Like jhalmuri in Bengal and bhelpuri in Maharashtra, almost every state in India has its favourite puffed rice snack. The districts of coastal Andhra Pradesh too has its own snack using puffed rice called muntha masala, which is a popular street food in the towns as well as rural areas. The snack is also known as pidatha kinda pappu in some areas, the name literally means lentils and masala beaten up in a vessel. This street food rules the beaches of Vizag where its name is muri mixture. Hyderabad has many small roadside kiosks and carts selling this delicious dish which is usually loved as an evening food.
The mainstay of this snack is puffed rice or murmura as it is locally called, though some places add roasted flattened rice too. The puffed rice inside a vessel is often kept on hot charcoal for it to be roasted mildly. Various ingredients such as chopped onions, tomatoes, green chillies, roasted peanuts and coriander leaves are added, along with varieties of spice powders.
A dash of lime juice provides a tangy touch, while cornflakes are optional to provide more crunchiness. Usually, you also have various options of besan fritters or bajjis of chillies, tomato, brinjal and even eggs and capsicum which are chopped and added to the puffed rice mix. The murmura turns slightly soggy absorbing the juices from the ingredients and this results in a perfect moist snack for the evening. A final garnishing with cornflakes, onions and coriander leaves is done before serving the dish. Originally, this snack used to be served in palm leaves, but now newspapers folded into conical shape or paper plates have taken its place.
The areas in Hyderabad with significant Andhra population have numerous street stalls selling this snack in the evening. Kukatpally is dotted with stalls which will customize the snack to your specifications, and even in the IT corridor, there are quite a few places for this. Some of the better known stalls have developed special variations in their recipes in terms of both ingredients and presentations.
Bandar Spicy Muntha Masala, a small kiosk in KPHB Phase 1 Kukatpally has a preparation where he uses large tomato bajjis with lots of peanuts, masala and cornflakes. This is popular among his customers, next only to the evergreen mirchi bajji. Devi Sri Muntha Masala at Ayyappa Society, Madhapur, always has a lot of eager customers waiting their turn. They even add curd to the bajji mixture, in one of their most sought-after dishes. The presentation here is different too, with the bajji cut open and stuffed with the masala.
Sabyasachi is a food enthusiast and blogs at www.foodaholix.in