Thenkuzhal is a crispy, savory South Indian snack made from rice flour and spices, perfect as a tea time snack or for Prasadam to the Lord.
Krishna Jayanthi. Sri Jayanthi. Gokulashtami – call it by whatever name. Its one of my favourite festivals, both on the food aspect as well as the nostalgia it brings forth. For it brings forth my grandmom and mom dishing out close to 21 special dishes,all particular to this occassion.
If not 21, let me start with a few easy ones, for my kids and my own sake I guess 🙂
Alert – This is a longish post:
I have distinct memories of this particular festival being celebrated in all glory for so many years, its impossible not to document them somewhere for posterity 🙂 Nowadays, most of this stuff is available in the nearest store, but there is no substitute for home made stuff right, even though we may be making just a handful of thesee goodies every year…
Krishna is decked up with lots of finery, and thepuja for the Lord begins late evening. Birthdays being birthdays, why not go all out for the Lord ?
Navaneetham (Sugary white homemade butter), Kodubale (rice – gram glour rings),Seedai, Mosaru Avalakki (Poha in curd), Murukku (Chakli), Jaggery Poha, Karjikai /Karigadubu (somas), Thenkuzhal, Nipattu (Thattai), Badusha, Therattipaal, Rava Ladoo, Maa Ladoo, Porulungai Urundai (all tongue twisters I know) and so many many more bhakshanams (dry snacks basically) are made as offering to the Lord (aka Naivedyam).
If you are keen to know the significance of this festival a little more, head here
Other offerings made to Lord Krishna include:
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| Decked up Krishna at home from yester year’s celebrations |
Memories of Gokulashtami..
The process during my grandmom’s time was so long, it used to last days and days with pesky kids like us shooed away from the kitchen, and mom and grandmom locking themselves away in the rather dark kitchen. Rice flour and other flours could not be store bought, so was made from scratch. The aroma wafting from the kitchen was enough to keep us guessing the item being made that day.
Late in the evening on the Ashtami (the 8th day of the Aavani (or sharvan) month) and on the Rohini star, the puja would be an elaborate affair. I still remember to this day my grandpa and dad reciting the hymns while we kids eyed the boxes of goodies that made their appearance from some mysterious hiding place :-))
Puja over, we would wait like wolves wantin to feast on the prey (devilish isnt it ? :-)) LoL ! my grandmom would distribute the stuff amongst us kids , and while we feasted, the rest of the snacks would go back to the mysterious hiding place (she made sure the place was shifted frequently to keep us away from devouring them right away)
Such memories…. hopefully I can recreate some of those for my girls this year on..
Coming to today’s recipe, its one of my favourites too – Thenkuzhal (literally translated as honey – flutes). but strange coz there is neither honey nor can you play the flute 😀 .. be it as it may, its a wonderful snack to have it during the festival, but can also be made anytime for a perfect tea time snack.
The recipes / proportions for most of these bhakshanams vary from household to household, sometime even between generations. This is how mom makes it – I shall update the post with step by step pics the next time I make it. For now enjoy the recipe, virtually.
Mom’s tips to make Crispy Thenkuzhal Murukku at home
- All flours must be at room temperature
- Roast both flours to make it warm to the touch
- Do not add more or less butter, else it will become crumbly.
- do not over knead the dough, else it will become crumbly or hard.
Prep time : 15 mins | Frying time : 15 mins | Makes : Approx 500 grams.
Cuisine – South Indian ; Course – Jar Snacks / Bhakshanam
Keeps well for 10-12 days without refrigeration
Ingredients to make Thenkuzhal:
- 4 cups Rice flour
- 1 cup Urad dal flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 TBSP White unsalted butter
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds ( Jeera)
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida (or a generous pinch, skip for GF)
- 1 tsp sesame seeds (opt.)
How to make Thenkuzhal:
- Dry roast both the flours. If you are making urad dal flour at home, dry roast the dal on a low flame, cool and powder. You can use store bought or homemade rice flour.
- In a large bowl, sieve both the flours together. Add butter and rub into the flour to resemble bread crumbs. Now add salt, hing, jeera and mix again. Add water little by little to make a soft dough. Rest for 5 mins (it should be a semi soft dough)
- Heat oil for frying (about 3 cups), to check if it’s hot enough, pinch a small dough and roll it into the oil, if the dough comes up moderately fast to the surface its ready, too fast and the oil is hot, and too slow and its not right (yes yes, like most bhakshanams, this too comes with a whole lot of practice, says mom :-))
- Now divide the dough into equal portions, Press a portion into the thenkuzhal nazhi (or chakli maker – fitted with the right nozzle) and press it gently into the hot oil. If you cant press directly into the oil, press it first on a oiled flat ladle and gently immerse it into the oil.
