Explained: The history and culture of eating ‘muri’, symbol of Mamata Banerjee’s protest against the Centre’s GST regime | Explained News,The Indian Express
It's hard to miss the 'muri' — 'murmura' in northern and western India — vendors in the streets of Kolkata, other cities and towns in the state, in markets, and in the local trains that connect the suburbs with West Bengal's capital.
The imposition of GST on puffed rice has touched a raw nerve in West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Addressing her party’s annual Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata on July 21, she took out some ‘muri’ — puffed rice — from her bag and called a vendor on the stage to make an angry point against the imposition of tax on the staple.
The ubiquitous ‘muri’
It’s hard to miss the ‘muri’ — ‘murmura’ in northern and western India — vendors in the streets of Kolkata, other cities and towns in the state, in markets, and in the local trains that connect the suburbs with West Bengal’s capital.
Adding chopped onions, green chillies, coriander leaves, peanuts, and a dash of mustard oil to the puffed rice, they shake their steel containers vigorously to rustle up ‘jhaal muri’, a snack that is relished as much by the babus as by the working-class — some might even add a sliver or two of coconut, and a bit of kala chana.
‘Muri’ can be part of a Bengali breakfast with ‘aloo chorchori’ (a potato hash spiced with nigella seed), and handfuls of it popped in with tea. Even without any accompaniment, ‘muri’ is a meal in itself, albeit a humble one. A large, often square, airtight tin of ‘muri’ would be found in most Bengali homes.
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