Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Foods Kurkure, the Hindi Cheeto: Do Not Not Eat This Awesome Plastic-Free Snack
Posted by Jim Ridley on Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 7:26 AM
Nothing piques my curiosity like the junk food of other lands. The first time I went to Canada, I was excited to visit an all-nite grocery and wander the snack aisle, and one item in particular made me jealous: curry-flavored potato chips. The spicy-sweet heat of curry? The addictive crunch of potato chips? A nutritional value of roughly zero? Count me in! I almost smuggled a bag through customs, only to picture myself getting roughed up Midnight Express-style by Quebecois goons. It was as good an excuse as any to down the bag. I passed through the checkpoint with trembling orange fingers.
So fate brought me to the doorstep of Spice of India, the small but enticing Indian market in Cool Springs right beside the new Bombay Bistro. There, near the refrigerator case of bottled single-serving mango lasses, stood a display of various exotic chips and snack items. And there I made the acquaintance of my latest junk-food BFF, Kurkure.
Kurkure is the Hindi word for "crunchy," and the namkeen (salty snack food) that bears its name doesn't lie. Frito-Lay, that fine purveyor of Southeast Asian cuisine, has been producing Kurkure overseas since 1999, and it's become one of India's top snack foods. According to one source, it just became available in the U.S. a couple of years ago, as proof of the growing acclimation of Western palates to Indian spices.
Smart move. The flavor I tried--a $1.99 bag of Kurkure Masala Munch--was essentially Flamin' Hot Cheetos with the brakes off the spices. Made with rice flour, the "tedha shaped" snacks look and crunch just like Cheetos (not the puff variety). But the masala spice mix has a more complex flavor: in particular, an addictively bittersweet, slightly citrussy aftertaste and a strong but pleasant cumulative burn. I'll be going back to see if Spice of India carries other flavors such as Red Chilli Chatka, Xtreme Risky Chilli, Angry Tomatoes, Desi Beats, and the irresistible Xtreme Electric Nimbu.
But evidently there is trouble in paradise. An urban legend that Kurkure contains plastic is apparently so widespread that people have actually lit them on fire. Indeed, an entire website, Kurkure Facts, exists just to defend the snack's reputation with a two-pronged attack, alternating appeals to reason ("Kurkure Is Safe, Kurkure Does Not Contain Plastic") and desire ("Do Not Say No to Kurkure Chilli Chatka").
No ambassador for Kurkure, however, could top the product's official website. By all means check out the jokes section ("ONCE UPON A TIME A MAN WAS WALKING UPSIDE DOWN OUT OF THE TOWN IN A GOWN AND HE FELL IN A HOLE HIT A POLE AND MAY GOD GIVE REST TO HIS SOUL. SMILE"), the "Paq-Man" game and the recipes. But frankly, at this point if I found out Kurkure were made from recycled six-pack rings, I'd just chew a little more carefully. At least I know they'd pass through a Canadian metal detector.
Comments (16)
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Indian snacks are strange and wonderful. Planned a trip to Apna bazaar this afternoon and hoping they carry these. Will report.
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There are some small, spiral shaped chips they have at Spice Of India. I forgot the name, but they are on the chip aisle (not near the bin up front).
To me, these little delights are essentially the fried portion of chicken tenders in spiral form. They even taste like chicken tenders, just minus the chicken.
I've got a bag at home, I'll report back with the name after work.
How did I not know about these when my in-laws are Indian?? I'm going to Spice of India right now!
Dave: Chicken tenders, minus the chicken? So they basically taste like a McNugget? (Where's Instant Rimshot when you need it?) But the idea of a snack that consists only of fried-chicken crust is certainly tantalizing.
Curried fried chicken is an experiment I've wanted to try, but I love plain old down-home fried chicken so much I can't bring myself to pull the trigger.
Oh my goodness these are good! 3 open bags in front of me at the moment: Masala Munch, Green Chutney Rajasthani Style, and Chilli Chatka. I think my favorite is the Chilli Chatka but all 3 are totally addictive!
FYI, Spice of India also carries Naughty Tomato and Tamatar Hyderabadi flavors, but I passed those up on this trip.
I'll have to get these for the husband. He thinks he loves spicy stuff. I, however, know my limits.
And nothing beats the candy and cookies aisle at Baraka Bakery. YUM.
May I also suggest checking out the cold sweets at Spice Of India? It's the only place in town I can find Kaju Burfi. For those not familar with the sweet, it's a simple mix of cashews, butter and sugar cut into little diamond shapes. They are not overly sweet, which I like.
Also, sweet balls are a year round favorite at my place. You can get them in the packets and make for yourself. They seem to alays have them on the buffet at Bombay Bistro next door.
"Also, sweet balls are a year round favorite at my place."
I have visions of Alec Baldwin on SNL dancing in my head.
I just tried some of these a few weeks back when an Indian co-worker brought them in. I prefer these over cheetos because they do not stain your fingers.
Maybe I'm crazy—OK, no "maybe" there—but I kinda like the finger-staining orange residue that Cheetos leave. It leaves tracks when you scrape your fingers against your teeth. I should shut up now.
Damn you Jim Ridley. I have eaten 1 entire bag plus more than half of 2 others today. Please someone take these away from me.
Hey, don't shoot the messenger. If it's any consolation, I ate a half-bag on first exposure. Is any one of the flavors hotter than the others?
The name is Naughty Tomato? That's fantastic! That should be somebody's nom de porn.
Ha! just kidding- I'm happy I've been turned on to them. I'll just have to buy 1 bag at a time from now on because I obviously have little self-control. Bag 2 and 3 are almost completely gone now too and they have been in my possession for only about 36 hours.
The Chilli Chatka pack the most heat of the flavors I purchased. The green chutney isn't hot at all...when my mouth needs a break from the heat of the other 2, I've been switching over and popping a few of those in my mouth.
Honestly I don't think any of them are super hot, but I like really spicy things, so maybe I'm not a good judge.
If you get the Naughty Tomato report back and let me know how it is!
We discovered these at the International Market in the Farmer's Market building a few months ago, and have been addicted since. We've ordered a few other flavors online since the Int'l Mkt only seems to carry 1 or 2 flavors at any time, and all the flavors are awesome. I'll have to check Spice of India to see what flavors they carry. Thanks for the tip!
@kate o -- we found these at the Intl Mkt yesterday on our way to buy Rebekah Grace milk. Ate half a bag of Msala Munch and half a bag of chili chatka.
I haven't tried these yet, leery of spicy food. But, got into an argument with my mother in law a few minutes ago about plastic in Cheetos. SHe insists there is and that there is a whole movement underway in Mumbai to ban them. Thinks there is no diffrence between Indian cheetos and Frito-Lay Cheetos.
Does anyone know how this rumour got started and what the ingedient is that people are claiming is plastic?
