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Love is in my Tummy

Plant-based flavor

March 28, 2016 By Tina Dawson 15 Comments

Baked Butter Murukku – No murukku acchu needed!

 Baked Butter Murukku – This savory South Indian savoury ‘Churros’ date back centuries, but gets a healthy makeover in this baked version.
 Baked Butter Murukku - This savory South Indian savoury 'Churros' date back centuries, but gets a healthy makeover in this baked version.

For those of you who haven’t heard of this, a murukku is an South Indian savoury ‘Churro’ – that originated in Tamil Nadu. The name is derived from the Tamil word for ‘twisted’ which is how these look. Traditionally made by using a special dough press (henceforth mentioned here as the murukku acchu), these come in all shapes and sizes.

My husband and I love Murukku, and whenever we go back home to Chennai, we stock up on them, thanks to my mother-in-law, who magically conjures them with almost no effort at all! It’s like one minute she’s in the living room chatting with us, and the next, there’s a large drum of murukku cooling on the dining table. Magic, I tell ya!

Trying to replicate the same outside India (with carpeted floors, centralised air-conditioning, and windows that just don’t open enough), while not impossible, feels like what it is – too much work! Here’s why –

The smells! (this can be a bad thing too!)
Deep frying results in a house (and closet) that smells like oil for a week. I swear that when I go out, I can ‘smell the Indian‘ on me. And when I come back home, the house smells so oily, that lighting scented candles in every room seems not nearly enough.

Deep fry oil – Should I throw it? Should I keep it? Can I re-use it?
I hate wasting/discarding deep-fry oil. And yet, you can’t use them more than once for frying. Very few oils have high-smoking point and can withstand high temperatures before getting greasy. And grease is bad, very very bad for your health. Usually, once I’ve finished deep frying something, I filter and bottle up the oil in a clean glass jar with a tight lid, and use them for tadkas, or to roast dosas, rotis and the like – where I don’t need to re-heat them to very high temperatures for long.

The murukku acchu didn’t make the baggage cut
We all have that conundrum while packing our bags in India, where you have to decide which ones you absolutely need to take and which ones can wait till the next trip. Most of the time, stuff like the murukku acchu don’t make the cut because let’s face it – we don’t make murukkus everyday. But that extra bag of toor dal or tamarind pulp – makes the cut each time!

If you don’t have a murukku acchu, making murukku might seem impossible. False! A Murukku acchu is first and foremost just a dough press – something to process dough into a shape that makes it easier to cook evenly. The same thing that a pasta maker or even an icing bag with a tip can accomplish. So stop whining and take out those disposable piping bags!

For obvious health reasons – duh!
Last, but always the first thing on my mind, deep frying isn’t good for your health. Sure, here and there, once in a while – but considering my lifestyle where food is work and food is life – it can add up pretty quickly.

If one or more or all of the above reasons have deterred you from having the most beloved South-Indian snack, fret no more.

This version of the classic butter murukku is – 1. Baked 2. Does not need an acchu and 3. BAKED!

How does it taste? 
When you buy baked potato chips instead of kettle fried – yes, there’s a difference in taste, but you don’t complain (out loud), do you? You get what you pay for – ok, that’s not fair, the healthy foods cost more than junk these days – but you get the idea!

Similarly, the baked murukku looks and feels exactly like its fried counterpart – crispy, golden brown and melts in your mouth – but it also feels more ‘grainy’. Just for a few bites though, and then you don’t even notice it.

All in all, it’s a win in my books!

 Baked Butter Murukku - This savory South Indian savoury 'Churros' date back centuries, but gets a healthy makeover in this baked version.

Implements used:
– Wilton Star tip #18 (from a 9-piece decoration set)
– 9-inch pastry bag with fitted coupler (from the same 9-piece decoration set)
– 2 Baking trays + parchment paper

 Baked Butter Murukku - This savory South Indian savoury 'Churros' date back centuries, but gets a healthy makeover in this baked version.

 Baked Butter Murukku - This savory South Indian savoury 'Churros' date back centuries, but gets a healthy makeover in this baked version.

Notes:
*Rice flour – I used idiyappam flour, which is made using soaked rice instead of regular rice. Feel free to substitute with store bought rice flour instead. Slightly roast the flour over low-medium heat until slightly fragrant.
*Besan flour – This is just roasted chickpea flour that you can find in all asian super markets. Always dry roast the flour over medium heat, stirring constantly until fragrant. Remove before it changes colour. 
* For urad dal (black lentils) flour, dry roast 1/2tbsp urad dhal till golden brown, cool and grind to a fine powder. 

