The Roots Of A Modern-Day Superfood Are Buried Deep In Mithila
Text and photographs by Kavita Kanan Chandra
Makhana and Mithila are synonymous with each other.
Whenever I roast makhana in ghee, the sweet, nutty fragrance evokes warm childhood memories of pujas performed at my home in Bokaro Steel City in Bihar (now Jharkhand). More than the rituals, we were interested in the prasad or offerings. My favourite was panjiri (wheat flour fried in ghee with panchameva or five auspicious dried fruits such as dried dates, raisins, cashews and almonds), which featured crunchy bits of roasted makhana. Another favourite was “sheetal prasad.” Served in an earthen kulhad, it was a thick concoction made of mashed bananas, milk, dried fruit, jaggery and makhana, which became soft and gooey.
Gourmet dishes such as paneer makhana have made this humble ingredient au courant.
Makhana was an integral part of every ceremony when I was growing up. It was prepared in a variety of ways: sprinkled with sendha namak (or pink rock salt), cooked into kheer, and even offered raw to the deities. For a long time, I considered it synonymous with sacred food.
When I moved away from Bokaro for higher education and then to different cities across the country, makhana was relegated to memories. Years later, when I saw it being sold in overpriced packets in Mumbai, I yearned for it. It appeared the country bumpkin had got a makeover. I found attractive jars of roasted, fried, powdered, sautéed, smoked and caramelised makhana pops that lined the supermarket shelves. Gourmet dishes such as khoya matar makhana (in which makhana is cooked along with peas and khoya or dried milk solids), creamy mushroom makhana, paneer makhana, and sweet makhana halwa (made of powdered, roasted makhana cooked with ghee and sugar) graced fine dining menus. I even found a dish that made me roll my eyes. It was murgh makhana or chicken makhana, clearly a play on the popular murgh makhani or butter chicken.
Often incorrectly referred to as lotus seeds, makhana are the spongy kernels of the water lily plant.
In the last few years, makhana has soared in popularity as a superfood. But not many people know what it is. If you Google it, chances are that it will be incorrectly referred to as lotus seeds.
In fact, makhana is the soft, white kernel of the black seeds of the prickly water lily, Euryale ferox, belonging to the Nymphaeaceae family. The seeds are harvested, dried, roasted and cracked open to obtain the popped makhana lava, which is the perisperm or nutritive layer of the seed.
Lotus seeds come from the aquatic plant, Nelumbo nucifera, belonging to the Nelumbonaceae family. The lotus plant, renowned for its beautiful flowers, bears conical fruit called kamalgatta in Hindi. This fruit contains pea-like seeds that are also eaten.
Known by various names such as thangjing in Manipuri, juwar in Kashmiri, nikhori in Assamese and foxnut or Gorgon nut in English, makhana has attained global fame due to its nutritional and medicinal benefits. There are references in ancient Indian and Chinese texts to its medicinal properties against a number of ailments involving the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, excretory and reproductive systems. The seeds and flowers have also been attributed with aphrodisiac properties.
Besides, it is also a low glycaemic index food, and the perisperm is rich in calcium and micronutrients and has a high concentration of amino acids.
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No other place in the world is as intimately associated with makhana as Mithila. “Mithila, the erstwhile Videha kingdom (comprising parts of north Bihar and Terai region of Nepal), interspersed with several water bodies, had been a site of organized cultivation of Euryale ferox (makhana) for centuries. Though it grew in wild and semi-wild forms in northern India and parts of China, Japan and Korea,” explained Vidyanath Jha, an eminent makhana researcher and author of the book Makhana published by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
The eight districts of Madhubani, Darbhanga, Saharsa, Supaul, Madhepura, Purnea, Katihar and Araria in Mithila contribute a whopping 80 to 90% of India’s total makhana output. No wonder then that makhana is an integral part in the rituals and sociocultural ethos of the people, irrespective of social status and caste, and used in ceremonies from birth to death. A popular folk saying in Maithili sums up the ingredient’s importance:
“Pag pag pokhar machh makhan
Saras bol muski mukh paan
Vidya Vaibhav shanti Pratik
Saras kshetra Mithilanchal theek.”
