Makhane ki Kheer

Makhane ki kheer is a sweet dessert pudding made with Makhana (foxnuts), milk, ghee, sugar and dry fruits. This is an easy and popular sweet that is often made during Navratri Fasting or Mahashivratri vrat or Ekadasi Fasting. I had made the makhane ki kheer during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. It tastes delicious and you can also make it on regular days as a sweet.

I always have a jar of makhana at home. Makhana is also known foxnuts in English. I usually roast the makhana and keep it in an air tight jar. Since we make kheer also with makhana, it’s time I updated the recipe on the blog. You can read more about these healthy seeds on my Roasted Makhana post.

Makhana is healthier than popcorn or any of the ready to eat cornflake cereals. I recently read that since there is no demand for makhana in most cities, the poor farmers who cultivate these in the central Indian wetlands are no longer doing so.

Not only the farmers are losing their work, but also we are losing in a way. Traditional Indian food habits are healthy. Slowly under the pressure of fast life and heavy influence from big corporate food giants we are changing our food habits, which is really sad.

It is disheartening to see that we don’t include locally available indigenous nuts, grains or veggies and choose to buy expensive imported foodstuff or go by certain food advertisements that are so well-publicized.

Please do include locally cultivated food in your meals. It not only helps the farmers to sustain but also preserves the food culture and tradition of our country which may possibly get lost into oblivion in the future.

While preparing the makhane ki kheer, I have powdered ⅔ part of the makhana and kept ⅓ part whole. You can also chop them. Powdering them gives a smooth consistency in the kheer.

If you want texture and bite in the kheer, then chop the makhanas or add them whole, if they are small in size.

I have not thickened the milk too much. You can do so. However, increase the quantity of milk and the other ingredients proportionally. This is a simple phool makhana kheer and fuss-free too.

How to make Makhane ki Kheer

Roasting makhana

1. Heat 2 to 3 teaspoons ghee in a pan.

2. Add 1 cup phool makhana and 10 to 12 cashews.

3. Roast the makhana on low to medium-low heat in ghee till the makhana become crunchy. The cashews will also get golden. Stir often while roasting them.

4. Then remove them on a plate and keep them aside.

Making makhana kheer

5. Heat 2 cups milk (500 ml) in a saucepan or a thick bottomed pan. Keep the heat to medium-low to medium. Stir at intervals so that the milk does not scorch from the bottom.

6. Let the milk come to a boil.

7. Whilst the milk is getting heated up, reserve ⅓ cup makhana and add the remaining roasted makhana in a grinder or blender jar. Keep in mind not to add the roasted cashews that are kept in the same plate with makhana.

Also add cardamom seeds from 4 green cardamom pods along with a pinch of saffron strands.

Instead of cardamom pods you can add about ½ teaspoon of cardamom powder to the kheer once it is cooked.

8. Grind or blend to a fine powder.

9. When the milk comes to a boil, then add 3.5 to 4 tablespoons of sugar or add as per taste.

10. Add the ground makhana.

11. Then add the reserved ⅓ cup makhana.

12. Stir and mix very well.

13. Simmer for 9 to 10 minutes on a low to medium heat till the makhana softens and the milk thickens a bit. Do stir at intervals. Scrape the evaporated milk solids from the sides and add to the kheer.

Keep in mind that the kheer will thicken more on cooling. So keep the consistency according to your preferences.

14. Lastly add the golden cashews and raisins. If using blanched and sliced almonds, then you can add at this step.

15. Stir and simmer makhana kheer for a minute.

16. Serve makhane ki kheer hot or warm or chilled. After refrigeration, the kheer’s consistency thickens a bit.

You can serve it as an after meal dessert. Or make it as a sweet during any of the Hindu fasting days. Refrigerate and leftover kheer for a day.

More Ways to Use Makhana

1. Roast the makhana and keep it in an air-tight jar. These Roasted Makhana make for a nutritious and light snack. You can either make these savory or sweet. For savory add your favorite spice mix with salt. For the sweet option add powdered sugar.
2. You can also make dry makhane ki sabzi with peas known as matar makhana or khoya makhane ki sabzi.
3. You can make curries like Khoya matar makhana that goes well with roti or paratha.
4. You can have makhana during breakfast and top it with fruits. Roast the makhana and mix it with milk (dairy or vegan) and top it with fruits and nuts. Add your choice of sweetener.
5. Makhane ki roti – You can make soft, smooth and healthy rotis with finely powdered makhana.
6. Makhana raita – spiced cooling raita made with phool makhana.
7. Aloo makhana – easy snack recipe for Navratri made with boiled potatoes, phool makhana and spices.

Apart from makhana kheer, there are many Fasting sweets recipes which you can make for Navratri fast like:

• Sabudana kheer
• Vrat ka halwa
• Vrat ke chawal ki kheer
• Sabudana ladoo
• Rajgira kheer

This Makhana Kheer post is from the archives (September 2013) and has been republished and updated on 10 September 2021.