• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipes
  • Favorites
  • Parties
  • Experiences
  • Shop

Enhance Your Palate

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Favorites
  • Parties
  • Experiences
  • Shop
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Favorites
    • Parties
    • Experiences
    • Shop
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Healthy Snacks

    Makhana Bhel - Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

    Jump to Recipe

    Makhana Bhel, an Indian snack that is sure to tantalize your taste buds! This low-calorie snack is light on tummy and tastes delicious to your palate. Makhanas are super nutritious food to incorporate in your daily diet. Makhana Bhel is the perfect healthy snack to include in your daily regime and get the most benefit of Makhanas. I like to indulge on this as a salad for lunch instead of snack, then I can have a bigger portion of this delicious Makhana Bhel. Dig into it with me!

    Makhana Bhel – Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

    What is BhelPuri?

    Bhelpuri is a savory snack that falls under the popular category of ‘Street Food - Chaat’ originating from the Indian subcontinent. BhelPuri has an iconic status for its low-fat, nutritious, delicious yet spicy characteristics. Traditionally is made with puffed rice, deep fried flour crackers, sweet, sour and spicy chutneys, veggies and fruits like onions, tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes, green mango, pomegranate etc.

    What is Makhana?

    Makhanas are popularly known as Phool Makhana, Lotus Seeds, Fox Nuts, Euryale Ferox and Gorgon Nuts. Makhana is an aquatic crop and mostly cultivated in wet and marshy lands of Asian countries. India is the only country where makhana is cultivated as crop, mainly in the Northern Bihar and some parts of Assam and Manipur. Bihar accounts for more than 85 per cent of the makhana produced in the country.

    The seeds grow on the leaf in a pond or ideally in stagnant water. Collected seeds are then washed and sun-dried for a couple of hours. After they dry up, they are roasted in a pan at high flame and then hit immediately so that the black shells are broken and white puff pops out.

    Makhana along with other ingredients used in Makhana Bhel

    Health Benefits of Makhana

    Enriched with the goodness, Makhanas are packed with protein, potassium, phosphorus, fiber, magnesium, iron and zinc. Makhanas are low in cholesterol, fat, sodium as well as low in glycemic index. Makhanas make perfect snack for those suffering from high blood pressure, heart diseases and diabetes. Other than anti-aging enzymes, presence of natural flavonoid called kaempferol helps prevent inflammation and ageing. Makhanas are low in calories, make an ideal snack to satiate for in-between meal hunger pangs. So, binging on Makhana won’t harm your weight loss journey.

    Quick and Easy to Make

    To make Makhana Bhel all you need is 15 minutes and everyday ingredients from your pantry. You’ll need some produce like onion, tomato, cucumber, boiled potato, sweet peppers, green mango and pomegranate arils. Produce selection may vary based on the season.

    Don’t forget to include the favorite chutneys! Most of us keep green chutneys and tamarind chutney in our refrigerator most of the time. If not, here is the recipe for green cilantro chutney I have used. It is really simple. Soon I’ll also share Tamarind and dates sweet chutney.

    We’ll add some spices like salt, red chili powder and chaat masala. At the end few of your favorite crispy protein rich ingredients to add the crunch. Voilà! Your Makhana BhelPuri will be ready in no time.

    Makhana served in a paper cone, a popular indian street food cuttlery

    Tips and Tricks to make best Makhana Bhel

    1. Make sure Makhana are crispy - Either dry roast them on a stovetop on medium heat, or in microwave in the increments of 30 sec. For even roasting stir them in between.
    2. Roughly crush the makhanas -  Make sure they don’t fly away or roll out while mixing them with other ingredient.
    3. Spice level can be modified to individual’s choice. To make it spicier increased the quantity of green chutney as well as green chilis.
    4. Adding nuts and roasted chickpeas is a great idea to make it a protein rich snack.
    5. Stay green on health meter by avoiding adding deep fried tidbits.
    6. Go wild with your imagination and topped with hempseeds and chia seeds.
    7. Here, in this recipe I chose to add roasted pumpkin seeds because of its high protein content.
    8. Go light on salt as we will be adding a lot of salt through other ingredients.
    9. To keep it crisp for longer period of time add roasted Makahana only when ready to eat.
    10. Mix all the ingredients except makhana in one bowl and keep it aside until ready to use.
    11. You can as well pack Makhana Bhel for light work lunch. Make sure you pack roasted Makahan in separate Ziploc or container.
    Makhana Bhel
    Makhana Bhel
    4.74 from 15 votes

