Thenkuzhal

To make the flour

1. Soak raw rice for 2-3 hours. Wash well and spread on a clean kitchen cloth to let it dry completely.
2. Fry Urad dal till you get a nice aroma or until slight golden brown.
3. Mix both well. If you have a powerful grinder and home, grind it to a fine powder. If not, you can give the mix to a flour-mill who can grind it to a fine powder for you.
4. Sieve the flour 2-3 times to make sure it is extremely fine. Store and use as required.

Alternative: If you live in Chennai, Mumbai or places with a typical south Indian grocery store around, you can get this flour mix ready-made too.

To make the Thenkuzhal Murruku

1. Mix the flour, salt, cumin seeds, asafetida well.
2. Add the soft butter to the flour and use a fork or your hands to distribute it throughout the flour evenly.
3. Add lukewarm water little by little and keep mixing with your hands to form a soft dough. The dough should be like a soft cookie dough. Adjust water per need. Do not add too much to form a liquidy batter nor too little to have a tough dough.
4. Meanwhile, heat oil on medium high heat on a large wok / pan with high sides
5. Stuff some dough into the Thenkuzhal-maker.
6. Option 1: Directly squeeze out the dough through the maker in a circular motion directly onto the oil. Do this only if you are an experienced cook.
7. Option 2: Squeeze out the dough onto a kitchen cloth into small murukkus. Pick it up with a ladle and gently drop into the oil.
8. Let the thenkuzhal fry on medium high heat on both sides for 4-5 minutes or until it is crispy and golden brown in color.
9. Remove onto a slotted plate and late it cool completely.
10. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
11. Store the thenkuzhal at room temperature in a clean, air-tighter container up to 2 weeks

Alternative to the Thenkuzhal-maker

1. If you don’t have one and don’t want to invest in one – fill the dough in a ziplock bag. Snip a very tiny hole at one end. Squeeze out gently in concentric circles to form the murukku on a ladle or directly into the oil.