Kolkata special Bengali jhal muri or masala muri recipe

September 28, 2020 by Moumita Paul

Kolkata special Jhal muri or Bengali masala muri recipe with step by step pics. What is jhal muri? Jhal muri is a Bengali-style puffed rice chaat, a very popular Kolkata street food. It is prepared by crunchy puffed rice mixed up with different savory Indian snacks and special powdered masala. Jhalmuri is a popular evening snack in Kolkata and in street-side stalls, it is served in a paper packet with whole green chilli and a slice of coconut.

Though jhal muri recipe originated in Kolkata aka West Bengal, however, this muri recipe is similarly popular in Odisha and Bangladesh. Even due to its popularity our neighboring states of West Bengal, like Bihar and Orissa also fall in love with this bengali puffed rice chaat. As a result, you might have seen, in Kolkata, many Bihari vendors are selling bengali jhal muri along with their famous bhel puri chaat. 

Not only crunchy puffed rice a perfect ratio of different spicy snacks are equally important for making this recipe. Like chana chur/namkeen mixture, Chola-badam bhaja/ dry roasted chickpeas, and peanuts. Even a few healthy snacks like sprouted chana, boiled potatoes, white peas, finely chopped cucumber, onion, tomatoes also added making this recipe. Most importantly jhalmuri’r masala, Bengali mustard sauce or kasundi, a sprinkle of lemon juice, and a drizzle of pungent mustard oil are must-used ingredients for making its authentic taste.

Why jhal muri is called masala muri? Masala means spices and a few special spices are used in jhal muri to make it spicy. That is why in Kolkata, it is called masala muri too.

Puffed rice has different names in different Indian states such as muri, mudhi, murmura, or pori. So except Kolkata, people from different Indian states can also make jhal muri at their home with their own version of puffed rice.

Since my childhood, I am a great fan of puffed rice which is the reason I love any kind of puffed rice recipe including jhal muri. Being a Bengali and moreover a muri lover, after coming to Bangalore, I have tasted Karnataka’s special churmuri too. That also tastes great. But don’t try to find similarities with our bengali jhal muri.

Though jhal muri was invented in Kolkata however doubtful about the time before or after the partition of Bengal. However, the birthplace of this spicy muri was Kolkata aka West Bengal streets or footpaths during the olden days of Calcutta. But its popularity spreads all over the world. Such as, to retain Bengalis nostalgia over this street food, few well-known Bengali restaurants kept it on their menu as evening snacks, especially outside Kolkata. Such as in Bangalore, 6 Ballygunj Place served jhalmuri through their snacks counter, Gupshup.

Being a Bengali and a resident of south 24 Parganas, more than jhal muri, this Kolkata street food is acquainted us as moshla muri. You have heard it right, it’s moshla muri, not masala muri as we Bengali always pronounce masala as moshla in our local language. You will get a clear idea about it if you ever visit Sealdah South Railway Station at Kolkata. There you may find many moshla muri stalls around. The best part of their jhal muri is special flavourful masala, kasundi, or bengali mustard sauce, and served with a slice of coconut on its top. Adding coconut adds an extra touch to this recipe.

I have personal experience of seeing how they prepare jhal muri aka moshla muri. As these are open stalls so there is nothing to hide. So which ingredients they are using and in what quantity, all you can see. Only the powdered masala they are using are the secret ingredients of their recipe. And whatever namkeen you are adding is not enough to get that kolkata street style taste if that special powered masala is missing. 

Actually, that special powdered masala is one of the most important ingredients for making an authentic jhal muri recipe. That powdered masala is nothing but a special Bengali bhaja moshla which is actually made of a few dry roasted whole spices such as cumin, coriander, fennel, dry red chilli and bay leaf. The perfect ratio of all of these ingredients makes the same masala in your kitchen to create that exact street style flavor.

Being a muri lover, I often prepare different puffed rice recipes at home and that is the reason behind sharing this jhal muri recipe on my blog. 

Try this Bengali puffed rice snack at home and let me know your valuable feedback in the comment section below. Even you may ask any question to me regarding this recipe.

Even you may try some of my other Bengali snacks from my website, such as Vegetable Chop, Beguni or Bengali Brinjal Fritters, or even a North Indian-style Samosa recipe.

