Our story

We started because a snack shouldn't need a glossary.

Khila comes out of The Care Circle — a family that has been feeding people long before it sold anything. The first jars weren't for sale. They were for cousins who asked what we were making, and then asked again the next week.

The recipe never changed, because there isn't much of one. Grade-A phool makhana from Bihar goes into a hot iron kadhai. A spoon of slow-cultured desi ghee. A pinch of rock salt pounded by hand. You stir until the seeds go from soft to loud.

Makhana roasting in a cast-iron kadhai in a home kitchen — The same kadhai, every morning. Small batches only — about four kilos at a time.

Why we only roast after you order

Makhana is at its best for a few weeks, not a few months. Most brands solve that with preservatives and a warehouse. We solve it by not roasting until there's a name and an address attached to the jar.

It means we can't promise you delivery tomorrow. It also means nothing you eat from us has been sitting anywhere. Order before 3 pm, and your batch goes into the kadhai the same evening.

Rock salt, desi ghee and raw phool makhana in three bowls — The full ingredient list, photographed. Salt. Ghee. Makhana.

What we won't do

We won't call it a superfood. We won't tell you it's guilt-free — it's just food, roasted properly. And we won't add a fourth ingredient because a spreadsheet said the shelf life would improve.

Salt. Ghee. Makhana. Bas.