This tasty, simple bakshanam Thenkuzhal is called so , mostly by brahmins, and the others call it murukku. It is a fantastic tea-time nibble, (don't ask me how many warm thenkuzhals vanished while I was making.....confiscation by my family members....) . When you break a thenkuzhal, if it a well cooked one, there will be a tube like passage throughout...may be, that's why it is called kuzhal. Deepavali is not complete without this great snack.
I have a hollow cylindrical hindalium murukku press, which has to be pressed with hands only (unlike the ones which you get nowadays, where you can just turn)...this was given to me at the time of my marriage, which I still preserve...The perforations in this are very perfect. And to make this golden hued snack, there is a plate, with exact thickness perforated holes, which you normally don't get in other murukku presses.
I have a hollow cylindrical hindalium murukku press, which has to be pressed with hands only (unlike the ones which you get nowadays, where you can just turn)...this was given to me at the time of my marriage, which I still preserve...The perforations in this are very perfect. And to make this golden hued snack, there is a plate, with exact thickness perforated holes, which you normally don't get in other murukku presses.
Ingredients
Rice flour - 2 cups (I used Anil kozhukkattai flour. Idiyappam flour too can be used.)
Urad dhal flour - 1/2 cup - 2 tbsps (Dry roast urad till it is very hot, switch off, after cooling down, powder to a fine consistency, sieving 2-3 times)
Jeera - 1 1/2 tsps
Hing powder - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 2 tsps
Salt to taste (Actually I added 1 1/2 tsps salt, it was perfect. I am adding this small note for the youngsters)
Refined oil to deep fry the thenkuzhals
Recipe Cuisine: South Indian; Category: Snack
Prep time: 5 mts; Cooking time: as is required
Yields roughly 28-30 thenkuzhals (the size I have shown above)
The above mentioned ingredients ready to be kneaded. Make it a soft pliable dough. If you make it too thick, pressing will be difficult. If it is too loose, it will drink lots of oil.
This is the great murukku press. Very lightly grease the inside and outside of the press.
Put one elongated ball inside the press
Keep 2 mildly greased ladles ready. Squeeze small rounds on them...and....
gently drop into the hot oil, taking care not to dip the ladle.
Cook in medium flame, turning them once in a while. They will be making a shhshh sound, which will stop when they are cooked. Also, this frothing will stop.
Drain them on kitchen towels, and stack them inside an airtight container, after they cool down fully.
The crisp, golden, tasty , yummy Thenkuzhals are ready!!
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