"Crispy Nachani~Urad Dal~Rice Chakuli / Chakli / Murukku" ... Come festivals and these savories are a must in most homes ... also after seeing many posts on nachani (Finger Millet/ Ragi) chakuli in my food group posted by my friends, my taste buds were tickled so much that I had to prepare them soon and relish them ... So here they are for all of you after gampapa has had his fill of the chakulies .... Enjoy them fresh ... they taste best then ...
** Chakuli/Chakli/Murukku as you known are deep fried crispy spiral snack that are enjoyed almost by the young and old alike. Children are very fond of this and they are finished in no time. A little bit tedious on the making side if it has to be done alone. But if you have a helping hand, then it can be finished within a matter of hour. But how much ever the part of work it involves, we simply love this snack and is a must during festive season. These are prepared throughout the monsoon season as there are so many festivals lined up and continued to be prepared till Diwali in almost every household. I have written a lot about this snack, its making process and how I perfected the art of making from my Mom, I will not repeat the same again here, but will share the link at the bottom of this recipe. But, I have to thank and give credit for pressing the chakuli on paper to my hubby, coz. had he not agreed to help me, I would not have ventured into preparing them alone, as my weak back does not allow much of work that involves bending for long periods. I must appreciate and say that I am always impressed at the perfection with which he has done these chakuli, as so equal in size and shape, that I wonder if I could have made the same or not.
** Preparing of this chakuli is a breeze work if you have the ingredients ready. It hardly takes time and nowadays I do not prepare it in bulk, so that I can prepare them often in different combination of ingredients. Udidache Hurna/Roasted Urad dal flour as I have mentioned before and made a separate post of the same is always prepared and stored in my fridge as I use it for preparing certain types of poori, podi etc. not to mention the chakuli. There are many ways of preparing this nachani/finger millet/ragi chakuli and this is just one method while I will be posting many more as soon as I make them. I am somehow partial to the flavor of roasted urad dal and love them in snack, as they impart an awesome taste and aroma to the fried dishes. Though some of my recipes do not include it in preparing chakuli, I preferred to share this first as this one is one my favorite of all times. I have posted the link to the preparation of the urad dal flour, so please go through that link for the same. Again I have posted the normal chakuli link that is again the best of all, which I learnt from my Mom, do check it out for step pictures which will enable you to learn the same if new to these snacks.
** Here is the simple Method of preparing "Crispy Nachani~Urad Dal~Rice Chakuli / Chakli / Murukku" … My Style …
** Ingredients :
Nachani / Finger Millet / Ragi Flour : 1 heaped cup
Roasted Urad dal / Black gram dal flour / Udidache Hurna : ½ cup
Rice Flour : 1/3 cup
Fresh homemade white butter (salt less) : one large lemon sized ball. (Approx.35 grms)
White Til / Sesame / Tilu : 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Water for kneading
** Oil for deep frying.
** In a bowl sieve together through a fine sieve nachani flour, roasted urad dal flour, rice flour and salt together so that it gets evenly mixed. Now add in the softened homemade white butter and mix it in with the flour mixed to get a crumbled mixture. Mix well for a few minutes. Add in the til and mix it evenly. Finally add in about ½ a cup of water little by little and keep mixing the mixture.
** You will need slightly more water to need it to a balling consistency. But at this stage do not add in water in one go, keep sprinkling and kneading till the dough comes to a tight round ball consistency. Keep this covered aside for 20 minutes to soften. Then knead again and divide into large bullet shaped balls. The size depends upon the chakuli press machine you have and how much dough it holds within.
** Press out the chakli on a sheet of paper through single star nozzle in the chakli pressing mold all the time turning the pressing machine in a clockwise direction/rotation to get spirals formed. Heat plenty of oil in a thick bottomed kadai for heating before you begin to press out the chakuli. Prepare some before you start deep frying them as you need to add them in one after the other till required numbers are added depending upon the size of the kadai/pan.
** Note : If the chakulis tend to break while pressing out through the machine, it means the kneaded atta is drier and will have to be a little smoother. So sprinkle some more water and try kneading the dough for some more time, knead it well again. And then put them in a chakuli pressing machine and press into making the chakuli again. The chakuli atta should come out of the pressing machine in a nice single thread style without breaking and should be able to be shaped. You can check on any You tube for the same to get the exact method of the preparation.
** Slip out each chakuli from paper by slowly tilting it from the back of the paper, so that it tops on your palm, then leave it gently into the hot oil one at each time. The oil will sizzle a lot, but do not at this point try turning the chakuli or so, as it may tend to break if you meddle with it at this stage. Once the sizzling almost stops gently invert the chakuli with the help of a ringed spatula and allow to cook on the other side. Cook till they are evenly fried to crisp.
** Remember to not overcrowd the kadai, nor make the heat slow while frying the chakuli. The heat should be kept at high constant temperature or else the chakuli will not become evenly crisp. Once they are crisp, remove with the help of the ringed spatula so that the oil drains back into the kadai. Put the chakuli on a holed vessel or large spatula with a plate or tava below it. Let the excess oil drain onto the tava. Meanwhile proceed frying a new batch of chakuli by adding in some more of the prepared one from the paper.
** Now remove the fried chakuli put to drain from the holed plate into another plate lined with absorbent paper. Prepare all in similar pattern and spread it on the absorbent paper for the excess oil if any to drain of completely, though there will be hardly any if the dough has been correctly prepared. Let the chakuli cool to room temperature before you store them away in airtight dabba/tins. The above measurement gives about 30 medium sized chakuli/murukkus and if you need more, just double the quantity as it is.
** "Crispy Nachani~Urad Dal~Rice Chakuli / Chakli / Murukku" are done and ready to be served as and when you wish. They remain good for over two weeks. Serve them to your family and friends during festivals or get together as a snack. You can enjoy them as snacks with a cup of steaming hot rasam / chai during monsoon when its pouring heavily and you simply want to put up your legs and enjoy the rains. A good novel/fiction book on hand with a few chakuli and a cup of steaming hot soup to crash out at night makes me the happiest at times.
** Do try this Nachani Chakuli as Nachani/Ragi is considered to be very good for health as it has high content of calcium in it, and it should be included in you diet. Nachani is a millet known as finger millet in English and millets are considered to be the healthiest among all pulses/grains. The world is now screaming of the health benefits of millets, while we Indians specially in the southern parts of the Country always reaped in its benefits for centuries now. I will add many more chakuli/murukku dishes soon, till then try these out and trust me you will simply love them and so will your family and friends.
** Sharing some of the links below which will help you understand procedure of preparing the chakuli/murukku easily. Nothing is easy if you sit there scared that you will make some mistake or what if it turns brittle or too crunch or soggy. It happens with all of us, we all learned it the hard way, by practicing them often. Rome was not built in one day, so never fear when it comes to cooking with the idea that what if it goes wrong. Just prepare little the first time and once confident you can increase the amount and prepare more.
** For the simple Method of “Preparing Udidache Hurna/Roasted Urad Dal (Black Gram Dal) Flour” at home .... Please check on the link given below ….
** For the Method and Step by Step Pictures of “Preparation of Chakuli/Murukku”, Please check on the link given below ….
** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of different types in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and Enjoy them with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible. I have also started a food group for by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" where in you will find many more recipes by members and you too can share some of your own. The link to the group is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring" … Thank You ….
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks.