Roasted Makhana Recipe (Water Lily Seeds)
Jun 12, 2019 • Updated Jun 20, 2023
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Learn to make roasted makhana or popped water lily seed snacks, in three delicious ways! Salted Caramel, Salt & Vinegar, and Cheezy Garlic– All gluten-free and vegan!
What is Makhana?
Makhana is a traditional Indian snack. It’s made from popped or puffed water lily seeds, also called fox nuts, which are then dry-roasted with seasonings. The result is a crunchy, popcorn-esque, healthy snack.
It reminds me of a Korean, skinless giant popcorn snack I used to eat growing up, but with an even better crunch. It’s also a great source of protein, completely plant-based, and takes to seasonings and different flavors so well!
If you can’t get enough Indian snacks like me, try my Healthy Chjvda Recipe too!
What Makes This Recipe Great
I was first inspired to make my own popped water lily snacks when I picked up a bag at the grocery store. Instantly, the little puffs became one of my favourite snacks. And these are my three favorite flavouring options!
I was motivated to learn how to make makhana at home because I started spending a lot of money on pre-made storebought bags, and in the process, was creating a lot of packaging waste.
I also wanted to make them even healthier! These recipes are simple, come together with 5 or fewer ingredients, and are free of any processed ingredients. This delicious snack comes together in just 15 minutes- so easy, and SO tasty!
How to Make Makhana
Makhana is used in many Indian recipes and makhana is so versatile it can be enjoyed in curries, or as a snack on its own. For example, if making a Makhana Matar Curry, the makhana is a little more tender and soaks up the sauce.
The process of making this Indian snack, however, is shockingly easy. All you need to do is coat the puffs in seasoning and roast. I recommend doing this in a pan over medium-high heat with just a touch of neutral oil. You can test to see when it’s ready by tasting a piece–you want to look for crunch throughout. As it comes, makhana is quite soft, so you do want to roast it to make sure you get that crisp texture.
Ingredient Notes
Roasted Makhana
- Makhana: The most important ingredient you’ll need is the ful makhana, or the lotus seeds, which you can find at most Indian Markets. The first bag I ever tried was sent to me by my wonderful friend Asha Patel. You can also easily find it online–here is a link to a bag I purchased recently.
- Neutral oil
- Salt
Roasted Makhana Flavored Three Ways
Here are my three favorite ways to season my popped water lily seeds:
Salted Caramel: This sweet and salty flavor is made with coconut sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. This is a butter-free caramel made with no refined sugars and it’s easy to make in the same pan that you roast your makhana in.
Salt and Vinegar: All you need for this seasoning is salt and vinegar powder! Again, this is best seasoned to taste, so if you like it extra tangy, use a heavy hand on the vinegar.
Cheezy Garlic: For a vegan cheese flavor, use nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and onion powder. This has to be my go-to flavour and the seasoning I opt for most days. Bonus: you’ll get a nice boost of plant protein from the nutritional yeast!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Salted Caramel
- For this recipe, we’re roasting the makhana prior to flavouring, to achieve a little crunch before coating. Cook in a pan with just a touch of neutral oil for 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until crisp. You can test them by taking a bite–they should have a nice crunch throughout. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Next, in the same pan, coconut sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and water, and melt down, gently stirring until completely smooth.
- Bring the mixture to a bubble, then add baking soda and stir quickly until colour slightly changes then immediately remove from heat and add makhana to the pan.
- Toss to coat and then spread as evenly as possible on a baking sheet to cool completely.
Salt & Vinegar
- In a pan over medium-high heat, roast makhana with neutral oil for 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and vinegar powder, to taste, and enjoy.
Cheezy Garlic
- Toss makhana in a mixing bowl with a neutral oil, salt, nutritional yeast, garlic, onion powder, and smoked paprika.
- Transfer to a pan over medium-high heat and roast makhana with neutral oil for 4-5 minutes. Season with salt, to taste.
More Seasoning Variations
Roasted makhana is an amazing blank canvas to work with. You can get creative with the seasonings and I highly encourage experimenting as there are countless ways to flavor your Indian water lily seeds, both sweet and savoury. Here are some other options to try:
- Indian spices
- Plain sea salt (this one’s self-explanatory)
- Dark chocolate (you could toss in maple syrup or sweetener of choice and coat with cacao powder)
- Furikake
- BBQ
- Chili lime
Storage Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature and eat within one week for the best freshness and flavor.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Lily seeds are naturally vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, and paleo. Makhana is a wonderful snack that fits many diets. If you have a corn allergy, this is also an incredible alternative with a similar satisfying crunch.
Water lily seeds are naturally high in fiber and protein, as well as magnesium and phosphorous, making them considerably more nutritious than popcorn. Oh, and there are no kernels to get stuck in your teeth either!
More Crunchy Snack Recipes
If you make Roasted Makhana at home, be sure to let me know what you think with a comment below!
Makhana 3 Ways - Fox Nuts/Lotus Seed Snack (vegan, gluten-free)
Ingredients
- The Basics
- 2-3 cups makhana
- neutral oil
- salt
- Salted Caramel
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp flaky salt more to taste
- Salt & Vinegar
- salt to taste
- vinegar powder to taste
- Cheezy Garlic
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Salted Caramel
- For this recipe, we're roasting the makhana prior to flavouring, to achieve a little crunch before coating. Cook in a pan with just a touch of neutral oil for 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until crisp. You can test them by taking a bite--it should have a nice crunch throughout. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Next, in the same pan, coconut sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, water and melt down, gently stirring until completely smooth.
- Bring the mixture to a bubble, then add baking soda and stir quickly until colour slightly changes then immediately remove from heat and add makhana to the pan.
- Toss to coat and then spread as evenly as possible on a baking sheet to cool completely.
- Salt & Vinegar
- In a pan over medium high heat, roast makhana with neutral oil for 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and vinegar powder, to taste, and enjoy.
- Cheezy Garlic
- Toss makhana in a mixing bowl with neutral oil, salt, nutritional yeast, garlic and onion powder and smoked paprika.
- Transter to a pan over medium high heat and roast makhana with neutral oil for 4-5 minutes. Season with salt, to taste.
Notes
More Seasoning Variations
Roasted makhana is an amazing blank canvas to work with. You can get creative with the seasonings and I highly encourage experimenting as there are countless ways to flavor your Indian water lily seeds, both sweet and savoury. Here are some other options to try:- Indian spices
- Plain sea salt (this one's self-explanatory)
- Dark chocolate (you could toss in maple syrup or sweetener of choice and coat with cacao powder)
- Furikake
- BBQ
- Chili lime
Storage Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature and eat within one week for the best freshness and flavor.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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