Moong Dal Chakli

Known as Chakli or Murukku, these savory twirled treats make for a delicious snack anytime. There are many types of chaklis and each recipe results in a lip smacking good treat. My mom sent me a Chakli press/maker last year with a friend who was visiting India. I had even bought a instant murukku mix, but had never gotten down to trying it – I still haven’t.

Last week while talking to mom, she gave me the recipe for Moong Dal Chakli which she had tried that day. It sounded fairly simple and considering I had been long meaning to make chaklis at home, I decided to give this one a go. I must say this was one easy chakli to make and inspite of being the first time, it still turned out great.

You will need:

1 measure* Yellow Moong Dal

1 measure* Rice flour

½ tsp Salt

½ tsp Asafoetida

½ tsp White sesame seeds

Oil for deep frying

*By measure I mean any cup/bowl/container you choose to use. Both the yellow moong dal (unboiled) and the rice flour need to be in the same proportion.

Pressure cook the yellow moong dal in water till soft and can be easily mashed. Pour into a colander and let sit till all the water is completely drained. This is an important step and all excess water has to be drained from the dal.

To the drained moong dal, add measured rice flour, sesame seeds, salt and hing. Knead into smooth dough. This dough will be softer than chapathi dough. At this point you can taste to check for salt and add more if required. Also if the dough doesn’t come together because of less moisture you can sprinkle with little water to make it wet and then knead.

To make this chakli use the chakli plate with 3 ridged holes in it. Take a portion of the dough, place in the chakli press, and then you can either press directly into the hot oil (if you have a steady hand) or press the chakli onto waxed paper and then drop in hot oil ,like I did .

Fry on medium heat, so that the insides get cooked. The outside should be a golden light brown, that is when it’s ready. Remove from oil, and drain on paper towels. Store in an air-tight container.

These chaklis are crisp and very tasty, and extremely addictive!! I made a small batch and before we knew hubby and I had wolfed down the whole lot. :D