How to Prepare Kai Marukka for a Hindu Dowry

A Hindu bride traditionally gives the groom's family some edible sweets, including a fried pastry called kai marukka. The size of the pastry, the number of spirals in the dough, and the amount given all signify the wealth and status of the bride's family.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Butter
• Cumin Seeds
• Flour
• Rice Flour
• Roasted Urad Dhal Flour
• Salt
• Deep-frying Pans
• Flour Sifters

1. Prepare the kai marukka at home.
2. Purchase the following ingredients at an Indian market or grocery store: 1/2 kg rice flour; 5 tbsp. roasted urad dhal flour; 5 tbsp. butter; 1 tbsp. cumin seeds; salt; 1kg cooking oil for frying. (This recipe makes 10 pieces; increase the amounts according to the quantity you plan to make.)
3. Determine how many spirals your kai marukka will have, and their size, to properly reflect your family's standing. (For instance, an affluent bride will give huge kai marukka with 9 to 11 spirals each. A family with a modest income will give ones with five spirals each.)
4. Form the dough by mixing the rice flour, urad dhal flour, butter and cumin seeds. Add salt to taste.
5. Take a handful of the dough and flatten it out into a rope. Then curve the rope into a small spiral, starting at the center and working outward, until you have created the effect you desire.
6. Attach a new rope of dough to the end of the old one if the lump of dough you are using runs short, and continue to wind it around the existing pastry until you have the size you want.
7. Repeat the process for each kai marukka until you have used up all of the dough.
8. Deep-fry the spirals in a "kuali" of oil until golden-brown on both sides.
9. Allow them to cool before wrapping them to give.

Tips & Warnings

• Other treats that the bride's family traditionally gives to the groom's include other pastries called laddu, mehsoor pakh and athi resam, along with a pot of palgova (a thick milk-and-sugar pudding).
• An affluent bride may give 100 or more pieces of each of these sweets, while a more modest family may give in the range of 20 to 50 of each.
• In addition to the edible gifts, some Hindu families also give a wedding dowry of money, jewelry and/or household items. However, this practice is the source of much controversy today.
• Be careful not to get burned by splattering oil.