Jhal muri or masala muri is a healthy snack with puffed rice. Crispy muri, crunchy sev and nuts, finely chopped fresh vegetables tossed in mustard oil and bhaja moshla, isn't that mouthwatering? With some prepping, make this popular street food at home in under 15 minutes.
Jhal muri is a popular street food in Kolkata. Jhal means spicy in Bengali and muri is puffed rice. You will find a muri vendor with his setup in front of colleges, schools, movie theaters, shopping places and tourist spots year around.
This recipe was originally published in Dec 2017 and it is republished with new content and images.
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Masala Muri
Jhal muri or masala muri is a healthy, low calorie, vegan & gluten free snack. Just make sure the add-ons are all gluten free as well. It is a light meal, after school snack and tea time snack.
I make marmaralu mixture (spicy puffed rice mixture) and murmura upma regularly. These two recipes are also low in calories and are gluten free snacks. Unlike these, masala muri is healthier than the above two, as it is load with components that are healthier and requires very minimal oil.
Masala muri is a cousin of bhel puri, another famous Indian street food. The difference between these two is that bhel puri uses chutneys for flavor while masala muri uses only a mixture of spice blends.
Seasoning for jhal muri is a Bengali spice, bhaja moshla and mustard oil. Mustard oil gives a pungent flavor. Additional flavor to this snack is from the oil floating on the mango pickle. It is an optional ingredient and further enhances the flavor of muri.
I make a simpler version of spicy muri with just chili powder, crushed garlic, chopped onions and oil. Though it is not jhal muri, it is one of my favorite snacks. When eating as a light meal, I add cucumber & carrots as well.
I never tasted jhal muri on the streets of Kolkata and like the version I came up with. Recipe is simple with lot of flexibility with what goes in to it. The basic ingredients however are, puffed rice, sev, bhaja moshla, lime and mustard oil.
The combination of vegetables and legumes are other ingredients that can vary upon one's preference. Oil floating on a homemade mango pickle is an optional ingredient but it further enhances the flavor of the muri.
Bhaja Moshla
Bhaja moshla is one of the quintessential spice blends in Bengali kitchens. In Bengali, bhaja means fried and moshla is masala. There are many variations to this recipe as well and basic version has cumin, fennel, coriander and red chilies.
Spices are first roasted and then ground to a powder. This masala goes into jhal muri, puckhas, ghugni and sprinkled on top of many dishes at the end, to enhance the flavor. Just like panch phoran, bhaja masala is the magic spice in Bengali cuisine.
Ingredients
Puffed Rice - Masala muri is prepared with thcik, laal muri. If you can not find that, use the long, thin fluffy murmura. This is easily available in most Indian stores and this what I use in the recipe.
Sev - I use medium sized or thin plain sev. A sev mixture and bhujia are good alternatives. Street vendors in Kolkata use chanachur, a Bengali snack similar to sev mixture.
Legumes - I like to use cooked kala chana and roasted peanuts. Fried gram (dalia/putnalu) is also a nice addition to masal muri and I use it occasionally.
Veggies - Cucumber, tomatoes, fresh coriander leaves and red onions are a must. Cooked and chopped potato, grated carrots are a good addition and optional.
Coconut - Use fresh slices of coconut. If you do not have fresh coconut, use dry coconut slices or flakes.
Spices - Bhaja moshla, black salt (kala namak) and salt are the main spices. Chili powder is optional based on your heat tolerance level. Substitute for bhaja masala is chili powder + cumin powder + chaat masala.
Green Chilies - I prefer using chopped green chilies. You can use a combination of chopped and ground green chilies. I like biting on chopped green chilies with jhal muri and prefer it over green chili paste.
Oils - Mustard oil is the key ingredient to get the unique street side Kolkata jhal muri taste. Optional oil is oil floating on homemade mango pickle. Good substitutes for mustard oil in this recipe are oil from mango pickle and extra virgin olive oil.
