Makhana Kheer Mixes Carry Sweet Taste of Mithila's Traditions

Water Lily Seeds, Fox Nuts, or Phool Makhana.

People know the magical superfood from Mithilanchal by many names.

In India, over 90% of all makhana is cultivated in Mithila. Only a handful of districts in the parts of Bihar bordering West Bengal, and Nepal. 

For families in Mithila, Makhana is deeply rooted in culture and tradition.

Kids grow up loving Makhana Kheer, women who fast use it for Falhari, and the grandmas make a delicious evening snack by roasting & flavoring the makhana.

It’s said that Makhana Kheer was not just a favorite among the kings of ancient times but also loved by the Gods.

Local folklore has it that when Ram arrived in Mithila to marry Sita, the daughter of Mithila’s King, he was fascinated by the ponds, and the makhana being harvested from it.

The legacy of Makhana is as old as the history of people in Mithila. 

You can look back as long as possible, this shared heritage of the local Maithili people has always been relished by & nourished families from all corners.

For Kalpana and her family, it’s no different.

Over the last 50 years, makhana in one form or the other, has been a part of festivals, celebrations, breakfast, lunches, and dinners.

Naturally, at JhaJi Store, makhana has been in our thoughts since the early days.

Our customers have requested us many times to launch makhana, and related products.

Finally, after a year of experimentation, research, and development, we are excited to introduce,

In 2 unique flavors, Kesar Pista & Coconut.

Before I share the details of our Kheer Mixes, let me take you back to Dec 2023 at the very start of our product development journey.

We started with the ambition to create a makhana product,

• that could introduce makhana to families across India in a delightful way

• that truly reflected the cultural and culinary heritage of the Maithili people

Plain Phool Makhana, Roasted Makhana, Flavored Makhana - these products have been in the market for years now.

And yes, these days makhana is being branded as a superfood, everyone is praising its nutritional value - but the consumption, and the production haven’t seen a major uptick.

We realized during the experimentation cycle, and talking to our customer base that there needs to be a better makhana food product that everyone can enjoy.

And that’s when the idea of Makhana Kheer Mix was born. 

You see, Kheer or Payasam has been loved in India for over 3000 years. It’s a dessert that knows no boundaries.

And the local people in Mithila have always taken delight in making & feasting on makhana kheer.

As soon as this thought came, we decided to put on our kitchen scientist hats. And started cooking!

A few dozen different batches, trying to find the right balance of makhana and the dry fruits, the right texture for kheer. It took us a couple of weeks, and 100s of attempts at making the perfect makhana kheer - creamy, silky, soothing, and comforting.

As soon as we were confident of the kheer mix, we called upon the dear friends of JhaJi Store, and sent out samples.

Over 2 dozen families prepared the kheer using our pre-mix, and sent us detailed feedback that helped us finalize the recipe.

This took a good 90 days to arrive at this point, with the final recipe in hand. Next we had to design, and sort out the packaging for the kheer mixes.

No points for guessing, we listed the help of our talented packaging designer.

She put together appealing designs for the 2 flavors, and we were set to launch the Makhana Kheer Mix Packets in Aug/Sept when the new harvest of makhana begins.

Once the monsoon had arrived, farmers in Mithila began harvesting the makhana seeds around Aug 15th.

Along with the high quality makhana that goes into our kheer mix, we decided to use Cashew, Pistachio, Cardamom, Coconut, and Kesar to make the two flavors