Jhal Muri, Spicy Puffed Rice

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.