool completely and store it in air tight container.

Tasty, crunchy and flavorful coconut milk murukku/Thengai pal murukku is ready.

Related:How to make Omapodi/Plain sev

Notes:

• Make sure to store the murukku when it's completely cooled down.
• Tastes and flavor intensify after a  few days.
• Instead of cumin seed, you can also use the sesame seeds for flavoring.
• 

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Thenkuzhal | How to make Thenkuzhal murukku | Diwali Snacks

Thenkuzhal Murukku, one of the traditional diwali snacks made from the rice flour and urad dal flour. It's super crispy and absolutely delicious !! Never can imagine a deepavali without making a murukku at home!! In those days, only during deepavali time, murukku was prepared at home.

While growing up, Amma used to make the murukku at least two or three days before deepavali and the murukku would last for at least a week after diwali. During diwali week, for every meal, i used to eat at least one murukku. Do I need to tell you about the other time? 

Ok, now coming to this thenkuzhal murukku recipe, it's one of the easiest and tastiest snacks that you can prepare at home with pantry basic ingredients. I often make this at home as our evening snacks and when i'm making a list of recipes to post here for this year diwali , i was shocked to know that i haven't shared this recipe so far. 

So this was the first recipe that I had prepared for this year's diwali post !!! Let 's check out on how to make the super crispy thenkuzhal murukku and if you're beginner, do check out the below FAQs  

Here are some basic FAQ about murukku

Why is it called Thenkuzhal ?

When you break this murukku, you can see a small hole running throughout and it seems like a  pulankuzhal(a music instrument)  hole. It's the most common reason that I have heard for the name "Thenkuzhal" 

Why did my murukku break into oil ?

If the dough doesn't have enough moisture in it, the murukku breaks easily in the oil and also it breaks while squeezing the dough. So add a little more water in the dough.

Why is my murukku not crispy ?

If the oil is too hot, then the outer turns darker easily and it won't be crispy. Cook it in the medium flame for the whole process helps to get crispy murukku

Why is my murukku hard?

It doesn't have enough fat in it. Butter used in the murukku helps to keep the murukku crispy and as light.

Does the murukku burst in the oil?

Chances are there!!

1.  If the dry ingredients like rice flour and any other flour used in the recipe has any big granules. So make sure to sieve all the flour once before making dough
2. Once all the dough is squeezed, don't tempt to roll the left over dough into seedai and fry. It has the chance to burst.

Why does my murukku have a dark color or not as white as the store bought?

There are 2 reasons why murukku became dark in color.

1. Adding too much of urad dal makes the murukku become darker easily
2. Cooking for a longer time even after the "Shh" sound stops.

Ok, hope i have answered the basic FAQ about murukku!! 

How to make Thenkuzhal murukku

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 20 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Thenkuzhal, How to make Thenkuzhal, Thenkuzhal murukku,Savory Snacks, Diwali Snacks, Deepavali Sancks Thenkuzhal Murukku, a crunchy, delicious and traditional savory snack made from the rice flour and urad dal.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Rice flour - 2 cups

Urad dal flour - 1/4 cup

Butter - 3 tbsp

Sesame seed - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Water - as needed

Oil - for deep frying

Procedure

First in a bowl, add rice flour, urad dal flour, sesame seed, cumin seed and oil. Mix it well. Then add the room temperature butter and mix it well with the flour.

Next add water little by little and make a soft dough. 

Take the murukku press and add a three hole disc in it, fill 3/4 of the press with the dough and close it with lid.

Heat the oil for deep frying. Squeeze the dough in a circle on to the small plate/ flat laddle as show in fig below. Once the oil is heated(to check the oil temperature, add a pinch of dough, it should come up immediately) add the pressed murukku dough

Add more depends on the oil level and cooking vessel. Let it cook on medium flame.

Once the 'shh' sound stops and the shh sound stops and the murukku floats without any bubbles around it, remove from the oil and place it on tissue paper. Do the same for the remaining dough.

Tasty and crispy murukku is ready. 

Related : How to make Kai Murukku / Suthu Murukku 

For more diwali snacks, check out my diwali collections

Notes:

• It stays well for up to 10 days at room temperature
• Dont reduce the amount of butter used in the recipe
• This murukku doesn't absorb lot of oil, but if you're making it in larger batch, make sure to top up the oil in need

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Spinach Murukku, a delicious and colorful snack made from the rice flour and spinach puree. Last diwali itself, i got this idea of using spinach puree in murukku dough from the fellow blogger friends.It's been in my mind since, at last, few days back gave it a try and i was amazed by how colorful it looks and at the same time it's super crunchy and delicious. For this murukku recipe, i have used my favorite, fool proof "pottukadalai murukku recipe " as base, in that instead of plain water, i used the spinach puree to make the dough.

While making this murukku, I noticed a few things to take care of to get that beautiful  green color!! 

• First, the spinach should be fresh and green, so I have used baby spinach, it has a bright green color than the regular spinach which is darker in color. 
• Second, cook it in medium flame and remove from the oil immediately when the "shh" sounds stops and there are no more bubbles around the murukku. If you cook past this stage, then it becomes brownish green, my first batch turned out like that,so speaking from experience here !! 
• Third, puree the spinach with less water, if it needs more liquid to make the dough, you can always add more water, but if you puree it with more water, then you may not need all spinach puree for making the dough, that means less spinach in the dough and the color also not as green as we wanted.

Here are some basic FAQ about murukku 

Why did my murukku break into oil ?

If the dough doesn't have enough moisture in it, the murukku breaks easily in the oil and also it breaks while squeezing the dough. So add a little more water in the dough.

Why is my murukku hard?

It doesn't have enough fat in it. Butter used in the murukku helps to keep the murukku crispy and as light.

Does the murukku burst in the oil?

Chances are there!!

1.  If the dry ingredients like rice flour and any other flour used in the recipe has any big granules. So make sure to sieve all the flour once before making dough
2. Once all the dough is squeezed, don't tempt to roll the left over dough into seedai and fry. It has the chance to burst.

Ok, hope i have answered the most FAQ !! Now let's check on how to make these cute and vibrant spinach murukku !!

Spinach Murukku | Palak Chakli | Murukku Recipe

Preparation Time : 1 hr | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Makes : 22-25 
Recipe Category: Snack | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Spinach Murukku, Green Murukku,Keerai Murukku,Palak Murukku,Palak Chakli,Chakli recipe Spinach Murukku, a delicious and colorful snack made from the rice flour and spinach puree.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Rice flour - 1/2 cup heaped
Pottukadalai/daliya/roasted gram powder - 2 tbsp
Butter - 2 tsp
Spinach - 1/2 cup(tightly packed)
Sesame seed - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - for frying
Water - as needed

Procedure

First measure & take the spinach, add into the blender along with 2 to 3 tbsp of water and grind into smooth paste. Keep it aside until use.

In a bowl, add rice flour, roasted gram powder, sesame seed and salt, give it a good mix, then add the butter.

Mix the butter with the flour well, then add the spinach puree, if needed add more water and make a smooth dough.

Use the star shape disc in the murukku press and fill it with dough and squeeze the dough as concentric circle in the back of the laddle.

Heat the oil for frying, then add the dough gently into the oil and fry till the "shh" sound stops.

Drain the murukku from the oil and place it on the tissue paper. Once it's completely cooled, store it in air tight container.

Tasty and crispy Spinach Murukku is ready. For more festive sweets and snacks, check out my collections

Related : How to make Butter Murukku

Notes:

• You can use black sesame seed instead of white sesame seed too.
• Cook the murukku in medium flame and also remove them once the sound "shh" stops.
  

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