Navratri Snacks & Makhana

The hours between a morning cup of tea and the evening farali meal are the hardest part of a Navratri fast, and this shelf of our Navratri groceries is where people turn. Makhana, also called phool makhana, lotus seeds or fox nuts, are the puffed seeds of a water lily, light and crisp with a mild, milky taste. Plain makhana is the most adaptable kind: roast it in ghee, simmer it into kheer or fold it into a vrat curry. There is more on our makhana shelf.

Seasoned makhana comes ready to eat, and here the label decides. Some seasonings are made with ordinary salt, onion or garlic, which a strict vrat leaves out, so read the ingredients and keep those packs for the days after the festival. Sweet glazed makhana goes well with an afternoon chai. Roasted monkey nuts, peanuts roasted in their shells, are cracked open at the table, and amla candy, pieces of Indian gooseberry dried with sugar, gives a sweet and tangy bite after a meal.

Home roasting takes ten minutes. Warm a teaspoon of ghee in a heavy pan, add plain makhana and turn it on a low heat until it crunches cleanly, then season with sendha namak from Navratri vrat staples and flours and crushed black pepper from Navratri vrat spices. Raw peanuts for roasting the same way are in Navratri dry fruits and nuts. Makhana softens in damp air, so keep an opened pack sealed in a jar, and if it loses its crunch, a few minutes in a dry pan brings it back.