Baked Butter Murukku

Created by Tina Dawson on April 15, 2016

Baked Butter Murukku Recipe

  • Prep Time:20m
  • Cook Time:50m
  • Total Time:1h 10m
  • Serves: 3
  • Yield: 3 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 c rice flour (idiyappam flour), roasted*
  • 1/4 c besan flour (chickpea flour), roasted*
  • 1 tbsp. urad dhal flour (black lentil flour), roasted*
  • 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 tsp. ghee (clarified butter)
  • 2 tsp. red chilli powder
  • 2 tbsp. sesame seeds
  • 1/4 tsp. asafoetida powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 1/2 c water (use as needed)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F/204°C.
  2. Combine the flours( rice flour, besan flour, urad dhal flour), flavourings (red chilli powder, asafoetida, salt) and the oils (butter and ghee) in a bowl.
  3. Use your fingers to mix them all together until you end up with a wet sand texture.
  4. Stir in the sesame seeds, and start kneading the dough with a little water at a time.
  5. Keep adding water until you get a very soft, slightly wet-to-the-touch dough.
  6. To check consistency, take a spoonful of batter into the prepared piping bag (fitted with #18 tip and coupler), and try to squeeze the batter.
  7. You have the correct consistency, when a smooth stream of unbroken batter emerges without too much effort. (A little effort is needed though)
  8. Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Pipe 2 inch lines of batter on one tray.
  9. Bake at 400°F/204°C for 10-13 minutes until golden brown. Watch carefully, as the batter burns rather quickly. Keep watch from 8 minutes onwards until you learn the rhythms of your oven.
  10. While the first tray is baking, pipe 2 inch lines on the second tray, and alternate baking the trays until all the batter is complete.
  11. Cool over a wire rack for a few minutes and transfer to a clean, dry jar with a fitted lid for storage.
  • Print

** This post contains affiliate links. I only link to products that I personally use and like from reputed sellers **  

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Filed Under: All Recipes, BAKED not Fried, Gluten-free, Indian, Vegetarian Tagged With: Indian, Served with tea, Snacks, South Indian, Vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sreela says

    January 25, 2021 at 5:28 pm

    Hi
    I put the muruku in oven for more than 20 min but it doesnt change to golden color and tastes a bit raw.I just didnt add the mirchi powder.Could you give me the reason why.

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      January 30, 2021 at 10:19 pm

      The baked version doesn’t taste exactly like a deep-fried one, but it definitely doesn’t taste raw. Maybe try dry roasting the besan and urad first before making? Some brands of besan do tend to taste more raw than others in my experience. I hope this helps.

      Reply
  2. Duncan says

    January 20, 2021 at 12:30 pm

    Hi thank you so much for recipe. Please can you tel me how long roughly the flour needs to be roasted? And method? Never roasted flour before..
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      January 30, 2021 at 10:20 pm

      Just until the raw flour smell goes away without any change in color. Just to dry out the flours first.

      Reply
  3. Fran says

    November 11, 2020 at 3:54 pm

    Hi
    Thanks for the recipe. Would you know why my murukku kind of melts when frying?? I’m guessing it’ might be too much ghee?‍♀️
    I will definitely try the baked version

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      November 11, 2020 at 4:42 pm

      Yes, when there’s too much fat in the murukku dough is when it separates or breaks apart while frying. I hope you have better luck with the baked version!

      Reply
  4. shalini says

    November 5, 2020 at 10:14 pm

    Love this! We tried baking murukkus too and now I can eat more of them without feeling guilty!
    Do you have any ideas as to how I can make acchi murrukus without deep frying them?

    Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      November 6, 2020 at 10:46 pm

      Glad to hear it Shalini! I haven’t tried Acchu murukku yet, but will add them to my list!

      Reply
  5. Karshini says

    October 10, 2020 at 1:40 am

    Do you use white or red roasted rice flour? TIA

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      October 22, 2020 at 2:54 pm

      No I have not, Karshini!

      Reply
  6. Pavithra Venkatraman says

    August 10, 2019 at 1:22 am

    Wonderful recipe !! Can we replace butter with anything non-dairy in this recipe??

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      August 12, 2019 at 10:52 am

      I haven’t tried it yet, but I don’t see why it can’t be subbed with vegan butter. I’ll try it and report back!

      Reply
  7. Jasmine says

    March 7, 2018 at 6:34 am

    OMG… seriously dear.. i was waiting to get such a recipe. I was 90kgs and did clean eating and a bit of weight training to reach 75. Clean eating no deep fried items.. but my love for murukku. Being a south indian girl. My love for murukku was something i cant keep aside.. i could eat murukku as my bf luch and even dinner .. a filter coffee or a tea wud make me feel full. As i am in GCC and i dont have a sevanazhi(murukku achu) store brought murukku is the one which i depend upon to fullfill my cravings.. i am feel so happy after reading ur recipe and the my concerns have been clearly answered. I thought of the pipping bag and star tip never came to my mind. Anyways.. tmrw i am gonna try this.. will leave a comment after making The Murukku.. BAKED VRSN.
    Love you
    God Bless

    Reply
  8. Chaicy Style A Pastiche says

    March 31, 2016 at 11:08 am

    OMG.. Muruku’s are my fav.. My mom makes them the best.

    xoxo- Chaicy – Style.. A Pastiche!

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      April 1, 2016 at 9:46 pm

      Ha ha! mine too!!!! yaay!

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Tina - the human behind all the content you see on this blog. Welcome to my little corner of the internet where I create flavorful and unique plant-based recipes.

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