Puffed Rice Recipe | Murmura Recipe

Puffed Rice also called Murmura in Hindi, is one of the common forms in which we consume rice. It is also a preferred choice of snacks in India. This Puffed Rice Recipe is a lightly spiced snack made with murmura and some spices. Locally in India, this dish is also known as Masala Murmura. This Masala Puffed Rice Recipe is light and a healthy pick for your snacking times. Vegan and gets done without any hassles.

What is Puffed Rice

Rice grains (either white or brown), which have been roasted/cooked to make the grains puff up, result in what is known as puffed rice.

It has many other names in Indian regional languages. For instance, murmura (Hindi), muri (Bengali), mamra (Gujarati), kurmura (Marathi), pori (Tamil and Malayalam), mandakki (Kannada) and borugulu (Telugu). Puffed rice also has a widespread use in Southeast Asia.

In India, rice grains being puffed in large iron woks filled with hot sand is a familiar sight. This method has the rice grains first being partially cooked (by roasting or steaming) and then cooked on the hot sand bed till they start puffing.

This is an extensive process and takes quite some time. Puffed rice is easily available in Indian stores and you don’t need to spend a lot of time and energy making a Puffed Rice Recipe at home. For example, this Murmura Recipe is one from the list of easy recipes made with puffed rice.

About This Puffed Rice Recipe

There are numerous ways you can make a Puffed Rice Recipe. In this spiced Murmura Recipe, I have kept the spice level and flavors light. Variations may include the addition of onions, roasted Bengal gram (chana dal) and roasted/fried peanuts.

I chose not to add any of these in this Puffed Rice Recipe as I wanted to make it a light nibble. So, I simply roasted the puffed rice with some turmeric powder, asafoetida, curry leaves and seasoned with black salt.

Both asafoetida (hing) and curry leaves impart an amazing flavor in this Murmura Recipe. Whereas, the turmeric brings in a nice bright yellow hue. Black salt gives it a sharp taste. If you do not have black salt, you can prepare it even with white or Himalayan salt.

If you wish, temper this Spiced Puffed Rice Recipe with some mustard seeds and cumin seeds. To make it spicy, use red chili powder or any of your favorite Indian spice powder.

Once you are done with the roasting of this Murmura Recipe, serve it at room temperature. While serving, you can top with some boiled potatoes, sev (fried gram flour vermicelli), coriander leaves, spicy green chutney, sweet tamarind chutney or lemon juice. I added some chopped boiled potatoes and topped with a little bit of sev.

You can even experiment with other tidbits like finely chopped raw mangoes, crushed papdi, chopped onions and tomatoes as a topping. You could also make some Bhel Puri if you have the ingredients ready or enjoy as is.

All this makes for a wholesome snack that you can almost binge on any time of the day. 

This Puffed Rice Recipe can be scaled too for making larger batches. Make sure to store it in an airtight jar once completely cooled down to room temperature. Kids, teens, adults – this snack is loved by all.

Other famous puffed rice recipes that even I make at home are the Bhel Puri (popular street food of Mumbai, Maharashtra), Jhalmuri (popular street food of Kolkata, West Bengal) and Churumuri (popular street food of Karnataka, South India).

Expert Tips

1. You can make this Murmura Recipe with either white puffed rice or brown puffed rice.
2. Add your choice of spices or herbs while tempering.
3. In place of black salt, use white salt or Himalayan salt.
4. For a spicier version, add some red chili powder or even finely chopped green chilies in the topping.
5. Toppings can be chopped boiled potatoes, chopped onions, chopped raw mangoes, chopped tomatoes, coriander leaves, crushed papdi (crispy puri), sweet and spicy chutneys, sev, etc.
6. Scale this Murmura Recipe easily to make a large batch and store in an airtight container/jar.

This Puffed Rice Recipe post from the archives first published in July 2012 has been republished and updated on 14 July 2022.