Murku

The winter sun is finally up after a week of rain and chilly days, urging me to share yet another special recipe on my blog. This one is a great snack on a cold day.

Murku in South India is different from the chakli of Maharashtra.
Our murku is made through the thinner smoother mold and the final shape is like a many layered twisted pretzel while the chakli is the thicker spiky mold and the ultimate shape is either one circle or a concentric circle with a two inch diameter.
In Tamil Nadu, where my my mother and cousin grew up,this was also called 'tayn koyil murku.'

One of the highlights of my trip to India was the chance to meet family I had not met since my mother's passing and collect all the family history stories they knew.
I met my oldest cousin sister who generously gave me this recipe as one of her best.
The two visits to her daughter's house, to meet her, were really great.
Not being able to switch to the cooking and cleaning gear from the 'just having fun' mode, I am posting this recipe as 'tasted and true' one. The older I get the more this category appeals to me vs. the make it before you write it up one.
Here's to more 'tasted and true' recipes.

SAROJA AKKA'S MURKU RECIPE
(Akka is the term of address for older sister in Telugu).
Note how the recipe was given in kg's and grams...I have lbs and ozs in brackets.
The oil is given in US fluid ozs.

1 kg (2.2 lbs) raw rice powder (rice flour)
200 gms (7.05 ozs) urad.
1 Tbsp whole cumin (jeera).
1 Tbsp white sesame seed (til)
75-100 gms (3.52 ozs) butter (melted but not hot).
Salt to taste.

1/2 litre (33.8 fluid ozs) oil. (for frying).

Roast urad over medium flame till you get a good aroma, but do not brown it.
Powder fine in blender. (I would use a coffee mill).
Mix all without water.
Put into murku mold.
Heat oil and squeeze out like pretzels and deep fry, turning once, till cream colored.
(do not fry golden brown like chaklis).

Cool and stored in airtight tin/plastic bag for a month.

OPT: You can add coconut milk while mixing but the storage time will be less. In India you get this by soaking fresh grated coconut in warm water and then squeezing out the 'milk'.
Here I would just use the canned coconut milk from the Chinese store.

Below are three types of presses used for making murkus (among other dishes).
The tayn koil mold is in the latest aluminum press.

Mysore Eggplant/Mysore Badnekayi

Eulogy to a special Eggplant

Eggplant of any kind cooks into a tasty veggie. The varieties are many.
Here in the States, the Japanese eggplant is my favorite.
In India, this last visit, I fell in love all over again with this slim, light green variety known as Mysore Badnekayi or Mysore Eggplant.
It deserves a special mention as the taste it adds to any dish it is cooked up in, is unique.
I used it in the Vankayi Munkayi Talimpu/Fried Eggplant and Drumstick mentioned below.

Vankayi Munkayi Talimpu/ Fried Drumsticks & Eggplant.

For those of you who've never heard of drumsticks here's a picture of the vegetable (which are actually the fruit pods of the tree).



The botanical name is Moringa Oleifera (Tamil:Murengakai, Kannada: Noogekai, Marathi: Moongi shenga, Telugu: Munkayi).
The green pods are the ones used in this recipe. The leaves considered highly nutritious and flowers are also cooked, the former usually with lentils in Tamil homes.
There are various medicinal values attributed to the drumstick plant with a lot of information available on Wikipedia.

The pods grow on trees and when harvested at the right time and cooked well, provide a succulent interior with a unique flavor. The outside is ridged and slightly hard. If you're buying drumstick for the first time, make sure the seeds are not bulging out...this denotes an old pod. The pods shouldn't be too thin either as you won't be able to enjoy the fleshy interior.

PREP: Cut half inch tips of drumsticks, leaving one end attached and pull down like stringing beans. Do this with both ends. Next cut pod into two to three inch slices...continue stringing but leave outer shell intact.
I usually soak the fresh pods in water for 5 minutes before cooking.
I have sen drumstick trees in Hawaii and Florida, but in places where fresh drumstick is not available, packets of frozen drumsticks can be used with the same results.

Growing up in India, we had a drumstick tree. It was a Mysore drumstick tree that produces even longer, better quality drumsticks than the norm.
Put this together with a cook who loved making this dish and would have liked to make it every day when drumsticks were in season and you will be correct in guessing we ate this dish often. He made it so well, even my mother acknowledged he had the best way with this dish.

On a recent visit to India, I made this dish often, as it is one of my husband's favorites and we were lucky enough to find a few drumsticks in December. The name of the dish is in Telugu, one of the main languages of Southern India.
Here in the States I use the frozen packet of drumsticks available in the Indian grocery stores.



VANKAYI MUNKAYI TALIMPU/FRIED EGGPLANT AND DRUMSTICK.

2 Tbsps oil
1 tsp mustard seed/rai.
3 red chillies
3 drumsticks
2 brinjals/eggplant (Japanese/Chinese/ 1/2 large American or the thin green Indian kind).
1 onion, chopped.
8-10 cloves garlic, peeled.
Salt and chilli powder to taste.

Heat oil, put in mustard seeds, cover pan.
When mustard seeds splutter, add red chillies and after half a minute add garlic cloves. When garlic cloves turn translucent add onion.
Fry till onions are brown then add drained drumstick, chopped eggplant and chilli powder and keep frying till done on medium heat.
Cover pan and stir occasionally.
Halfway through, add salt and mix well.
Eggplants will look soft and mushy when done and for those who want to be sure drumsticks are ready poke one with a sharp knife. If it goes in easily, drumsticks are done.
Drumstick and eggplant is a happy marriage as each complements the other superbly.

TO EAT DRUMSTICKS: Open pieces with fork and knife or by inserting a finger into one side while holding the other end with your thumb.
It usually breaks open into two to three pieces...pick each one up and drag against teeth to get the pulp out (like artichokes), or use edge of fork or tips of fingers to scrape the pulp off.

Drumsticks are also wonderful in sambar (a curry made with lentils).

TIP: Easiest way to peel garlic cloves is to microwave cloves for 10 seconds. The inner pod slips out easily.

This vegetable tastes best when eaten with hot chappattis/tortillas or rice and sambar or rasam.

MYSORE DRUMSTICKS READY FOR THE PICKING

HAPPY 2009

Wishing all of you out there a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
The long 'quiet' on the blogging front was due to a trip to India.
The year started with meeting family and friends, honing our coping skills in traffic that has tripled since our last visit, marveling at the progress and changes in India since our last visit...and enjoying all that great food both at home and in the restaurants.
It seems like every home we visited had an expert cook...the variety of Indian food is amazing...and the taste incredible.
I make some of the same recipes here but the taste is different.
Here's to more discoveries, helpful tips, shortcuts and sharing innovative ideas on the food journey in 2009.