Looking for recipes using Jowar Flour? Love low oil snack recipes? Presenting crunchy, delicious, muru muru Air Fryer Jowar Chakli or Cholam Millet Mullu Murukku. A South Indian Jar Snack or tea time snack recipe made in an air fryer.

South Indian Snacks are my favourite and I have grown up eating some of the best snacks made by Ma at home. Of course, they were deep fried back then. However, times have changed with focus on health and hence I try to recreate some traditional recipes using modern cooking methods.

I am forever experimenting with my Air Fryer and find it absolutely worth every single penny spent.

There are many millet based recipes on the blog and I have been planning to post a snack recipe using both millet and air fryer since long. With the success of this recipe, I have achieved both.

Murukku is made on several occasions in a South Indian home. We make Murukku during Krishna Jayanti or Gokulashtami as neivedyam for Lord Krishna along with other sweet treats. We also make murukku during weddings as seer bakshanam and Diwali.

Let’s all agree, murukku or chakli is something we all love eating as tea time snack. It is crunchy and one plate full is never enough (atleast in my case).

I have a traditional Butter Chakli recipe on the blog that I created back in 2018 for Diwali. It remains my personal favourite that I make and share with loved ones every year.

For the Jowar Murukku Recipe, I had to try 2-3 test batches before I perfected the recipe. I was looking for the same crunchy murukku texture (when deep fried) using the Air Fryer technique. It also had to be soft at the same time and not the kind that hurts your teeth after biting.

The key techniques that I would list out below lies in dough consistency and the temperature of air frying. It took me 35 minutes to air fry a batch of these (as shown in the pic).

Narayan who initially laughed away at my experiment saying murukku cannot be air fried, kept coming back to the kitchen to get his plate refilled.

I am sure you are all excited how I created this recipe at home, right? Let us first check out the list of ingredients.

Note – Please be patient and read the recipe completely to achieve the desired results i.e. List of Ingredients, Step by Step Recipe, Key tips to Air Fry and Important Tips.

Key Ingredients for Air Fryer Jowar Chakli

• Jowar Flour – 1 cup sifted twice for best results
• Brown Rice Flour – ½ cup sifted twice (you can use white rice flour too)
• Ajwain or carom seeds
• Sesame Seeds
• Melted Butter (use salted butter for enhanced taste)
• Lukewarm Water to knead the dough + Extra as required (details below)

You will also need a Chakli Press (with star nozzle) or Murukku Press and Air Fryer for this recipe.

Step by Step Air Fryer Jowar Chakli Recipe

In a wide steel bowl, sift the jowar flour or cholam maavu twice for best results.

Sift Rice Flour twice

Now mix both the flours, add salt to taste, asafoetida or hing, ajwain and sesame seeds. Mix everything well.

Now add the melted salted butter.

Mix well until you can press the dry flours in your hand (crumb texture) and it holds together (as shown below). This is an important step to ensure the chakli or murukku is not very hard to eat.

Now slowly add lukewarm water to make a soft yet firm dough.

Add a tsp of oil and mix well. Keep this aside while you preheat the air fryer. It prevents the dough from drying (since we are not deep frying)

Prep your chakli press by oiling the insides.

Now place a small portion of the dough inside.

Once the air fryer has preheated, apply oil using a brush on the mesh to prevent the chakli being pressed from sticking while air frying. Ensure there is some space between the chaklis pressed (as shown below)

Air Fry the Jowar Chakli for the first 5 minutes at 160 degrees C. Brush some oil and air fry the batch again for further 5-7 minutes at 160 degree C. Remove onto a steel container and repeat the process again with the rest of the dough.

Allow it to cool slightly before enjoying them with a cup of tea or coffee.

Note – The recipe uses gluten free flours (Jowar and Rice). However, for a complete gluten free recipe, skip asafoetida or hing from the recipe. The recipe uses salted butter which can be replaced with vegetable oil or sesame oil for a vegan version.

Key Tips to Air Fry the Jowar Chakli

• Sift the flours twice for best results. Get rid of any impurities, husk, bran etc. The flour should be free flowing.
• Preheat the Air Fryer for atleast 5 minutes at 180 degrees C before making the chaklis.
• You have to press the chakli or murrukku directly in the air fryer mesh or basket. Maintain distance to avoid them from sticking with each other.
• Maintaining the temperature and timing is very important to get the crisp texture of the chakli. Only after 5 minutes of air frying, should you apply oil. It will absorb well and lead to crispy texture and prevent hardness while eating or biting.
• Avoid Air Frying at high temperature. You will end up with uncooked centre. Maintain the temperature at 160 Degree C.

IMPORTANT TIP – Always make a small portion of dough as Jowar flour (gluten free) does tend to get dry with time. Keep a bowl of water aside. After Air Frying two batches, you might notice the dough getting a bit dry. Just splash some water (by splashing, I mean a few drops), knead the dough and continue with the process. Keep the dough covered with a damp cloth while air frying the chaklis. (see the pic below). Dry dough would lead to cracks while pressing the chakli and it will break so this step is essential.

Recipe Notes –

• Shelf Life – This Chakli stays fresh and crisp for over couple of weeks. However, whenever, I make this, it doesn’t last for even one day. Store it in an air tight container in a cool dry place.
• Lukewarm water is advised while kneading as its the best option for softening gluten free flours. It leads to crisp and not hard chaklis. The same tip can be followed while making chapatis with jowar flour.
• As we are adding salted butter, be careful while adding salt with the flours. You can use unsalted butter or safed makkhan for this recipe. I don’t recommend ghee for this. If you are a vegan, warm some oil and add to the recipe instead of salted butter.
• You can add white rice flour to the recipe instead of brown rice flour. I have added what was readily available at home.

