Makhana Boom: How Bihar's Pond Snack Conquered the World

Walk into any premium grocery aisle in Mumbai, Dubai or New Jersey and you will find them: crisp white puffs in resealable pouches, flavoured with peri-peri, cheese, or pink Himala

Makhana goes by many names — fox nut, gorgon nut, lotus seed, Euryale ferox — but it is none of those things in the everyday sense.

Those raw seeds are small, hard and unappetising.

The vast majority of the world's makhana comes from a single Indian state: Bihar, and within it the Mithila region around districts like Darbhanga, Madhubani and Purnia.

Historically the harvest has been the domain of the Mallah community of fishers and pond-divers.