- Fry on medium flame on both sides till the hissing sounds reduce- the dish would be ivory white, but dont let it get too red (it means it has burnt)
- Drain on absorbent paper or in a dry, airy colander . Repeat for remaining dough. Store them in airtight containers and enjoy a couple with a hot cuppa or tea OR serve it to little Krishna
Thenkuzhal recipe | How to make Thenkuzhal at home | Krishna Jayanthi Recipes
Equipment
- Bowl
- Deep Fry Pan
- Chakli Maker with Thenkuzhal sieve
Ingredients
- 4 cups Rice flour
- 1 cup Urad dal flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 TBSP White unsalted butter
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds Jeera
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida or a generous pinch, skip for GF
- 1 tsp sesame seeds opt.
Instructions
- Dry roast both the flours. If you are making urad dal flour at home, dry roast the dal on a low flame, cool and powder. You can use store bought or homemade rice flour.
- In a large bowl, sieve both the flours together. Add butter and rub into the flour to resemble bread crumbs. Now add salt, hing, jeera, sesame seeds and mix again. Add water little by little to make a soft dough. Rest for 5 mins (it should be a semi soft dough)
- Heat oil for frying (about 3 cups), to check if it’s hot enough, pinch a small dough and roll it into the oil, if the dough comes up moderately fast to the surface its ready, too fast and the oil is hot, and too slow and its not right (yes yes, like most bhakshanams, this too comes with a whole lot of practice, says mom :-))
- Now divide the dough into equal portions, Press a portion into the thenkuzhal nazhi (or chakli maker – fitted with the right nozzle) and press it gently into the hot oil. If you cant press directly into the oil, press it first on a oiled flat ladle and gently immerse it into the oil.
- Fry on medium flame on both sides till the hissing sounds reduce- the dish would be ivory white, but dont let it get too red (it means it has burnt)
- Drain on absorbent paper or in a dry, airy colander . Repeat for remaining dough. Store them in airtight containers and enjoy a couple with a hot cuppa or tea OR serve it to little Krishna
Notes
- All flours must be at room temperature
- Roast both flours to make it warm to the touch
- Do not add more or less butter, else it will become crumbly.
- do not over knead the dough, else it will become crumbly or hard.
Kalyani, enjoyed reading your longish post..hope you will record all the 21 dishes..:)..I love murukku and my mom also had this as one of the must do on Krishna Jayanthi..
Beautiful post with vivid memories. As a kid we celebrated this festival. .but have very faint memories. Since we do not celebrate these festivals I have never got into their food too…but it surely sounds interesting.
Love this murukku Kalyani! I love the setup of the the puja mandap!
Cant imagine krishna jayanthi without this crunchy murukkus, love it.
Enjoyed reading the post about your memories. The snack looks delicious.
My grandmother use to celebrate Krishna Jayanthi in an elaborate way but unfortunately I have very few memories of this festival as it was always after schools reopened. Never got many opportunities to visit her for this festival.
Interesting post! Heirloom recipes such as Thenkuzhal speak so much of the culture and the context under which these recipes thrived. Also, thenkuzhal happens to be one of my favourite snacks too, provided they are not very hard. Will give this recipe a try. I am sure it will be a hit. Since white butter is not available here, I will use regular butter.
THanks Neha. Do try.
How Janmashtami festival preparations and offering vary from home to home. It use to be an elaborate affair for me too whereby I’d help my mother in law prepare 56 different varieties. After that we’d go to the temple at night for the birth of Baal Gopal. Certain traditions like your family recipe for Thenkuzhai remain which hopefully your children will follow.
THanks Mayuri. I really hope that my kids would pick up so many of our family traditions.
I just made a batch using your recipe. It was perfect and I could finally boast to amma that I made bakshanam too.
Wow. thanks for trying this out, Seema
Loved reading your memories kalyani! So true about the bhakshanam making during grandma days! Biscuit tins full of murukku and thattai! Thenkuzhal looks very tempting, this is one snack i never miss to make! perfect for the Janmashtami celebrations!
Those memories are wonderful na, Priya ?