Jhal muri, spicy puffed rice is a street food from West Bengal, India. In Bengali, jhal is spicy and muri is puffed rice. Puffed rice is seasoned with chili powder, roasted cumin powder, black salt and some chopped vegetables to make this mouthwatering jhal muri.
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Jhal muri is a quick snack and there are variations of it all across India. Bhel puri is the most famous cousin of jhal muri. The difference between the two is that Behl puri has lots of chutneys and jhal muri doesn’t. Second, mustard oil gives jhal muri a pungent and distinct flavor.
At home I make a simpler version of spicy puffed rice with just chili powder, crushed garlic, chopped onions and oil. Though it is not jhal muri, it is one of my favorite variations of spicy puffed rice. I never tasted jhal muri and liked the version I made. If not the authentic jhal muri, am sure mine tasted lot similar to the authentic one.
The recipe below is mild and one can adjust the spices to make it as spice as one wishes. Keep all the ingredients ready and mix the mixture just before serving, as it could get soggy very quickly. In the streets of Bengal and Kolkata, this street food is served in thonga, cone shaped paper bags made with old newspaper.
Jhal Muri Recipe
Preparation: 5 - 10 minutes
Serves: 1 - 2
Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups Puffed Rice
- 3 tablespoon Roasted Peanuts
- 1 tablespoon Fried Gram ~ Dalia ~ Putnalu
- 1 tablespoon chopped Coconut (I used dry coconut)
- ¼ cup Sev (I was out of it and used crushed pita chips)
Fresh Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon cooked Kala Chana ~ Brown Chickpeas, cooked
- 1 small Green Chili, seeded and finely chopped
- 2 - 3 tablespoon chopped Red Onion
- 1 small Kirby Cucumber, peeled and chopped, about ¼ cup when chopped
- 1 small Tomato or 4-6 Grape Tomatoes, chopped
- 2 - 4 chopped Cilantro
Spices
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Chili Powder
- ½ Roasted Cumin Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Black Salt
- ½ teaspoon Chaat Masala
Other
- Lime Juice dash
- 2 - 3 teaspoon Mustard Oil
Preparation:
- Take puffed rice a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. If puffed rice is crispy, skip this step.
- Add roasted peanuts, fried gram, sev and dry coconut to puffed rice. Mix everything and keep it aside until ready to serve. If using fresh coconut, add it along with fresh ingredients.
- Chop and keep fresh ingredients ready.
- In a bowl mix together spices and keep aside.
- When ready to serve, add fresh ingredients to dry ingredients and toss.
- Add spices, lime juice, oil and and toss until well mixed.
- Serve immediately.
Notes:
- Boiled potato cubes is a nice addition.
- This is a milder version of jhal muri. Adjust spices to heat tolerance level.
- Bhujia or mixture of sev is a good substitute for plain sev.
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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 🙂