Murukku Rosettes

Murukku in Malaysia is widely known as the mosquito-coil-looking savoury spiced fried treat during Deepavali. It is loved by all races here. It is not uncommon to see Murukku served during Chinese New Year and Eid in Malaysia, we are after all a multiracial country and food enhances this bond that we have.

In India, there are many types of murukku, but here in Malaysia, once Murukku is mentioned, the coil shaped one comes to mind.

Achu Murukku, also known as Achappam, is a sweet fried treat,  also fondly called kuih ros or kuih goyang by our Malay friends and within the Chinese community, it is known as beehive cookie or honeycomb cookies. Although Wikipedia says, that rosettes originate from Sweden and Norway, personally, I believe it came from India, because using metal moulds to cook food and deep frying batter is very common in Indian cuisine. Just look at all the kacang putih we have here.

I've tried one achu murukku made by my ex student's mom last Deepavali. It's sweet and has a different taste and texture compared with the ones made by the Malaysian Chinese. Maybe I've always had those made with eggs and my student's mom didn't use any eggs. There are slight differences made by people from different races in Malaysia, and the Chinese community likes to add in sesame seeds, and some in the Malay community loves to make it multi coloured.

If you would like to have a look at the recipe I made before, here it is.

Achu Murukku @ Achappam @ Kuih Ros @ Honeycomb/beehive cookie

This time, I decided to make a savoury honeycomb cookie, and I want to borrow the idea from the common murukku we eat here. It's not exactly traditional, as I fusioned two treats into one. Calling it achu murukku will be confusing, as traditional achu murukku is sweet. So, I try to name it to distinguish it from the usual sweet Achu Murukku.

Murukku lovers, maybe you can try this recipe this Chinese New Year.
Indian friends, I hope it's alright for me to fusion two treats into one.

Murukku Rosettes

recipe by WendyinKK 

100g chickpea flour /gram dhall
100g plain flour
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp ajwain / omam seeds/ biji lemuju*
100g coconut milk
1 clove garlic
300ml water

1. Blend garlic with water.
2. Combine everything until smooth.
3. Heat oil and place rosette iron into oil and heat up.
4. Dip heated rosette iron into batter, taking care not to go over the top edges of the iron. Lift it up and put into the hot oil.
5. Jiggle the iron and let the murukku dislodge.
6. Fry until lightly golden.
7. Repeat step 4-6 until batter is used up.

*Can be easily purchased from Indian grocery shops