What are water lily seeds? Meet makhana

If you have never seen a bag of makhana before, the contents look a little like popcorn that has been rolled smooth. They are not a grain, they are not a nut, and they are not related to popcorn at all. They are the seeds of a water lily.

Where they come from

Water lily seeds — Euryale ferox, known across South Asia as makhana, foxnut or lotus seed — grow in shallow ponds and wetlands. The seeds are harvested from the water, dried, and then popped with heat, which is where the airy white kernel comes from. It is a genuinely old process, and in parts of Bihar in India it is still done largely by hand.

Why they work as a snack

A popped water lily seed is mostly air. That gives it a light, brittle crunch that collapses quickly rather than the dense snap of a fried crisp — and it means the seed carries seasoning extremely well, because there is a lot of surface area and very little competing flavour.

We slow roast ours rather than frying them, then season them two ways: cracked black pepper and salt, or lime and mint.

Light, roasted, and impossible to eat just one of.

How to eat them

• ✓ Straight from the pouch — the obvious one, and still the best one.
• ✓ In a snack bowl — mixed with nuts, they add bulk and a completely different texture.
• ✓ Scattered over a salad — the lime and mint seasoning works particularly well here.
• ✓ With a drink — the peppery ones hold their own next to something cold and bitter.

Most European shoppers have never met makhana. That is precisely why we make it.