Kunukku Recipe - South Indian Spicy Lentil Fritters

Kunukku is a traditional deep fried snack made of rice and dals. These no onions no garlic fritters are usually made during navratri. Serve kunuku as an appetizer at a party or as a snack with your evening cup of tea.

Archana's Kitchen
Kunukku Recipe - South Indian Spicy Lentil Fritters
2627 ratings.

Kunukku recipe is traditional South Indian Style Lentil fritter. The lentils fritters are very similar to the vada, except that it is made with a combination of lentils. The batter is similar to the batter of adai and so you can even make these fritters with any leftover adai batter

Kunukus are made during Navratri and offered to the deity as prasadam. Hence this recipe has no onion and no garlic. But if you are making it some other day then you can add some onions in the batter to add some crunch to the kunukus. It also makes a great snack for children as it is rich in proteins and made healthy without deep frying. These kunukus are made in a Kuzhi Paniyaram Pan and are pan fried.

Serve Kunukku along with Tomato Onion Chutney and Masala Chai as a tea time snack.

If you like this recipe, you can also try other Indian appetiser such as

  1. Moong Matar Kebab Recipe
  2. Rajma Malai Cutlet Recipe
  3. Congress Buns Recipe

Course: Snack
Diet: Vegetarian
Prep in

15 M

Cooks in

25 M

Total in

40 M

Makes:

4 Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Idli Rice
  • 1/4 cup White Urad Dal (Split)
  • 1/4 cup Arhar dal (Split Toor Dal)
  • 1/4 cup Green Moong Dal (Split)
  • 1/4 cup Yellow Moong Dal (Split)
  • 4 Dry Red Chillies
  • 2 Green Chillies
  • 2 sprig Curry leaves
  • 4 sprig Coriander (Dhania) Leaves , chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon Asafoetida (hing)
  • Salt , to taste 

How to make Kunukku Recipe - South Indian Spicy Lentil Fritters

  1. To begin making the Kunukku Recipe recipe, soak the rice and dal for about 4 to 5 hours. Drain the excess water and grind the soaked lentils, chillies, curry leaves and cilantro into a smooth mixture adding very little water.

  2. You essentially want a thick Kunukku batter. Add the asafoetida and salt to the batter and stir well. I like to use a Kuzhi Paniyaram Pan to make these Kunukkus as it makes it a healthy alternative to its deep fried counterpart.

  3. Add a teaspoon of oil into each of the cavities of a preheated paniyaram pan. Add in spoonfuls of batter to fill up each cavity. You could add additional oil to make these more crisp.

  4. Cover the pan and cook kunukkus until the tops look steamed and the bottom is golden brown.

  5. Turn them over and cook on the other side adding any additional oil if required.Cook the kunukkus till golden brown on all sides.

  6. Once done transfer the kunukkus into a plate with an oil absorbent paper to remove any excess oil and serve hot.

  7. Serve Kunukku along with Tomato Onion Chutney and Masala Chai as a tea time snack.