Puffed Rice
Also known as: muri, kurmura
What Puffed Rice is
Puffed rice — muri to Bengal, kurmura in Maharashtra — the airy street-food base underneath Kolkata's jhal mudi and Mumbai's bhelpuri, and a standard fasting food precisely because it is plain, dry and light.
Rice kernels expanded by heat: the grain is heated so that its internal moisture flashes to steam and blows it up several times its original size. Nothing is added — no oil, no salt — which is why it keeps its fasting-food status, and why it is only as good as the day it was puffed.
Taste and texture
Dry, weightless and faintly toasty on its own; the point is the shatter. It is a blank carrier: mustard oil, lemon, onion and chilli in jhal mudi, or sweet-tart chutneys and sev in bhelpuri, land on it within seconds of mixing.
Forms to buy
- Plain puffed rice — The standard bag; season it at home.
- Bhel mixtures — Pre-spiced blends with sev and groundnuts; a shortcut with a short life once opened.
How to cook it
Toss only at the moment of eating — dressed puffed rice goes soft within minutes. For jhal mudi, crush the puffed rice slightly and mix with chopped onion, green chilli, coriander, black salt, lemon and a spoon of mustard oil. For bhelpuri, add tamarind and green chutneys, chopped onion and tomato, sev and coriander. A bag that has gone limp can be revived for a minute in a dry pan over medium heat.
Buying note
Typically ¥200–¥400 a bag at Indian grocers. Squeeze the bag before buying: it should crackle, not give. Stale puffed rice is soft and chewy and no seasoning rescues it, so buy small and use it within days, not weeks.