Udupi Style Chakkuli Recipe - Krishna Ashtami Special Murukku Recipe

Chakkuli or Chakli or some even name this spiked fried swirls as Murukku.

The taste varies depending on the ingredients in making the dough. Today, we bring to you the traditional taste of Chakli as done in Udupi during Krishna Janmashthami celebration. Every household begins with the preparation of special recipes to offer Lord Krishna during the pooja occasion of Janmashthami.

Udupi is one of the popular temple town, it is also an important part of the coastal region of the SouthWestern part of India. This naturally gives rise to abundant coconut plantation and the dominance of the same in most of the regional cuisines. Chakkuli is no exception too. The flavor of coconut milk with which the dough is made and the aroma of coconut oil in which it is deep-fried is what makes Chakli special in Udupi during the festive seasons.

Let us see what is special in the recipe of Chakli/Chakkuli made in Udupi. Step by step recipe method below.

You will need (Ingredients) -

Rice (preferably dosa rice) - 1 cup,

Skinned and split black gram (urad dal) - 1/4 cup

Freshly churned out butter - one lemon sized,

Coconut milk - 1/2 cup,
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1 spoon,
Hing powder (asafoetida) - 1 spoon,
Salt - as per taste,
Water - as needed
Coconut Oil for deep frying

Step-by-step preparation of Chakkuli or Murukku

Step 1 -

Wash rice under cleaning running water and soak it for about 2 hours.

Once sufficiently soaked, drain the water and spread the rice on a white cotton cloth so that additional water is all absorbed.

Allow the rice to air dry. This might take about another 2 hours.

Step 2 -

Grate freshly cut open coconut.

Add the grated coconut to the blender-jar along with some water. Blend for less than a minute.

Now pour all blended ingredients from the jar into the sieve.

Collect coconut milk in a clean bowl and keep aside for now.

how to add coconut milk in murukku recipe

We will use this coconut milk later to make a buttery soft chakli dough.

Step 3 -

Now, heat a thick bottom pan over medium flame.

Add rice to the pan and gently heat it until it turns crisp.

No roasting. The color of the rice should not change.

This will ensure that it will get be easy to turn rice into a fine powder.

Transfer the rice to the dry-mixer-jar.

Step 4 -

Now, to the same hot pan, add urad dal. Urad dal is skinned and split black gram.

Over low flame, continue until urad dal slightly changes color to pink.

Switch off and transfer it to the same mixer jar along with rice.

Step 5 (optional) -

You may also add fried-bengal-gram to the mixer jar for enhanced taste and softness.

Fried-Bengal-Gram is readily available in stores, skinned, split and ready to use.

Although this ingredient is optional, it helps in the softness and crispness of chakli.

Step 6 -

Run the dry-mixer-jar and make fine powder of all the base ingredients.

If need be, use a sieve to separate out the ones that has not crushed properly and run the mixer once again.

Step 7 -

To a wide mixing bowl, transfer the finely made powder from the mixer jar. To this add hing, jeera, butter and salt. Mix well.

Step 8 -

Now, we will need the extracted coconut milk.

Add it to the bowl and mix well until all the ingredients are wet and turn into one single lump of dough. If needed, add water little by little to adjust the softness of the dough.

Cover the dough with a wet cloth and keep aside for at least 15 minutes.

Step 9 -

To a deep frying kadai, pour coconut oil and heat over low flame.

You will notice the aroma when the oil is sufficiently hot for frying.

While the oil is heating up, fill in the chakli mould with sufficient dough.

Make sure you knead the dough every time before filling the mould. Else, chakli patterns will begin to break into pieces. Also, cover the remaining dough with a moist cloth.

Step 10 -
Using the handle provided in the chakli mould, twist and apply pressure on the dough. The dough will come out as star-shaped medium-sized strand. Twirl to make a swirly chakli.

Step 11 -
Drop the chakli swirls into hot oil and deep fry until it turns crisp and golden brown.

Remove from oil and place on kitchen tissue so that extra oil is absorbed.

The special offering for Lord Krishna during Janmashthami is ready to be offered during puja aarti. The recipe is also a common one during the Deepawali festival in India.