(On every step you will find a pond, fish and makhana. People speak sweetly chewing paan — or betel nut leaves. Mithila abounds in knowledge, prosperity and peace).
Makhana is derived from the Sanskrit words makh (or sacred ritual) and anna (grain). It is so integral to social customs that it is offered to guests, bestowed as gifts and used in cultural exchanges. During political rallies, enthusiasts would honour the leaders with garlands made of makhana pops.
“Makhana is everywhere, on every occasion in Mithila,” said Alka Das, a Madhubani artist from Mithila. “Makhana kheer is a must on auspicious occasions, fasts and while welcoming guests.”
Makhana is celebrated by many communities in Mithila. The Banpar fishing community, skilled in makhana production, celebrates Kamla Puja every year. The Kamla is a famous river which flows through Mithila, offering sustenance and livelihood to the Banpar fisherfolk. They worship the water and their boats, and offer makhana, water chestnuts and fish as part of the ceremony.
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In recent times, there has been a growing demand from the people of Mithila to attach the GI tag (Geographical Indications) to makhana as it is an integral part of their culture.
“There is mention of the commercial cultivation of makhana as far back as the 17th century in Madhubani sadar of Mithila in the Bihar gazette,” said Anil Kumar, assistant professor and junior scientist at the Bihar Agricultural University in Purnea. For the last three years, he has been scouring the libraries of Bihar to prepare documentary evidence to support the GI claim for makhana. He has now submitted all the relevant paperwork to the GI committee, which will decide if makhana should be tagged “Mithila makhana.”
The makhana produced in Mithila gets its special characteristics due to its terroir — the soil, water bodies, climate and topography. Kumar says the GI tag would immensely help the economy of the region, where makhana cultivators are still poor. The consumers would also be assured of good quality.
With commercial makhana cultivation having begun in West Bengal, Manipur, Tripura, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan in the last few decades, Kumar asserts that Mithila makhana needs to be distinguished.
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Apart from Bihar, the makhana plant has a cherished place in the cuisine of the northeastern state of Manipur. Here, however, only the young vegetal parts and mature fruits are eaten. Since the harvesting of the seeds is difficult, they are not eaten. It grows abundantly in Manipur’s lakes, and is widely sold in the Ema market of Imphal. It has pride of place in eromba (a sort of mash made with fermented fish and assorted vegetables) and morok metpa (a fiery chutney laden with chillies). Wild makhana also once grew abundantly in Assam’s beels (or lakes), but the fishermen confined themselves to fishing. For centuries, Kashmir’s temperate lakes also had wild makhana, which is now on the verge of extinction.
Although it grows in the wild, makhana is not indigenous to India. Even though it is considered auspicious in Hindu ceremonies, it finds no mention in the Vedas. The 16th century Ayurvedic classic, Bhavaprakasa, refers to the medicinal properties of makhana. A fossilised species of makhana from the Pleistocene era has been found in Europe and Israel, pointing to its origin there, much before it reached India.
A photograph of fossilised foxnuts. According to Israeli archaeologist Professor Naama Goren-Inbar, these fossils may point to the fact that the plant is indigenous to Europe and Israel. Photo courtesy: Dr Yoel Melamed
Professor Naama Goren-Inbar of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, visited Darbhanga in 2011 to see the cultivation and processing of makhana. She had discovered foxnut fossils from Gesher Benot Ya’aquov, a waterlogged Acheulian site in northern Israel.
“We are dealing with a very old site dating 3 to 4 million years ago and the evidence is based on cultural material remains found during excavation,” Goren-Ibar told me in an email interview.
