As the fasting season starts in India with the month of Shravan and various festivals in line, you must be wondering on what wholesome fasting superfoods you can have. There must be list of falahari foods, fruits and dryfruits.
Makhana, popularly known as Phool Makhana or Fox nuts, is one super falahari food, which will keep you full and give you all the required vitamins and nutrients to your body. Makhana is often offered to gods during festivals or religious functions as the seeds are considered auspicious. It is used to make porridges or sweet puddings for prasad or offering to God. If you don’t like sweet, you can have it as a farali namkeen as well.
This power packed superfood has numerous benefits for you. Just read patiently to know why.
Besides fasting season also, a handful of Makhana everyday will keep you young, energetic and healthy. It has numerous health benefits like Anti-ageing, Weight loss, Diabetes control, Detoxifier, Reduces Inflammation etc. You can also ditch that cheap processed snacks available in market and snack on Crunchy makhana as it is free of trans fat and are light on your tummy.
Makhana are rich in flavonoids, which are chemicals that have a positive effect on body. The flavonoid reduces the cardiovascular risks and reduces inflammation in body. They also has anti-bacterial properties and help you stay healthy. It is also rich in anti-oxidents. It fights the free radicals and slows down the process of aging. It improves your health.
Consuming makhana on a daily basis will inhibit the aging signs like wrinkles, fine lines and premature greying of hair.
Makhana helps in detoxify the organs and function properly. Rich in potassium, makhana contains less of sodium and it is beneficial for people suffering from high blood pressure. Makhana helps in keeping the blood pressure in control and is one of the best way to maintaining the systolic blood pressure levels.
Makhana will help keep your body hydrated and maintain the water content. This helps in keeping the secretions from the body more moisturized. It also improves the quantity and quality of the semen. Makhana is also considered good for the female reproductive system.
Makhana is loaded with calcium, which helps in maintaining the health of your teeth and bones. Consuming it on a daily basis will make your bones stronger as it fulfills the recommended calcium requirement of your body. It also helps people with joint problems and osteoporosis. Makhana is also good for people suffering from arthritis and other joint problems as it is rich in calcium.
Include makhana in your daily diet to enjoy good health. So next time you go to a theater, munch on some makhana instead of the regular popcorn. It is recommended that one should eat 30gms of makhana on a regular basis if they are aiming for weight loss or good health.
Recipes
Though there are several ways to consume makhana but to stay healthy best is to have dry roasted crunchy makhana every day. It is easy to prepare and munching makes it attractive for kids and adults. So I am sharing with you the best Farali recipe which you can have every day.
Ingredients
Raw makhana – 100gms
Black pepper powder – 1 tsp
salt – according to taste
Dry mint leaf powder – 1 tsp (optional)
Butter or Cow ghee – 1 tsp
Chat masala – to sprinkle a pinch ( optional)
Dry mango powder – to sprinkle a pinch ( optional)
Kala namak – to sprinkle a pinch ( optional)
Always remember chat masala also has salt in it, so use
of salt has to be minimum. Mostly not required.
Method of preparation – The Best way to dry roast makhana is to roast it in hot salt. For this method you need a hot pan, put one bowl of plain salt in it and let it get heated up. Then put the makhana and keep stirring it. After 2-3 minutes you can feel the makhana be well roasted. To check pick up a makhana and break between fingers. It should crack. If you put it in your mouth, it will break with a cracking voice. If you put on the plate and rotate it, it will make a sound. Bottom line is that it should get roasted well for the crunchiness or else it will stick in your teeth while eating.
After roasting it sieve nicely and separate from salt and keep it aside. In this method, your makhana won’t burn, which may happen if you roast it directly.
After getting the roasted makhana, it’s time to coat it with pepper and mint for that chatkara taste.
Now take a pan and heat it, then put 1 tsp of butter or cow ghee. Put the mint powder and pepper powder and mix with a spatula. Turn off the flame and quickly add roasted makhana and stir well. Due to ghee or butter, pepper and mint powder gets coated well on the makhana. Sprinkle chat masala, mango powder and kala namak and mix well. Remember you have roasted the makhana in salt, so it is already salty, you do not require to add pink salt, still, if you eat more salty, you may do so according to taste.
Serve this snack with tea. During fast if you eat once a day, 30gms of makhana is sufficient to keep you energetic and full throughout the day.
To preserve roasted makhana, store in an air-tight container. It can be stored for 15 days.
