Manapparai murukku’s journey from being a local to an international snack

In the 20th Century, it was Mani Iyer who introduced this distinct variety of murukku to his customers at a railway canteen here. He made the murukku with ‘Manapparai water’ and it is believed that the naturally saline water enhanced the taste of the murukku. From then, most traditional snack makers use the recipe introduced by Mani Iyer.

Murukku Manohar, whose family has been in the murukku making business for over 100 years, said though the process looks deceptively easy, it involves hard labour. The day for a murukku maker begins at 4 am and goes on until 2 pm. However, during Diwali season the work keeps us engaged until midnight, he said. 

Currently, the family makes about 4,000 murukkus daily and the turnover for each month is about Rs 1.5 lakh. However, since Manohar has to pay salaries to three of his workers, he makes a profit of less than Rs 15,000 a month.

Manohar alleged that middlemen who buy the snack from the makers are the major beneficiaries of the industry, which has the potential to generate Rs 100 crore revenue.

According to Manohar, they have refrained from opting for export offers and expansion plans as, “The production is confined to the family. If we go in for mass production, we may lose the taste and standard of the snack. Only a few can understand the nuances like the right proportion of salt to be added with salty water and the use of special murukku rice flour milled in Madurai.”  

While Manohar’s father Duraisamy, who has kept himself away from the trade due to old age, said, “We use the double fry technique, which is followed by only three or four families today. This technique was perfected by Mani Iyer who sold murukkus before Independence at the railway canteen.” Sadly, Mani Iyer has no successors to carry forward his legacy. His family moved out of town after his demise.

“I haven’t travelled farther than Tiruchy but my murukku is consumed by people from Gulf countries, Malaysia, Singapore and USA,” said Manohar, proudly ticking off a list of celebrities from Rajiv Gandhi to AR Rahman, who have tasted his recipe.

The absence of a Geographical Indication (GI) tag has pushed traditional makers, who already face low profit margins, into misery. “If we get the GI tag, it will help us get financial assistance from banks. Also, it will stop the misuse of our brand,” said Muthupandy, secretary of the Manapparai Murukku Merchants Association. With no major initiative to get the GI tag, the average monthly income of people engaged in the business continues to be less than Rs 6,000 a month.