“We found fire, crushed nuts (we have a single specimen that is complete without hominid intervention), thin basalt anvils and several types of pitted stones and hammer stones. The presence of fox nuts and tools together in archaeological sites suggests that the nuts were probably processed or popped. This plant became extinct sometime during the Middle Pleistocene, because we never found it in late Pleistocene sites,” she said.
Author Jha cites paleobotanist Vishnu Mittre of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleosciences in Lucknow, who postulated that makhana seeds might have been dispersed in Asia by birds. In its wild form, it was likely first found in temperate lakes in Kashmir, and may have later adapted to the warmer climates of east and northeast India.
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Germinated seedlings of the Euryale ferox plant. Photo courtesy: Dr Anil Kumar, Bhola Paswan Shastri Agricultural College, Bihar Agricultural University
There are many reasons why commercial makhana cultivation has flourished in Mithila. It has several perennial water bodies, both natural and man-made, which are ideal for the cultivation of makhana, singhara (water chestnuts), lotus and fish. Once full of lotus plants, the lakes gradually filled up with makhana. Besides, yearly flooding and poor flood control left behind inundated, low-lying land masses called chaurs. These were put to good use for both fish and makhana cultivation.
In addition, an erstwhile ruler of Mithila called Raja Shiv Singh commissioned the digging of several pokhars (or ponds), popularly called “Rajokhar.” With time, sedimentation rendered them shallow. The government formed a cooperative of Banpars to cultivate makhana in these pokhars. These ponds have become a major source of the aquatic cash crop.
A perennial aquatic plant, makhana is an annual crop in Mithila. It grows in standing shallow water (of 0.3 to 1.5 meters depth). Not much expenditure is involved in its cultivation either. The seeds left over from the harvest germinate the next season, sprouting in December and January. As saplings, some of these are transplanted to new ponds and fields in April.
Once the plants mature, flowering occurs in April to May and each plant produces 15 to 20 fruits that burst between June and August. Each fruit releases 30 to 40 arillated globular seeds which float and then sink to the pond bed as the arils shrink. The harvesting of seeds runs from July until November, while the seeds are popped and prepared from July until December.
The stout thorns surrounding the Euryale ferox make harvesting a specialised and tedious task. Photo courtesy: Dr Anil Kumar, Bhola Paswan Shastri Agricultural College, Bihar Agricultural University
The harvesting of makhana seeds is an arduous task, because the entire plant is covered with stout prickles. The humongous, circular spiked leaves could easily wound a person. It’s not for nothing that Euryale ferox is named after Euryale, the Greek goddess known for her dreaded looks. The prickly plant has even inspired a Maithili proverb: “Makhanak paat san muhn pochhab.”It is used to gently admonish a boastful person, asking him to wipe his face with makhana leaves.
Traditionally, farmers first cut the leaves and petioles and leave them to rot in water, resulting in rich organic nutrients for the next season’s crop. Even detritivore fish species such as singhi (Hheteropneustes fossilis), magur (Cclarias batrachus) and kawai (Aanabas testudineus), which feed on decaying organic matter, thrive in it. After a fortnight, the farmers dive underwater while holding their breath. They sweep the pond floor with traditional implements called auka (a kind of vessel) and gaanj (a broad basket-like tool) to collect the seeds and bring them ashore.
Farmers in Mithila uprooting makhana seedlings after 60 to 65 days. Photo courtesy: Dr Anil Kumar, Bhola Paswan Shastri Agricultural College, Bihar Agricultural University
“Until five years ago, we used to harvest by holding our breath, sometimes even under 10 to 12 feet water,” said Rajesh Sahni, a Banpar makhana cultivator and entrepreneur from Pohadi village in Darbhanga district. Once electricity became available in their village, they started the practice of pumping out some water from ponds to make harvesting easier.
The post-harvesting processing also requires several steps. The seeds are sun dried, graded by passing them through sieves, roasted until only 20 to 30% of the moisture remains, rested for two to three days at room temperature and roasted again until only 10 to 15% of moisture remains.
