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Home » Meal Type » Healthy Snacks » Makhana Bhel – Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

Makhana Bhel – Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

Makhana Bhel or Bhelpuri - Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad
Makhana Bhel
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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 or Bhelpuri - 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.

Ingredients for Makhana Bhel or Bhelpuri - Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

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.

Makhana for Makhana Bhel

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 Bhel or Bhelpuri served in a paer cone like indian street food chaat - Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

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.

closeup of Makhana Bhel or Bhelpuri - Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

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.

Ingredients for Makhana Bhel or Bhelpuri

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.

Chutney right next to Makhana Bhel

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.

Spices with Makhana Bhel or Bhelpuri - Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

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.
Keep the Makhana Bhel healthy by avoiding fried additives
  1. Go wild with your imagination and topped with hempseeds and chia seeds.
  2. Here, in this recipe I chose to add roasted pumpkin seeds because of its high protein content.
  3. Go light on salt as we will be adding a lot of salt through other ingredients.
  4. To keep it crisp for longer period of time add roasted Makahana only when ready to eat.
  5. Mix all the ingredients except makhana in one bowl and keep it aside until ready to use.
  6. You can as well pack Makhana Bhel for light work lunch. Make sure you pack roasted Makahan in separate Ziploc or container.
Makhana Bhel or Bhelpuri - Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

Makhana Bhel Ingredients

Makhana Bhel Ingredients

Produce:

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

Pantry / Protein:

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

Spices:

  • Salt/Namak: ½ tsp
  • Red chili powder/Laal mirch: ½ tsp
  • Chaat Masala: 2 tsp
  • Cilantro Mint Green Chutney: 1Tbs
  • Tamarind & Dates sweet Chutney: 2Tbs

Instructions for Makhana Bhel

  1. Dy 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
  2. Once roasted, let the Makhana cool down a bit and then transfer in a gallon size Ziploc. Roasted Makhana in a ziploc
  3. Secure the Ziploc carefully and roughly crush the Makhanas using rolling pin.
    Roasted makhana in a ziploc being crushed using a rolling pin ROasted crushed makhana
  4. In a separate mixing bowl add all the chopped vegetables and stir.
    onions being added to makhana bhel Tomato being added to makhana bhel Cucumber being added to makhana bhel
    Boiled potato being added to makhana bhel Pomegranate Arils being added to makhana bhel Mixing all the vegetables and fruits for makhana bhelpuri
  5. Then add roasted peanuts, cashews, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds and jalapeno crisps.
    Peanuts  being added to makhana bhel Roasted salted cashews being added to makhana bhel Roasted salted chickpeas  being added to makhana bhel
  6. Add, chopped green chilis, cilantro, mint, both the chutneys, spices and lime juice. 
    Fresh chopped cilantro being added to makhana bhel Fresh chopped mint  being added to makhana bhel Makhana bhel in the making before adding spices
    Salt being added to makhana bhel Red chilli powder being added to makhana bhel Spices being added to makhana bhel
    Cilantro Mint Chutney being added to makhana bhel ready to mix
  7. Give it a good stir. Keep this mixture separate until ready to serve.
  8. When ready to serve, stir in crushed roasted Makhanas. 
    Makhana being added to makhana bhel
  9. Before serving topped with some nylon sev (optional), some jalapeno crisps, pomegranate arils and peanuts.
Makhana Bhel or Bhelpuri - Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

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Healthy Breakfast Muffins: Egg Free & Loaded with Veggies

Savory Puff Pastry Recipe: Stuffed with Tandoori Vegetable Curry

Makhana Bhel or Bhelpuri - Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

Makhana Bhel – Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad

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Makhana Bhel or Bhelpuri - Gluten & Soy Free Vegan Foxnut Indian Salad
4.75 from 4 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: 1/2 cup peeled & diced.
  • 100 gms Onion 1/2 cup diced
  • 100 gms Tomato 1/2 cup diced
  • 1/2 cup Potato boiled and diced
  • 1/2 cup Pomegranate Arils
  • 10 gms Fresh Cilantro 2 tbs finely chopped
  • 8 gms Fresh Mint 2 tbs finely chopped
  • 3 gms Green Chili 1 tsp finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp Lemon Juice or Lime

Pantry/ Protein:

  • 120 gms Makhana Fox Nuts: 4 cups
  • 227 gms Peanuts – Roasted salted – ¼ cup
  • 1/4 cup Chickpeas – Roasted salted
  • 1/4 cup Cashews – Roasted salted
  • 1/4 cup Pumpkin seeds – Roasted salted
  • 1/4 cup Jalapeno Crisp for topping – Skip for gluten free version
  • 1/4 cup Nylon Sev optional – for topping

Spices:

  • 1/2 tsp Salt Namak – ½ tsp
  • 1/2 tsp Red chili powder Laal mirch
  • 2 tsp Chaat Masala
  • 1 tbsp Cilantro Mint Green Chutney
  • 2 tbsp Tamarind & Dates Sweet Chutney

Instructions

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

Enjoy!

    Video

    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.

    About Rupali Agarwal

    I love to share recipe ideas from my North Indian roots and my globetrotting present with recipes that range from beautifully simple creations to elaborate showstoppers.

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    Navratan Pulao
    Posted in: Dairy Free, Easy and Quick Recipes, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Healthy Snacks, High Fiber, High Protein, Indian Street Food, Low Carb, Low Sugar, Roasting, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian Appetizers

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Richa Raj Singh

      February 16, 2021 at 6:28 am

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

      Reply
      • Rupali Agarwal

        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
    2. Annapurnaspices

      September 21, 2020 at 2:51 am

      4 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
    3. Deeksha

      August 26, 2020 at 4:26 am

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

      Reply
      • Rupali Agarwal

        August 26, 2020 at 10:51 pm

        Thank You Deeksha! hope you enjoy it.

        Reply
    4. Winnie

      August 20, 2020 at 8:24 am

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

      Reply
    5. Subbu Sankaran

      April 1, 2020 at 7:32 pm

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

      Reply
      • Rupali Agarwal

        April 1, 2020 at 9:11 pm

        Thank you for your glowing feedback.

        Reply

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    Meet Rupali

    Welcome to Enhance Your Palate where I love to share recipe ideas from my North Indian roots and my globetrotting present that range from beautifuly simple creations to elaborate showstoppers.

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