Instructions
Preparation of jhal muri is a breeze with some prep work. Having roasted peanuts, cooked chana and boiled potatoes ready, cuts down the preparation time drastically. You can even chop the vegetables beforehand and store in an airtight container.
If you do not have these prepared, except for black chana, there is a shortcut to speed up the prep work. Roast peanuts and cook peeled chopped potatoes in the microwave for a couple of minutes each.
Step 1: Take crispy muri, roasted peanuts, fried gram and dry coconut in a bowl. Mix everything together and keep aside.
Step 2: Add chopped vegetables and cooked black chana to dry mixture, keeping aside some coriander leaves. Toss the mixture.
Step 3: In a bowl mix together bhaja masala, salt and black salt. Sprinkle it over jhal muri mixture. Drizzle mustard oil, squeeze lime juice and give it a good toss.
Step 4: Sprinkle coriander leaves, give a quick toss and serve. For a street side feel, serve in a paper cone made from old newspaper.
Serve & Storage
Serve masala muri as is or with some tea. Leftovers do not store well as puffed rice gets soggy. However, you can store dry ingredients in an air tight container for weeks. To prepare spicy muri, just chop veggies and prepare small portions as and when need.
Tips
- Keep all the components ready and assemble masala muri just before serving.
- For crispy muri, lightly toast puffed rice in microwave for a minute or on stovetop for 3-5 minutes on low flame. Store excess puffed rice in an air tight container.
- Soak and cook kala chana before hand store it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days and use as and when needed.
- To avoid soggy jhal muri, remove the pulp and then chop the tomatoes.
Substitutes & Variations
- Substitute for bhaja masala is a blend of chaat masala, roasted cumin powder and chili powder.
- Replace cooked black chana with sprouted black chana.
- Cooked yellow peas (vatna) is a good addition to masala muri.
- Substitute plain sev with bhujia or a mixture of sev. Crushed pita chips are also a good substitute for sev.
- Recipe below is a mild version of jhal muri. For more heat, add some chili powder or coarsely ground green chili paste.
Related Recipes
If you like puffed rice, checkout other recipes with puffed rice and similar recipes with beaten rice or poha/atukulu.
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📖 Recipe
Jhal Muri
Equipment
- 1 Knife & Cutting Board
- 1 Pressure Cooker
- 1 Microwave safe bowl
- 1 Microwave safe plate
- 1 Mixing bowl & spoon
Ingredients
Bhaja Masala
- 1 tablespoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 tablespoons Fennel Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder or 1 ½ teaspoon
- 2 Green Cardamom
- 2 small - medium sized Red Chilies
Spices
- 1 teaspoon Bhaja Masla
- ¼ teaspoon Black Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Fresh & Cooked Ingredients
- ¼ cup cooked Kala Chana ~ Brown Chickpeas
- 1 small Potato, chopped and cooked optional
- 1 small Green Chili, chopped 1 teaspoon when chopped
- ¼ cup chopped Red Onion
- ¼ cup Mini Cucumber, peeled & chopped about ½ mini cucumber
- ½ small Tomato or 4-6 Grape Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- ¼ cup chopped Cilantro
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups Puffed Rice
- ¼ cup Roasted Peanuts
- 2 tablespoon Fried Gram ~ Dalia ~ Putnalu optional
- 2 tablespoon chopped Coconut I used dry coconut
- ¼ cup Sev
Wet Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Lime Juice
- 2 - 3 teaspoon Mustard Oil
Instructions
Bhaja Masala
- Roast all the spices listed under bhaja masala on low flame for 4-8 minutes. Once the spices change color, transfer to a plate and let cool.
- Grind the spices to a powder and store in an airtight container. Yields about 3-4 teaspoons and you will need only 1 teaspoon for this recipe.
Fresh & Cooked Ingredients
- Soak kala chana overnight and pressure cook until soft and firm. I do 5 whistles on stovetop pressure cooker, 5 minutes manual in Instant Pot and 6 minutes for pot in pot method in Instant Pot.
