Achu Murukku - Rosette Cookies - Eggless Version #ChristmasSweetsWeek 2020

Achu muruku (in Tamil achu means mold and muruku means a crispy deep-fried snack) aka rosette cookies is a sweet and crunchy snack. It is very popular in coastal and southern India. It is generally made during Christmas. Some people make it for Diwali too. This treat has a lot of memories from my childhood. A. Peterson lived in our street. Our families shared sweets and savory treats during major festivals. His mom used to make this achu muruku during Christmas. I used to wait for every Christmas to come, to have these cookies. For a long time, I didn't know the name of it but enjoyed it. It never occurred to me that I can ask her to share the recipe with my mom or could have asked her to make some for me. I know the latter could have been the best as she is an expert in making these. But waited for every Christmas. I never asked Peterson either though we were in the same class. A couple of years back, another friend's mom visited here and she shared these with me for Diwali. Memories, memories, memories..... The feeling of making it somehow was growing. I started doing my research and made them. They weren't as perfect as how Peterson's mom made but was delicious just like those. In due course, you get the hang of it.

The traditional recipe uses one egg. I used aquafaba and they were tasty. This comes out good even without it. When making these, a few things should be kept in mind. First, the batter shouldn't be too runny. Just pourable consistency. Else, they wouldn't stick to the mold and the cookies won't have any shape. Second, dip the mold in hot oil for about 20-30 seconds, then dip in the batter for 20 seconds, take it and dip in hot oil. It would separate from the mold after a few seconds in the oil. Next, dip the mold only to 1/2 or 2/3rd its height in the batter. If it is dunked full in the batter, they will stick to the mold and won't separate as cookies when deep-fried. The height or size of the cookies depends on the mold. There are different shapes and sizes in these molds which you can check on Amazon.com too. Finally, deep fry in low-medium heat, or else they will burn very quickly. The sweet, crunchy, coconutty, delicious fried cookies can sing jingle bells. 

Rice flour - 1/2 cup
All-purpose flour - 2 tbsp
Powdered sugar - 1/4 cup
Salt - a pinch
Sesame seeds -1/2 tsp

Aquafaba - 3 tbsp
Water - 1 or 2 tsp
Coconut milk - 1/2 cup

Oil - 2 cups, for deep frying

add the dry ingredients to a bowl. Add the coconut milk, aquafaba, and mix. Add the water as needed to make a free-flowing batter that is neither thin nor thick. 

Heat oil in a pan on low medium heat. Dip the rosette old in hot oil, then dip in the batter (1/2 or 2/3 of the mold should be dipped in the batter) for 20-30 seconds. Then dip it into the oil. In a few seconds, it would separate out of the mold. Flip and fry till light golden. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Store in an airtight container.