Puffed rice

muri · mudi

Rice, puffed to almost nothing — Bengal's favourite fidget-food.

What it is

Puffed rice is rice heated until each grain bursts into a light, dry, airy puff — the base of the great street snacks jhalmuri (Bengal) and bhel puri (west). Eaten by the handful plain, or tossed with vegetables, chutney and crunch into a snack assembled to order.

Where it comes from

Puffed rice belongs to the everyday snack culture of the whole region, but nowhere more than Bengal, where muri is a daily food — with tea, with vegetables, tossed into jhalmuri from a street cart.

What it's called

Puffed rice · muri / mudi (Bengali) · murmura (Hindi) · kurmura.

In the kitchen

Tossed at the last moment with chopped onion, tomato, chilli, mustard oil and crunchy bits into jhalmuri, or with chutneys and sev into bhel — assembled fast and eaten at once, before it softens. Eaten plain with tea besides. Its whole appeal is lightness and crunch, which moisture destroys.

What we know about the claims

A light, low-fat grain snack; the puffing is just heat, no oil. Wholesome enough as snacks go. No caution.

Choosing and buying

Sold bagged in South Asian grocers (UK and US) as muri, murmura or puffed rice. Keep sealed and dry — it goes stale-soft quickly once opened.