- If using potato, boil and cut into small pieces. OR peel, cut into small pieces and microwave for 2 minutes. Potato cubes should be smaller than what you see in the ingredients shot.
- Cut tomatoes into half, remove and discard the pulp and then chop the tomatoes. To avoid soggy muri, remove the pulp from the tomatoes.
- Chop rest of the veggies and keep them ready.
Spice Blend
- In a bowl mix together all the dry spices and keep aside.
Dry Ingredients
- Take murmura in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Or fry it on stovetop on low flame for 3-5 minutes until murmura is crispy. If murmura is already crisp, skip this step.
- Roast peanuts on stovetop or spread on a wide plate and microwave for 2 minutes, shaking in between.
- In a wide bowl, take roasted peanuts, fried gram, sev, dry coconut and puffed rice.
- Mix everything together and keep it aside until ready to serve. If using fresh coconut, add it along with fresh ingredients.
Assemble
- When ready to serve, add fresh & cooked ingredients to dry ingredients and toss.
- Add spices, lime juice, oil and and toss until well mixed.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Substitute for bhaja masala is a blend of chaat masala, roasted cumin powder and chili powder.
- Replace cooked black chana with sprouted black chana. Cooked yellow peas (vatna) is a good addition to masala muri.
- Substitute plain sev with bhujia or a mixture of sev. I even use crushed pita chips when I do not have any sev or bhujia at home.
- Recipe below is a mild version of jhal muri. For more heat, add some chili powder or coarsely ground green chili paste.
- Skip potato for a low calorie snack.
- Prep Time - Prep time mentioned in the recipe card is considering the cooking time to pressure cook black chana. That is the only time consuming prep work. Rest all takes 10 - 15 minutes, max.
- Nutrition - values listed are approximate.
Nutrition
Priya Srinivasan says
Brilliant recipe usha! Love that bhaja masala! Adding potatoes, cucumber and chana makes this jhalmuri more wholesome and healthy ❤️
Priya Vj says
Recipe for bhaja masala is so interesting. I had seen jhalmuri masala being sold in stores but was skeptical to buy . I am trying your recipe of jhalmuri soon
Kalyani says
Usha, you took me back to my Calcutta work days when this was a staple snack for us to beat the 5pm pangs, my colleagues always ordered this from the local street vendor and that gave us a reason to stay longer at office sometimes, just to snack on this and gossip 🙂 lovely pics, as always...
Neha (My Culinary Expressions) says
Jhal muri here, looks so alluring. The bhaja masala is similar to what is put in bhel puri when the puffed rice is roasted. Now I have a way out to enjoy puffed rice chaat even when I am running on chutneys. This indeed is a great street food that we can make and enjoy in the comfort of our home.
Mayuri Patel says
So tempting, like the way you've served it in the authentic fashion, in a newspaper cone. Like how you've added dry coconut to the jhal muri. Must try it.
Seema Sriram says
Wile working in India, we had a friend whose mum taught us to mke jhal muri and bengali style poha. Both are absolute essentials now in my kitchen. Happy to see your version too which I will certainly try.
Priya Suresh says
Jhal muri looks absolutely irresistible, omg wish i get a huge bowl of this incredible spicy puffed rice rite now. Excellent.
Priya Kumar says
looks so tempting... I ate bhel puri... nice information u given difference between jhal muri n bhel puri.. for me both were same..
sushma says
Yummy looks so good Usha. I guess everyone is going to post about this dish for this theme.
Mireille Roc (@ChefMireille) says
this looks so good - I love the slices of coconut
Harini-Jaya R says
Any version of murmura is good for me. The pictures are very tempting.
vaishalisabnani says
I go back to my college days when we used to eat jhal muri, bhel puri and Paani Poori very very regularly . Jhal muri with that mustard punch gives you the right kick , your version sounds interesting too .
Srivalli Jetti says
Love your pictures usha, and this one is so popular across india known by different names..I love our south version the best though!
MySpicyKitchen says
Same here Valli, even I like the south version the best 🙂