Jhal Muri (Spicy Puffed Rice)
on Aug 29, 2022, Updated Jan 01, 2024
Jhal Muri (Kolkata Street Style Spicy Puffed Rice) is a popular street food in Kolkata that is made using puffed rice, onions, tomatoes, and a few other ingredients. Raw mustard oil gives it a very unique flavor.
Here are some more Indian snack recipes that you may like: Aloo Chaat, Namakpare, Chicken Cheese Samosa, and Palak Pakora.
About Jhal Muri
Kolkata Street Style Jhal Muri (Spicy Puffed Rice) is a popular street food in Kolkata made with puffed rice, onions, tomatoes, and other ingredients.
Jhal means ‘spicy’ in Bengali and puri means ‘puffed rice’.
Jhal muri (jhaal muri, masala muri, jhal mudi) is puffed rice flavored with spice powders. The addition of raw mustard oil gives it a unique flavor and makes it very different from its other cousins, like bhel puri, masala madakki, girmit, or churmuri.
If you have ever been to Kolkata, I am sure you have encountered this Bengali snack on every street. People flock to the nearest cart to get their hands on a cone (thonga) full of this delicious snack.
This street food snack was sold by Bihari migrants on the streets of Kolkata during World War II to the soldiers. British chef Angus Denoon has been selling it on the streets of London for almost a decade. He tasted this deliciousness on the streets of Kolkata and fell in love with this humble dish.
This chaat (Indian street food) is not deep-fried, unlike most other chaats, making it much more nutritious and a healthier choice. It’s low-cal, light, and vegan and comes together in under 15 minutes.
If you make it at home, serve it in the traditional thonga or paper cone, which is simple to give a feel of the authentic Kolkata snack.
It’s also light on the stomach and perfect as a tea-time snack or accompaniment with your chai. You could try this at a kid’s party or even for a get-together with friends.
Ingredients
You will get all the ingredients to make jhaalmuri at Indian grocery stores.
Puffed Rice (muri, marmara, pori, kurmura, murmura) is used to make Jhalmuri.
Sev Mix – You can use any sev mix that is available to you.
Coconut – Fresh coconut adds a nice flavor to this dish. You can either grate the coconut or chop it into very small pieces.
Mustard Oil – This is a must-have ingredient for Bengali Jhal Muri. It adds a pungent flavor to the dish, making it unique and yummy.
Vegetables – To give your jhalmuri recipe a nice crunch, add veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, green chilies, and cilantro (fresh coriander leaves).
Others – You will also need cumin powder, chaat masala powder, black salt (kala namak), Kashmiri red chili powder, salt, and freshly squeezed lime juice (lemon juice).
You can also add roasted, skinned peanuts, roasted Bengal gram, boiled yellow peas, sprouted chana, finely chopped raw mangoes, chana jor garam (chana chur), etc. to your recipe.
Adjust the green chilies as per your taste.
How To Make Jhal Muri
Add 2 cups of puffed rice to a large bowl.
Tip – If the murmura is not perfectly crispy, dry roast it in a pan for 2-3 minutes on low flame. You can also microwave it for 60-90 seconds until it gets crisp.
Add the following ingredients to the bowl.
- 3 tablespoon sev mix
- ¼ cup finely chopped onions
- 2 tablespoon boiled, peeled, and finely cubed potatoes
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilies
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped cucumbers, peeled or unpeeled
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh coconut
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon black salt
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoon raw cold-pressed mustard oil
Mix all the ingredients and serve immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, jhal mudi is a traditional recipe, and mustard oil gives it a unique taste. Replacing mustard oil with any other oil will not give the same flavor.
All the ingredients except sev mix are gluten-free in this recipe. You can either skip adding it or use a gluten-free mix.
Jhalmuri loses its crunch when kept for longer. I highly suggest making it just before serving.
However, you can keep all the components ready to save time.
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Jhal Muri Recipe (Kolkata Street Style Spicy Puffed Rice)
Ingredients
- 2 cups puffed rice (murmura)
- 3 tablespoons sev mix
- ¼ cup finely chopped onions
- 2 tablespoons boiled, peeled, and finely cubed potatoes
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilies
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped cucumber (peeled or unpeeled)
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh coconut
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala powder
- ½ teaspoon black salt (kala namak)
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons raw cold-pressed mustard oil
Instructions
- Add puffed rice to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl.
- Mix all the ingredients together and serve immediately.
Video
Tangy and tasty
Thnx
One of your recipes called for Sev Mix. Can that be bought commercially in USA?
Yes merianne. It’s available in all the Indian stores. It comes in huge variety so just specify which recipe you need it for.