Achu Murukku / Flower Murukku

A sweet murukku which can get you into a bad habit of continuous munching is this friend. Sweet but not very sweet makes it perfect for those extra bites that you might take. Festivals in south India find this murukku very popular and its made in almost every household. There are many a recipes that people follow but as I always I love my moms version than any other. And yes it turns out perfect every time

My mom makes the eggless version using just maida and sugar and I too prefer the same. Preparing it is easy and you can stack 100's in just an hours time. With kids at home there is no way saying a NO to this special murukku, be it a festival or not. Yes I made it this Diwali too and sure enjoyed each one of it.

Serves... Makes 50-60 murukus

Serve option... Room temperature

This is what u'll need....

Maida / All-purpose flour- 250 gm
Sugar - 1 cup
Black sesame seeds - 1 tbspn
Cardamom - 3-4
Oil for frying
Murukku mould/achu

Here is the stir....

• Sieve maida and transfer it to a working bowl   

• Heat 2 cups of water in a pan and a cup of sugar to it. Stir it until the sugar dissolves and turn off the flame. Sprinkle crushed cardamom powder into the syrup and give a quick stir. Let it cool down before you can use it 

• Once the sugar comes down to room temperature, slowly add it to the maida little at a time. Make sure not to add all at once. Stir/whisk together to avoid any lumps and form a smooth mixture. It should be a little more watery than dosa batter but not too runny. Adjust sugar levels at this stage. If you feel it is too sweet then add a little water and maida. If you feel it has very little sweetness add little powdered sugar

• Wash a tbspn of sesame seeds and add it to the maida batter

• Heat oil in a thick-botommed pan and soak the mold in it for a few minutes. This will help the murukkus slide away from the mold with ease

• Once the oil and achu / mould are ready you can start with making the murukkus

• I prefer working with a little batter at a time. This help keeping the batter free from oil. So pour a little batter into a smaller but little deeper bowl and keep it ready

• Take out the mould from the oil and immediately immerse it into the batter till 3/4th of the achu is covered with batter. Give a gentle tap on the sides of the bowl to shed off any drips

• Immerse the achu immediately into the oil and shake it around a little to help the murukku slide off. The first few might be a little messy but a couple of them and you should be good

• Meanwhile the achu should be again resting in the hot oil getting ready to make the next murukku. . Turn the murukku and cook till slightly brown. Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil

• Make all murukku repeating the same way and stock them after they get down to room temperture. Keep it closed in an air-tight container and it stays fresh for more than 2 weeks

Note:

• Dont over-sweeten the murukkus or they will become hard and little stretchy
• When adding sugar water do it little at a time
• Keep the achu dipped in oil to keep it getting ready for the next in line
• If you find trouble sliding off the murukkus initially, try using a knife to push down the stuck places. After making a couple of them the achu will be greased enough to work right
• Cook on medium flame for the right color and texture
• Working with a little batter at a time helps keeping the main batter free from oil dripping from the achu