Butter Chakli - Thenkuzhal

            Simplest snacks from South India. Tasty too. Thenkuzhal, which translates to Honey Tubes. Well it is not a sweet but no lesser to it. Lets get onto the recipe.    


Ingredients:

Rice Flour (homemade) -  2 Cups
Urad dhal - 3 tablespoon
Salt to Taste
Cumin Seeds -   1 Teaspoon
Hing   -  A Pinch
Refined Oil enough to fry
Butter  -  1 tablespoon

Thenkuzhal Mould to press and dough 

Way to go

• Home made rice flour is best to get a tasty thenkuzhal. When I tried with store bought ones I got really browned thenkuzhal and taste was not to the expectations. So I would vouch for home made rice flour. Well it is not tough at all. Let me quickly take you through. => Link
• Take the cumin seeds in a grinder and inch it for just one second to quickly break it ( but now powder it)
• Dry fry the Urad dhal and roast it into nice powder. Sieve and roast until the fine powder is obtained.
• Mix two cups of rice flour, urad powder, broken Cumin seeds, hing, salt and butter in a bowl to make soft pliable dough ball. 
• Once dough is ready, heat oil in a kadai. Oil should be sufficiently taken to immerse and fry the murukku.
• Take a clean plastic sheet or banana leaf and grease it with oil.
• Place the dough in the mould and press the mould to make the Thenkuzhal. Though the circular hold is used I would say make it in any shape you want. End of it taste matters than shape.
• Once you get the desired shape by squeezing, gently detach it from the sheet/leaf, and drop it gently in oil
• Fry till crisp and make sure you do not make it brown. Fry in medium heat oil so it is  not overcooked to brown (when very hot) nor it remains par boiled ( when heat is not sufficient enough).
• Repeat the process and fry the thenkuzhal in batches.
• Once done and cooled to room temperature save them in a container or serve them immediately.
• I guess we can store this upto a week and have them for snacking anytime.