    Makhana Bhel

    MakhanaBhelPuri, an Indian snack that is sure to tantalize your taste buds! Deliciousand nutritious snack that takes only 15 minutes to prepare.
    Review Print Pin Share
    Prep Time15 mins
    Total Time15 mins
    Course: Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine: Indian
    Keyword: Bhelpuri, Makhana Bhel
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 313kcal
    Author: Rupali Agarwal

    Ingredients

    Produce:

    • 100 gms Cucumber: ½ cup peeled & diced.
    • 100 gms Onion ½ cup diced
    • 100 gms Tomato ½ cup diced
    • ½ cup Potato boiled and diced
    • ½ cup Pomegranate Arils
    • 10 gms Fresh Cilantro 2 tbs finely chopped
    • 8 gms Fresh Mint 2 tbs finely chopped
    • 3 gms Green Chili 1 teaspoon finely chopped
    • 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice or Lime

    Pantry/ Protein:

    • 120 gms Makhana Fox Nuts: 4 cups
    • 227 gms Peanuts Roasted salted - ¼ cup
    • ¼ cup Chickpeas Roasted salted
    • ¼ cup Cashews Roasted salted
    • ¼ cup Pumpkin seeds Roasted salted
    • ¼ cup Jalapeno Crisp for topping - Skip for gluten free version
    • ¼ cup Nylon Sev optional - for topping

    Spices:

    • ½ teaspoon Salt Namak - ½ tsp
    • ½ teaspoon Red chili powder Laal mirch
    • 2 teaspoon Chaat Masala
    • 1 tablespoon Cilantro Mint Green Chutney
    • 2 tablespoon Tamarind & Dates Sweet Chutney
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Dry roast makhanas on medium heat till crunchy. Keep stirring in between for even roasting. Makhana can be roasted in microwave as well.
      Makhana being roasted
    • Once roasted, let the Makhana cool down a bit and then transfer in a gallon size Ziploc.
      Roasted makhana in a ziploc being crushed using a rolling pin
    • Secure the Ziploc carefully and roughly crush the Makhanas using rolling pin.
      ROasted crushed makhana
    • In a separate mixing bowl add all the chopped vegetables and stir.
      Mixing all the vegetables and fruits for makhana bhelpuri
    • Then add roasted peanuts, cashews, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds and jalapeno crisps. Stir!
      Jalepeno Crisp being added to makhana bhel
    • Add, chopped green chilis, cilantro, mint, both the chutneys, spices and lime juice.
      ready to mix
    • Give it a good stir. Keep this mixture separate until ready to serve.
      Mix and keep asside
    • When ready to serve, stir in crushed roasted Makhanas.
      After mixing everything
    • Before serving topped with some nylon sev (optional), some jalapeno crisps, pomegranate arils and peanuts.

    Video

    Notes

    Enjoy!
    Nutrition Facts
    Makhana Bhel
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 313 Calories from Fat 162
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 18g28%
    Saturated Fat 3g19%
    Sodium 196mg9%
    Potassium 669mg19%
    Carbohydrates 29g10%
    Fiber 6g25%
    Sugar 6g7%
    Protein 13g26%
    Vitamin A 334IU7%
    Vitamin C 9mg11%
    Calcium 74mg7%
    Iron 3mg17%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Tag @enhanceyourpalate on Instagram and hashtag it #enhanceyourpalate
    Share
    Share14
    Tweet
    Pin2K
    Yum1
    WhatsApp
    2K Shares

