Oats Murukku
- 20 min prep
- 65 min
- Cook
- Serves 8
- 245 kcal
- 4.5 g protein
Rice flour, roasted oat flour and pottukadalai, pressed into spirals and fried till they crackle. A Diwali tin staple, with an air-fryer route too.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) rice flour
- ¾ cup (70 g) rolled or quick oats, roasted and ground to a fine flour
- ½ cup (50 g) roasted gram (pottukadalai), ground fine
- 1 tsp white sesame seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds, ¼ tsp ajwain, ½ tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) hot oil, for the dough
- ¾-1 cup (180-240 ml) water, as needed
- Oil for deep-frying (about 3 tbsp is absorbed)
Method
- 1Dry-roast the oats on low heat for 3-4 minutes until fragrant, cool, and grind to a fine powder along with the pottukadalai. Sift through a fine sieve; any coarse bits will block the press.
- 2In a wide bowl, mix the rice flour, oat-gram powder, sesame, cumin, ajwain, chilli powder and salt.
- 3Heat 2 tbsp oil until it just shimmers and pour it over the flour. Mix with a spoon, then rub it in with your fingers once cool enough to touch.
- 4Add water a little at a time and knead into a soft, smooth, non-sticky dough. Keep it covered with a damp cloth.
- 5Heat oil in a kadai on medium. Grease the murukku press, fit the star plate and fill it with a portion of dough. Press spirals onto the back of a greased ladle or a sheet of parchment.
- 6Slide 3-4 murukku into the oil. Fry for 2 minutes, flip, and continue until the hissing settles and they turn pale golden, 4-5 minutes in total.
- 7Drain on paper and let them cool completely before storing; they crisp further as they cool.
Notes from the Department
- If the dough breaks as it leaves the press, it is too dry; knead in a teaspoon of water. If it spreads, add a spoon of rice flour.
- Air fryer: pipe onto parchment, brush lightly with oil, and cook at 180°C for 12-15 minutes, flipping halfway. Paler and lighter, still crunchy.
- Fry at a steady medium. Hot oil browns the outside and leaves the centre chewy.
Nutrition per serving
- Energy
- 245 kcal
- Protein
- 4.5 g
- Carbohydrate
- 34 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 2.4 g
- Sugars
- 0.8 g
Why this works
Murukku dough is mostly rice flour, which fries up crisp but can taste a bit flat. Roasted oat flour and pottukadalai fix that. The oats add a toasty, nutty flavour and a little more fibre, while roasted gram makes the murukku short and crumbly so it snaps instead of crunching like a rock. Hot oil rubbed into the flour gives the same tender bite butter would, keeping the recipe vegan.
Sift your oat and gram powders. Murukku presses are unforgiving, and one coarse oat flake can jam the star plate halfway through a spiral. Keep the dough covered while you work, too; rice flour dough dries out at the edges within minutes and starts to crack.
Swaps
Use 1 tbsp softened butter in place of hot oil for a richer, butter-murukku style, though it then is not vegan. Add a pinch of hing if you do not need the murukku gluten-free; most hing contains wheat. Besan can stand in for pottukadalai, giving a slightly denser texture. With certified gluten-free oats, the recipe as written is gluten-free.
Serving and storage
Serve with filter coffee or masala chai, or alongside curd rice for a classic Tamil pairing. Fully cooled murukku stays crisp for up to 3 weeks in an airtight tin. If it softens, warm it in an oven at 150°C for 5 minutes. The Department of Diwali Tins recommends making a double batch.
Questions people ask
- Why does my oats murukku break while pressing?
- The dough is too dry or not kneaded enough. Add water a teaspoon at a time and knead until smooth and pliable.
- Why is my murukku hard instead of crisp?
- Too little fat in the dough or frying at too high a heat. Rub in the hot oil well and fry on steady medium heat.
- Can I make oats murukku in an air fryer?
- Yes. Pipe onto parchment, brush with oil, and air-fry at 180°C for 12-15 minutes, flipping halfway. They are lighter in colour but crunchy.
Inspired by Spicy Treats. Method, notes and photograph by the Ministry of Oats.
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