Maramaralu mixture is a spicy Indian puffed recipe. A quick, easy vegan snack with less than 15 minutes of preparation time. A light evening snack that works well for weight watchers and also a light snack for any time of the day.
Spicy puffed rice, murmura mixture, mamra chidva, kara pori are various names to this popular Indian puffed rice snack. Each state has it's own version but the basic step is to roast puffed rice in a simple tempering of cumin, mustard seeds and chilies.
There are many Indian puffed rice recipes across India and jhal muri, bheI puri are few to name. I also make puffed rice upma as Mr.U also likes it a lot and it usually for breakfast or for light dinner, though it makes a great even snack as well.
Besides the above mentioned, one of my favorite snacks is pelalu ellipaya miram (murmura with garlic chili powder), a popular Telangana snack. Mix together some chopped onion, crushed garlic, chili powder, salt and oil to mamra.
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Ingredients
Puffed Rice - murmura, mamra, pelalu, maramaralu, borugulu, pori, muri are a few other names for puffed rice. These are prepared with regular rice or basmati rice. Basmati mamra are thin and puffy but what you see in the picture above is regular mamra.
Tempering - oil, cumin, mustard seeds and turmeric are the basic tempering ingredients. I also add some crushed garlic as I love the flavor of slightly burnt garlic in the mixture.
Nuts - peanuts are my go to nuts for spicy murmura. Use home roasted peanuts raw ones as mentioned in the recipe. Cashews are also a nice addition. An alternative is to replace nuts with putnalu (fried gram) or use a combination of all the above.
Chilies - use green chilies, red chilies or a combination of both. I prefer green chilies as I like to bite these along with mamra.
Step by Step Instructions
Heat oil, roast cumin and mustard seeds (pic #1 in the collage). Then lightly roast peanuts, add curry leaves, chilies (# 2) and a little bit of salt (#3). Once peanuts are roasted, add garlic (#4) and let it brown.
Then add turmeric (#5), salt and mix well. Then add puffed rice (#6) and toast on low flame until crisp (#7-8). Taste and adjust salt. If you need more heat, add some chili powder while mixture is still hot.
Storage
Cool the mamra mixture completely and store in an air tight container for 4-6 weeks. Use an air tight container to retain the crispness of mamra.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve maramaralu mixture with some tea as part of evening snack.
- Light snack for elevenses; a snack between breakfast and lunch.
- Pack for long journeys, long rides and for picnics.
Tips
- Roast mamra in the tempering until crisp. Alternatively, first dry roast mamra and then add to tempering.
- Make sure green chilies, garlic and curry leaves are properly roasted without any moisture in them. Otherwise, mixture might not retain it's crispiness for too many days and can become soft.
- Store in an air tight container.
Detailed, Printable Recipe
Maramaralu Mixture
Equipment
- 1 Skillet or Wok
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Knife & Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ⅛ Mustard Seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 5-6 Curry Leaves, use as is tear into 2-3 pieces
- 2 small Green Chilies chopped or slit lengthwise and cut into 3-4 pieces or desired size
- ⅓ cup Peanuts
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon crushed Garlic
- ⅛ teaspoon Turmeric
- 4 cups Murmura / Puffed Rice
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan, add cumin and mustard seeds.
- When the seeds pop, add peanuts and lightly roast.
- Then add curry leaves, green chilies, little bit of salt and toast everything on medium low until peanuts are roasted.
- Add garlic, turmeric, remaining salt and sauté for few seconds. Watch out, garlic will burn very fast.
- Immediately add puffed rice and mix well until spices coat. Continue to fry for a minute until the puffed rice becomes crisp.
- Remove from fire and serve.
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container. Cool the mixture before storing.
Notes
- Chilies - Substitute green chilies with red dry chilies or use combination of both.
- Nuts - You can use cashews also along with peanuts. I used half cup peanuts as we like lot of peanuts. Use quarter or one third cup if do not like too many peanuts.
- Fried Gram - You can substitute peanuts with fried chana dal or putnalu. OR can use ½ peanuts and ½ putnalu.
- Make sure green chilies, garlic and curry leaves are properly roasted without any moisture in them. Otherwise, mixture might not retain it's crispiness for too many days and can become soft.
- Nutrition - values listed are approximate.
Nutrition
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This post was originally published in Nov 2013. Republished with new content and images.
Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth says
Just the low calorie snack that is best to be had with a cup of chai.. So easy to make... I must try this...
Harini says
A wonderful snack for any occasion. I never tried with green chilies. Shall have to try it out this way.
Radha says
This is our favorite snack. Easy to make and satisfying. Love your clicks!
Sharmila Kingsly says
Always have a big batch of puffed snacks handy and I loved murmura, a yummy evening snack !!
Srivalli says
The new pictures look awesome Usha and we simply love this snack..and this is one of those frequently made snacks..
Srividhya says
This is my all time favorite. Very nicely done. I add some roasted gram too. As always love your pics Usha.
Usha Rao says
Roasted gram is a nice addition. Even I like it. When Ii make it just for myself, add some. Thanks Srividhya!
harini says
Quick and easy snack !! Love it!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
I could finish the whole bowl! So inviting 🙂
Mireille says
a great snack to munch on watching a movie on TV
Sapana says
Very easy and lovely snack to munch on while watching TV or chit chat...
Srivalli says
I love this snack and so sweet of you wanting to make something spl for this..:)
Briju Parthasarathy says
Very nice, it is the same way i prepare
Pavani says
That is one quick to make evening snack.