    More Healthy Snack Recipes

    • Homemade Trail Mix - Oven Roasted Oats and Nuts
    • Dahi Vada / Dahi Bhalla - Healthy No Deep-Fry Recipe
    • Sabudana Vada with Beetroot Recipe - Ebelskiver Pan Low Fat Version
    • Moong Dal Vada (Lentil Fritters) - Raam Laddu

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Saddaf Khan says

      December 21, 2022 at 11:44 pm

      5 stars
      This was amazing!! We had it for dinner, my husband took a second round of it.
      Very flavourful. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Rupali Agarwal says

        January 11, 2023 at 10:14 am

        Hello Saddaf, Glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for trying and leaving this excellent feedback.
        Do try some other recipes as well.
        Rupali

        Reply
    2. Priti says

      July 26, 2021 at 6:57 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious recipe. Can't wait to try it. Where did you buy the crispy Jalapeños or did you make it? If so would you mind sharing the recipe. Thank you

      Reply
      • Rupali Agarwal says

        July 30, 2021 at 7:13 am

        Hello Priti, glad you liked the recipe and willing to give it a try. Jalapeño crisps are store bought, since I like my bhel on spicier side I just add to my portion leaving kids portion without it.
        In the ingredients list, where I have listed jalapeños crisp click on the name, it will take you the product I have used.

        Jalapeño crisp are just so addictive, once you will start topping it to your food there is no turning back.

        Looking forward to hear your feedback!

        Thanks
        Rupali

        Reply
    3. Richa Raj Singh says

      February 16, 2021 at 6:28 am

      5 stars
      Looks super tempting, Going to try soon <3
      Thanks for sharing amazing and healthy version of Bhel.

      Reply
      • Rupali Agarwal says

        February 18, 2021 at 9:55 pm

        Glad you liked the recipe, do let me how it goes when you give it a try.

        Thank you
        Rupali

        Reply
    4. Annapurnaspices says

      September 21, 2020 at 2:51 am

      5 stars
      The recipe looks good and delicious. Its complete food for snack time. The recipe has good nutrition value. The recipe is easy to make . I really like this recipe and thanks for sharing it. Keep sharing more recipes.

      Reply
    5. Deeksha says

      August 26, 2020 at 4:26 am

      5 stars
      This Bhel looks so chatpati. I like it. Thank you so much for the recipe.

      Reply
      • Rupali Agarwal says

        August 26, 2020 at 10:51 pm

        Thank You Deeksha! hope you enjoy it.

        Reply
    6. Winnie says

      August 20, 2020 at 8:24 am

      5 stars
      Tried this today and it turned out really awesome. Everybody at home loved it.

      Reply
    7. Subbu Sankaran says

      April 01, 2020 at 7:32 pm

      5 stars
      Tried this today and it turned out great. Love your presentation in all recipes!

      Reply
      • Rupali Agarwal says

        April 01, 2020 at 9:11 pm

        Thank you for your glowing feedback.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Rupali profile photo

    Hi, I'm Rupali! Welcome to my food blog where I love to share healthy vegetarian recipes from my North Indian roots and present day. My recipes range from simple to elaborate showstoppers.

    More about Rupali →

    Tranding Posts

    • Punjabi Chole Recipe - No Onion No Garlic
    • Vegetable Pearl Millet Recipe - Bajra Khichdi (One Pot Meal)
    • Methi Matar Malai Paneer - No Onion No Garlic Recipe
    • Peanut Satay Sauce: Made from Whole Peanuts and Sesame Seeds

    January Soup Recipes

    • Vegetable Barley Soup with Chickpeas
    • Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup: Vegan & Gluten-free Instant Pot Recipe
    • Dal Tadka (Curry Lentil Soup)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Shop
    • Cart

    Newsletter

    • Subscribe for my latest recipes in your inbox

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases
    Copyright © 2022 Enhance Your Palate

    Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions