Roasted Phool Makhana (fox nuts or lotus seeds) Snack

Makhana, also called fox nuts or lotus seeds, are popular in some regions of India and some other Asian cuisine. The most common use of the seed is in the form of lotus seed paste which is used extensively in Chinese pastries as well as in Japanese desserts.

Phool makhana is puffed lotus seed (seeds popped like popcorn).

I have seen phool makhana in my Indian store on several occasions. Growing up in Southern India, I was not familiar with this at all, and did not pay any attention to it.

Then, on my recent trip to California, I saw a bag of these in my friend’s pantry. She told me that she had tasted a snack made with these in her friend’s place. So, we tried replicating that in her house. It came out OK - not bad for a first attempt.

When I came back home, I picked up a bag of these from my Indian store. I have made these several times since then and love them!

It is a light, crunchy snack (kind of like popcorn) that takes almost no time to make and is healthy.

Roasted Phool Makhana (fox nuts or lotus seeds) Snack Prep time: 5 minutes                 Cooking Time: 15 minutes Serves: 4 Here’s what you need: 4 cups phool makhana (puffed lotus seeds) 3 tsp. Oil Salt to taste 1 tsp chili powder ¼ tsp. Turmeric powder Here’s how I made it: Dry roast the puffed lotus seeds in a thick bottomed deep saucepan, stirring constantly, on medium to low heat for about 15 minutes, till they are crunchy. Do not turn up the heat - the seeds will burn. In a small bowl, mix the oil, salt, turmeric powder, and chili powder. Pour this over the roasted lotus seeds. Toss to coat well. Once they cool down, store in an airtight container.

Ancient grains Adai (savory lentils and ancient grains pancake)

Before I head out to Costco, I make a list of things I need. I have perfectly good intentions of sticking to the list. I enter the store with a resolve to go quickly, find the things on my list, pay, and leave. And then, something catches my eye. It could be the edamame spaghetti, or the humongous bag of quinoa, or on this occasion, a Costco sized bag of Ancient Grains.

I was hosting a Mediterranean themed party and thought that I could use this to make a pilaf instead of rice. It came out really well, but I had only used 1½ cups of this mix. My family is not a big fan of quinoa, or bulgar, or barley, and so I couldn’t use it as a rice substitute for everyday use.

So, this mostly unused bag sat in my pantry for a month or so, making me feel guilty, every time I opened the pantry to get something.

Then, one day, when I was getting ready to soak the ingredients for adai, I had an inspiration! Why not use this mix, instead of rice?

This is a blend of pre-cooked rice, bulgur, pre-cooked barley, pre-cooked wheat berries, pre-cooked red rice, pre-cooked oats, and white quinoa.

I make adai at least once every 2 - 3 weeks. It is healthy (if you don’t add too much oil) and is so filling that you don’t need to serve anything else to make it a complete meal.

I have posted several versions of adai on this blog. This one uses Ancient Grains, which is a blend of pre-cooked rice, bulgur, pre-cooked barley, pre-cooked wheat berries, pre-cooked red rice, pre-cooked oats, and white quinoa.

It came out really well. I made the same quantity of batter that I normally make. While the adai with fresh batter tasted great and came out crispy, the ones I made after a couple of days did not have the same texture. So I would suggest making just enough for immediate use.

Ancient grains Adai (savory lentils and ancient grains pancake) Soaking time: 3 - 4 hours Prep. time: 10 minutes Cooking time: about 5 minutes per adai Servings: about 15 - 18 adais Here is what you need: 1 ½ cups Ancient Grains Mix ½ cup toor dal (Pigeon peas) ½ cup channa dal (split garbanzo) ¼ cup split black urad dal (split black gram) ¼ cup split moong dal (split green gram) 4 - 6 dried red chilies salt to taste ¼ tsp. hing (asafetida) ½ cup onions, finely chopped 1 sprig curry leaves 1 cup baby spinach, chopped oil for making the adais Here is how I made it: Mix the Ancient Grains mix and the lentils in a bowl. Rinse these a couple of times, add water and let it soak with the red chilies for 3 – 4 hours. Drain the water from the mixture and grind this to a coarse paste with salt, and hing adding little bit of water. You may have to grind these in batches, depending on your blender capacity Mix in the onions, curry leaves, and spinach. Heat a tawa or a griddle. I like using my cast iron griddle for adais. Pour a ladle full of batter onto the heated tawa and spread it out. It should be slightly thicker than dosas. Make a small hole in the middle and drizzle oil around the adai as well as in the center.  Wait for a few minutes – maybe about 3 - 4 minutes and then carefully flip it over. Cook on both sides till the adai is crispy. Serve hot with chutney of your choice, or with milagai podi.