Women and children roast the seeds in hot sand over chulhas at high temperatures of up to 300 degrees C (about 572 degrees F) to puncture the seed coat. The men strike the hot seeds with a wooden thaapee (or hammer) on an apharaa (wooden platform) to release the puffed, spongy seed. Roasting at the right temperature is key to making makhana pop, because they could be charred or flattened if the heat is too high or too low. The final step is grading the makhana pops and packaging them in plastic bags for transportation.
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While women and children roast the seeds in hot sand at high temperatures, men strike the seeds with a hammer to release the makhana pops that are seen in the background. Photo courtesy: Dr Anil Kumar, Bhola Paswan Shastri Agricultural College, Bihar Agricultural University
Though makhana grows by itself, harvesting and processing it is a cumbersome task, which is a big reason why commercial cultivation never took off elsewhere. In Mithila, it was the Banpar community who acquired these skills and passed them down through generations. Their expertise is much in demand in states like Assam, Odisha and West Bengal. Harda village in Purnea has emerged as a major hub for makhana processing, where raw seeds are brought from the northeast states for popping. The second half of every year sees a seasonal migration of Banpars from Madhubani and Darbhanga to other states for harvesting and processing makhana.
Even though makhana harvesting and processing is hazardous, time consuming and requires skill, it is not a profitable trade.
“I have seen my grandfather and father do back-breaking work. [They] still ran into losses and had to sell their land to pay debts,” said Rajesh, lamenting the vicious cycle of debt and poverty of most makhana farmers. However, government support, scientific research and resurgent demand in the market has slightly changed the situation.
Rajesh’s father, Ramvilas Sahni, now works in a government-owned pond. He is a member of the 350-strong Banpar community in Benipur tehsil, which has a total of 270 to 275 small ponds. The government offers the community subsidies and also levies an annual tax. The community collectively works to integrate makhana and fish cultivation, and profits are evenly distributed.
With education and the reach of the digital medium, young men like Rajesh, who is in his thirties, have turned entrepreneurs. He has seen makhana being sold from Rs 80 (approx $1.05)/kg in 1998 to over Rs 700 (approx $9)/kg in 2021. In US dollar terms, this might not seem like a big jump, but the money goes a long way for Mithila’s farmers.
Rajesh has now leased 28 acres of land for makhana and fish cultivation.
“Earlier we used to sell in the local mandi (or market) in Patna city to traders, [and] they reaped heavy profits. Now I directly supply to wholesalers in Mumbai and Surat,” he said. Rajesh and his wife Archana Kumari, a home science graduate, are not only running a successful venture but also encouraging the Banpar community to start their own businesses.
“[But] it would take time to change the mindset of the farmers, content with the 2 to 4 lakh rupees (approx. US $2600 to$5500) they make per season,” Rajesh says.
There is hope that scientific research and government schemes will help improve the situation. For instance, the ICAR research centre in Darbhanga and the B.P.S Agriculture College in Purnea have developed new improved varieties called “Swarna Vaidehi” and “Sabaur Makhana-1,” which could grow in fields and chaurs.
Traditionally makhana, water chestnuts and air-breathing fish were cultivated in deep ponds. Now, water-breathing fish like rohu (Labeo rohita), katla (Catla catla) and mrigal (Cirrhina mrigala) can be raised in fields and chaurs, thus providing an additional income stream for farmers.
The drudgery involved in processing makhana will also be reduced by a machine developed by the CIPHET (Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering & Technology) in Ludhiana, Punjab. It facilitates continuous roasting, popping and polishing operations.
It may take time for makhana farmers to adapt to new machines and practices. But in due course, it might improve productivity and profit for them. The GI tag of “Mithila Makhana” could thus be a gamechanger for entrepreneurs like Rajesh and those dependent on makhana for a livelihood.