Kolkata special Bengali jhal muri or masala muri recipe

Prep time: 20 mins

Served in: 25 mins

Total no. of servings: 3 people

Course: evening snacks

Cuisine: Bengali

Author: Moumita Paul

Ingredients

• 3-4 cups of muchmuche muri/ crunchy puffed rice
• 2 tsp jhal murir masala
• 2 tbsp chola bhaja/ roasted chana
• 3 tbsp sprouted chana/ ankurito chola
• 2 tbsp boiled potatoes/sedhdho aloo
• 2 tsp chopped tomatoes
• 2-3 chopped green chillies/kancha lonka
• 2 tbsp chopped cucumber/kuchano sosha
• 2-3 tbsp jhal chanachur/spicy namkeen mixture
• 2 tbsp papri chanachur/papdi namkeen
• 2-3 tbsp aloo bhujia or sev or Jhuri bhaja
• 3 tbsp badam bhaja or roasted peanuts
• 1/2 lemon juice/lebur ros
• 1/4 tsp black salt/bitlobon/bitnun
• 1/4 tsp salt/safed namak/nun
• 1 tsp kasundi/ bengali mustard sauce
• 3/4 tsp aam tel/ achar oil
• 1 tsp mustard oil/ sorsher tel
• a handful of coriander leaves/dhone pata
• 1 1/2 tbsp boiled white peas/sidhdho motor korai
• 1 tsp finely chopped ginger/ kuchano ada
• 3 tbsp finely chopped onion/ kuchano peyaj
• few coconut slices/ narkel er phali

Bhaja masala for this recipe

• 1 tsp cumin seeds/gota jeere
• 1 tsp coriander seeds/gota dhone
• 3 red chillies/shukno lanka
• 1 tsp fennel seeds/gota mouri
• 1 bay leaf/tej pata

How to make kolkata special bengali jhal muri with step by step pictures

Instruction

Making jhalmuri masala

• Take a pan with 1 tsp whole cumin seeds(gota jeere), 1 tsp whole coriander seeds( Dhanya seeds or gota dhone), 1 tsp whole saunf( fennel seeds or gota mouri), 3 red chilies(shukhno lonka), and 1 bay leaf(taj pata).

• Put the pan on the low heat of the stovetop, dry roast the masala for 2-3 minutes, or till the aroma of dry roasted spices comes out. Remove the spices from the pan and let it cool down.

• Once the spices cool down, ground it into a finely powdered masala, and our Bengali bhaja moshla is ready to use in jhal muri. As shown in the pics. Store it in a small airtight container.

Preparation of jhal muri

• First, boil potato/aloo(with its skin) and overnight soaked white peas together in a pressure cooker. Put the pressure cooker on high flame for boiling potatoes and peas till 2-3 whistles. Though some peas get extra time to cook. 
• Once the pressure cooker releases its heat automatically, then first remove the aloo from the cooker. Peel out the potatoes and cut them into small cubes, keep them in a bowl. Then remove the peas from the cooker by straining its water and keep it in another bowl.
• In the meantime, cut all the veggies like cucumber, onion, and tomatoes into fine slices or chopped them finely. Cut a lemon in half.
• Then finely chop the green chilies, ginger, and coriander leaves. Put it in a different bowl.
• For making sprouted chana or chola, just soak the chana two days back, and when the chana or chola completely soaked the water then strain the excess water and cover it with a damp cloth for 1 day. Its sprout will easily come out.
• Cut the coconut into slices or even chop it too if want to mix it with muri.
• Either use store-bought dry roasted peanuts or make it at home. At home, for dry roasting, the peanuts, take a pan with a handful of peanuts and put it on low 

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flame by continuous stirring. When the peanuts started crackling, roast it for another 1 minute with a continuous stir. Then switch off the flame and remove the peanuts to a plate and let it cool down. Once it gets cool, just rub it and its skin will easily come out. Then remove its skin and keep it in a bowl.

Use small bowls to keep jhal chanachur, normal papri chanachur/, sev or Jhuri bhaja or aloo bhujia, black and white salt.

Even use more small bowls to keep kasundi, aam tel or spicy achar oil, and sorsher tel or mustard oil.