Let me go ahead and share some additional tips where you might go wrong with the Air Fryer Jowar Chakli recipe. This will help you to sail through the process in first attempt.

• If for some reason, you find that the chakli dough is cracking while pressing into the air fryer basket, remove the dough from the press, splash some water, knead it and then press the dough.
• If you have accidentally added too much water while kneading the dough, add sifted rice flour (using a spoon) along with some oil and adjust the dough consistency. Do not let the dough go waste.

Some Air Fryer Tea Time Snack Recipes on the blog –

• Air Fryer Onion Pakoda
• Air Fryer Sabudana Vada
• Raw Banana Cutlets in Air Fryer for Fasting

Air Fryer Jowar Chakli (Cholam Millet Mullu Murukku)

Vidya Narayan

Delicious Air Fryer Jowar Chakli or Cholam Millet Mullu Murukku, a healthy, low oil tea time snack recipe. Crispy, Crunchy Air Fryer Indian Snack Recipe using Jowar Flour or Cholam Maavu. Kid friendly snack, long shelf life South Indian Snack recipe

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Indian, South Indian

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup Jowar Flour or Cholam Maavu 1 cup is 250 ml measurement
• 1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
• 1/2 tsp Ajwain or Carom Seeds
• 1 tsp Sesame Seeds
• 1 1/2 tbsp Butter (salted) 1 tbsp is 15 ml measurement
• Oil (1 tsp for the dough + extra to brush for air frying)
• Lukewarm Water to knead the dough
• Salt to taste

Instructions

 

• In a wide steel bowl, sift the jowar flour or cholam maavu twice for best results.
• Sift Rice Flour twice
• Now mix both the flours, add salt to taste, asafoetida or hing, ajwain and sesame seeds. Mix everything well.
• Now add the melted salted butter.
• Mix well until you can press the dry flours in your hand (crumb texture) and it holds together (as shown below). Note – This is an important step to ensure the chakli or murukku is not very hard to eat.
• Now slowly add lukewarm water to make a soft yet firm dough.
• Add a tsp of oil and mix well. Keep this aside while you preheat the air fryer. It prevents the dough from drying (since we are not deep frying)
• Prep your chakli press by oiling the insides.
• Now place a small portion of the dough inside.
• Once the air fryer has preheated, apply oil using a brush on the mesh / basket to prevent the chakli being pressed from sticking while air frying.
• Air Fry the Jowar Chakli for the first 5 minutes at 160 degrees C. Brush some oil and air fry the batch again for further 5-7 minutes at 160 degree C. Remove onto a steel container and repeat the process again with the rest of the dough.
• Allow it to cool slightly before enjoying them with a cup of tea or coffee.

Notes

Key Tips to Air Fry the Jowar Chakli

• Sift the flours twice for best results. Get rid of any impurities, husk, bran etc. The flour should be free flowing.
• Preheat the Air Fryer for atleast 5 minutes at 180 degrees C before making the chaklis.
• You have to press the chakli or murrukku directly in the air fryer mesh or basket. Maintain distance to avoid them from sticking with each other.
• Maintaining the temperature and timing is very important to get the crisp texture of the chakli. Only after 5 minutes of air frying, should you apply oil. It will absorb well and lead to crispy texture and prevent hardness while eating or biting.
• Avoid Air Frying at high temperature. You will end up with uncooked centre. Maintain the temperature at 160 Degree C.

IMPORTANT TIP – Always make a small portion of dough as Jowar flour (gluten free) does tend to get dry with time. Keep a bowl of water aside. After Air Frying two batches, you might notice the dough getting a bit dry. Just splash some water (by splashing, I mean a few drops), knead the dough and continue with the process. Keep the dough covered with a damp cloth while air frying the chaklis. (see the pic below). Dry dough would lead to cracks while pressing the chakli and it will break so this step is essential.

Recipe Notes –

• Shelf Life – This Chakli stays fresh and crisp for over a week. However, whenever, I make this, it doesn’t last for even one day. Store it in an air tight container in a cool dry place.
• Lukewarm water is advised while kneading as its the best option for softening gluten free flours. It leads to crisp and not hard chaklis. The same tip can be followed while making chapatis with jowar flour.
• As we are adding salted butter, be careful while adding salt with the flours. You can use unsalted butter or safed makkhan for this recipe. I don’t recommend ghee for this. If you are a vegan, warm some oil and add to the recipe instead of salted butter.
• You can add white rice flour to the recipe instead of brown rice flour. I have added what was readily available at home.

Additional tips where you might go wrong with the Air Fryer Jowar Chakli recipe. This will help you to sail through the process in first attempt.

1. If for some reason, you find that the chakli dough is cracking while pressing into the air fryer basket, remove the dough from the press, splash a drop or two of water, knead it and then press the dough.
2. If you have accidentally added too much water while kneading the dough, add sifted rice flour (using a spoon) along with some oil and adjust the dough consistency. Do not let the dough go waste.

Keyword Air Fryer Indian Snacks Recipes, Air Fryer Murukku, Jowar Chakli in Air Fryer, Millet murukku, South Indian Diwali Snack Recipe

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We will be back again with yet another exciting recipe .. Until then, stay healthy and happy!

Vidya Narayan