Is makhana and lotus seeds same — Loving Foods
In this particular article, we are going to talk about is makhana and lotus seeds are the same. if you google this you find almost each and every article is wrong. They are saying makhana is also known as foxnut and lotus seed which is completely wrong. So we will clear all your doubts regarding this matter.
What is the word makhana means
The word makhana means a thing like butter. Or you can say food like butter. So if somebody says that lotus seeds are makhana then you can’t deny. But what I am talking is about the makhana available in the market. And that is not the lotus seed.
As you can see in the image above they both are completely different things. As per my knowledge. The makhana Which I am having. And which I know about is the Prickly waterlily seed And is not the lotus seed. this is the seed of Prickly waterlily. Or you can say popped water lily seed. So what I am going to do is, I am going to explain the process of making makhana. And giving you some picture examples. which clears all your doubts.
The difference in the flowers
Makhana is the seed of a plant called Prickly waterlily. The plant is also known as Foxnut, Gorgon nut, and makhana. The scientific name of the plant is Euryale Ferox. And the lotus seeds cames from a plant whose scientific name is Nelumbo Nucifera. You can see the different images above.
The difference in the leaf
The leaves of waterlily are floats on water. And they are very large in size, they are almost or sometimes more than a meter. And they are full of prickles. Not only the leaves but also the fruit and stem which float on water are full of prickles. But the leaves of the lotus flower are smaller than this and stay above the water in initial days. They float on water when they grow bigger or start decomposing. the lotus leaves are very smooth. in the older days, people use to eat on lotus leaves. Some people still use them because they are eco friendly.
Different in The fruit
The lotus fruit is above the water as you can see in the image and has a very nice shape. but the fruit of waterlily is float on water. And It is not so good looking, Also full of sharp prickles. When the fruit of waterlily mature. The fruit bursts and the seeds float. But after a few days when the outer cell of seed melts, it goes inside the water. and the lotus fruits stays above the water until they decompose. So you can easily pick them when they become mature.
The difference in the seeds
You can pick lotus seeds by your hand or a little help of a knife. But the waterlily seeds are inside the water. So when the leaves are started decomposing. The farmer cuts all the leaves and destroys them. the same were used as fertilizer later. then they collect the seeds of waterlily by the help of bamboo made basket-like tool. after collecting they wash seed until all the mud and waste come out of the seed.
The popping method of makhana
When the seeds are cleaned they dry them in open air and sunlight. And separate them as per there size. they use different strainers for this. after drying they roast them in a clay pot without sand. the precaution taken here is that they have to make sure that the outer layer of seed should not be cracked. after roasting. the seed was kept for a few days in a cool and dry place. So that the inner part of the seed becomes softer.
After a few days they roast the seeds again here they use four clay pots and an iron pan. they roast seed by sequence. The iron pan is at the final. in an iron pan when seeds start cracking. they put the seeds on a wooden base and beat it by a wooden hummer. So the seeds blast. And outer cell crack away and inner part Popped up. That’s the reason it is called popped water lily seeds. After this, the makhana was cleaned and separated by quality. that’s the story of makhana. We see in market.
How to identify lotus seed
If you want to eat lotus seeds this is also super healthy and tasty. But what I want to say that don’t eat makhana available in the market Saying it lotus seeds. So if you want to know how to identify them I have given you images which can help you. Moreover, there are two major differences in them. The first one is the lotus seeds are crunchy in both raw and dry packets. The second major difference is the waterlily seeds ( makhana) are whole but the lotus seeds are not. Because inside the lotus seeds there is a Sprout which very bitter so when you brought a commercial pack these Sprouts were separated by cutting in pieces or using a hollow needle.
Now I am sure you can easily differentiate between these two seeds. You can take any of them as per your nutritional requirements. This article is just to clear the confusion about Is makhana and lotus seeds the same. For benefits, you can check this article.
Hii guys all images used in the original article are cannot be uploaded here you can check the original article too. However, the article is the same
Originally published at https://lovingfoods.in on August 5, 2020.
