SNACK: PUFFED RICE/MURMURA

Murmura namkeen is a light Indian snack that goes well with evening tea or even just by itself at anytime. I first came across this snack while living in Mumbai. From the very first time that I had it, I loved it. Since then it has been my “go to’” snack, when I come home tired from work. It’s that interim snack before dinner while I’m putting myself together for cooking a full fledged Indian meal.

The best part is that it is low on calories, low on sodium, low on oil and fats and with little or no sugars (except from the besan sev and puffed rice) and it doesn’t do too much damage to dieters who are looking for a little binge.

In Mumbai, I found Murmura Namkeen (that is what I call it, I’m not sure what the exact name is) conveniently at most grocery stores. But when I came to Los Angeles, the closest snack similar to this was the ‘Haldiram’s Diet Bhel’. Even though Haldiram’s Diet Bhel served as a good alternative, I noticed it came in much smaller packs than what I got in Mumbai. I also noticed that the Indian grocery stores in Los Angeles carried plain murmura or puffed rice in gigantic packs. After a lot of contemplation I gave in to my temptation of trying to make murmura namkeen at home one day. I bought the huge murmura pack and made an attempt at murmura namkeen. To my surprise it came out well!! Well enough to mimic the taste of what I had in Mumbai.

For those of you murmura fans still contemplating about buying that huge bag of murmura and making it at home, fear not and give it a try!

Ingredients:

Puffed Rice/Plain Murmura – 6 cups
Roasted Peanuts – 2 cups
Plain Besan sev (regular in thickness) - 3 cups
Roasted chana dal – 2 tbsp
Oil – 4 tbsp
Curry Leaves – 8-10
Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
Salt as per your taste
Red chilli powder – 1 ¼ tsp
Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp

Method:

1. Work with a big wok for making the murmura namkeen
2. Add oil to the wok and heat it well
3. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle a little
4. Add the curry leaves and fry them in the oil until they are crisp. This will take about a minute
5. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt to the oil. Give it a quick stir
6. Reduce the heat to the lowest and then add the puffed rice followed by roasted peanuts, roasted chana dal and besan sev. Mix all the ingredients well
7. Keep mixing till all the puffed rice are coated with the oil seasoning and are crisp. Turn off the heat but keep stirring to ensure that the puffed rice at the bottom of the wok does not burn or over roast in the residue heat
8. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container

Serve as a snack anytime with tea or coffee.

You could also use this mixture to make bhel puri by adding a bit of chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander, green chilies and a finely cubed boiled potato.

Give this recipe a shot and let us know how it turns out! 

Any suggestions for variations and or improvements are most welcome.