Why Is Makhana Replacing Chips and Namkeen?

If you look around the cafeteria of any office, a college hangout spot, or even a living room at home in the evening, you can clearly notice an interesting change. Alongside cups of tea, spicy namkeen packets and brightly coloured potato-chip bags, a new snack has quietly found its place makhana, also known as fox nuts. Until a few years ago, makhana was largely considered a simple, traditional dry food eaten mainly during religious fasts and festivals. It was usually roasted in ghee and served by elders during fasting days. 

Today, however, the same makhana has taken on a distinctly modern identity. Coated in flavours such as peri-peri, cream and onion, cheese and mint, makhana has transformed the way Indians snack. Its growing presence in the Indian snack market, gradually competing with potato chips and traditional oil- and spice-heavy namkeen, is more than just a food trend. It reflects a much larger social and cultural shift in the way we eat, live and think about food.

The most interesting example of this generational shift can be seen in Indian living rooms, where the same makhana is viewed very differently by different generations. When a grandfather sees makhana on the breakfast table, he may immediately associate it with puja, religious rituals and Ekadashi fasting, believing it should simply be eaten with a little salt. His granddaughter, on the other hand, may pick up the same packet with pride and call it her favourite “peri-peri munchies.” These contrasting perceptions of the same food show how a traditional Indian ingredient has completely reinvented and rebranded itself over time. In the 1990s, tea-time snacks were largely limited to bhujia, samosas and chips. Today, growing awareness about health and nutrition has encouraged people to read nutrition labels and question what they are actually consuming. As consumers became more conscious of the high levels of salt, oil and saturated fat often found in processed snacks, they began looking for healthier alternatives and makhana emerged as a natural choice.

Behind this transformation lies a much larger economic and grassroots story, one that begins in the muddy ponds and wetlands of Bihar’s Mithilanchal region. A significant share of the world’s makhana production comes from this region. Harvesting it is an extremely labour-intensive process. Farmers have to enter ponds in difficult weather conditions, collect the seeds from beneath thorny aquatic plants, and then roast and manually pop them over high heat. For decades, this painstaking work largely remained confined to local markets, and farmers often struggled to receive fair prices for their produce. Today, however, that same labour has found its way onto the shelves of supermarkets in New York, London and Dubai, where the seeds sourced from Bihar’s ponds are sold at significantly higher prices as an “organic Asian superfood.” New-age Indian startups such as Farmley and Foul have modernised makhana’s packaging and supply chain, building businesses worth crores of rupees. Industry estimates suggest that the packaged makhana market in India is growing at an impressive rate of around 15-20 percent annually. Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar has also frequently emphasised the importance of embracing indigenous and locally sourced foods that are naturally suited to our climate and traditional food systems.

From a psychological perspective, snacking is not simply about satisfying hunger. It can also become a way of dealing with stress, boredom and mental fatigue. When we spend hours sitting in front of a computer at work, the brain often seeks a small sensory break, creating a craving for something crunchy to chew on a behaviour commonly associated with “mindless snacking.” The problem with chips and namkeen is that they can be extremely easy to overconsume. People may find themselves finishing an entire packet without even realising it, followed by a sense of heaviness or regret. Makhana appears to offer a different experience. It is relatively light and is often promoted as a snack containing fibre and protein. This is also contributing to a shift in workplace snacking culture. In the pantries of many modern offices and startups, traditional fried snacks and chips are increasingly being complemented or replaced by options such as roasted makhana, flax seeds and dry fruits. The idea of being able to snack with less guilt during working hours has helped make makhana increasingly popular among working professionals.

The trend is not limited to offices and ready-to-eat packaged snacks. Makhana has also found a place in Indian kitchens. As air fryers and other modern kitchen appliances become increasingly common in middle-class households, many mothers are choosing to roast makhana at home instead of giving their children packaged chips and other heavily processed snacks. Roasted with a little desi ghee, turmeric, black pepper and rock salt, homemade makhana offers parents greater control over the ingredients their children consume. This DIY approach provides the reassurance that the snack is freshly prepared and free from unnecessary additives. From a nutritional standpoint, makhana is often considered a lighter alternative to many conventional fried snacks. It provides minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium, while its relatively low fat content makes it attractive to health-conscious consumers. Its comparatively low glycaemic index also adds to its appeal among people who are mindful of blood sugar and weight management.

Despite its many advantages, however, this trend has a practical and darker side that cannot be ignored. Treating makhana as a completely “healthy” food can sometimes lead people to overconsume it. Excessive intake may cause digestive discomfort, including gas or constipation, particularly because of its fibre content. An even bigger concern is the growing market for processed and flavoured packaged makhana. The snack we purchase believing it to be healthy can become far less beneficial if it is heavily coated with butter, palm oil, excessive salt, artificial additives or flavour enhancers. In such cases, flavoured makhana can end up being no better than the chips it was meant to replace. There is also an important economic reality: makhana remains relatively expensive for many lower- and middle-income Indian families. While a packet of chips can be bought for just a few rupees at almost every neighbourhood shop, a small packet of good-quality packaged makhana can cost around ₹70–100. This means that the snack is still largely accessible to a particular section of society.

If we look at this transformation more closely, it becomes clear that Indian food culture has, in many ways, come full circle. Under the influence of Western culture, we adopted processed and fast foods, only to become increasingly aware of their health consequences. Today, many consumers are rediscovering traditional Indian foods and giving them a modern identity. The rise of makhana is therefore not merely a temporary fad or a passing fashion. It reflects the beginning of a more conscious shift in lifestyle and food choices. It has demonstrated that if indigenous foods are presented with modern packaging, contemporary flavours and better marketing, they can compete with and potentially outperform global junk-food alternatives.

If makhana processing becomes more natural and its prices can be brought down enough to make it accessible to a wider section of Indians, there is little doubt that this “white pearl” can continue to shape a healthier and more promising future for India’s snack industry.