Snacks, Sweets & Confectionery

Kings Phool Makhana is puffed lotus seeds — light, white, popcorn-like spheres with an airy crunch and a very mild, almost neutral taste, in a 50g pack.

Makhana takes on whatever you cook it with. Most people roast it dry in a little ghee until it crisps, then toss it with salt, pepper, chaat masala or peri-peri for a snack. It also goes into makhana kheer simmered in milk with cardamom, into the North Indian curry makhana matar, and into fasting-day food during Navratri and Ekadashi.

Roast before eating — straight from the pack it is soft rather than crisp. Store sealed in a dry, airtight container.

Haldiram's Methi Sev is fine gram flour sev seasoned with dried fenugreek leaves, giving it a gently bitter, herby note behind the salt. That methi edge is what separates it from plain or aloo sev — savoury, a little grassy, and good on its own without anything else.

Best with

• Chai and coffee breaks
• Scattering over dal, khichdi or curd rice
• Building bhel and chaat at home

Pack and storage

200 g pack. Keep sealed in a cool, dry place.

Beyond Chips Salt & Pepper is the peppered chip in the Beyond range — salted as usual, then given a coarse hit of black pepper that builds slowly rather than burning. 100g.

Salt and pepper is the seasoning that suits people who find chilli flavours too loud: warm and savoury, with the pepper coming through on the back of the bite. It goes well with a cold drink, and it is the better of the two with a creamy dip, which softens the pepper.

Tip them into a bowl and reseal the pack. Store cool and dry, and finish within a couple of days of opening so they stay crisp.

Britannia Good Day Cashew Cookies are butter cookies from Britannia's Good Day range, made with cashew pieces mixed into the dough. Good Day is one of the most popular biscuit brands in India, known for its buttery cookies.

These cookies have a rich, buttery taste with a crisp, crumbly bite, and the cashew pieces add a mild nutty flavour and light crunch throughout.

How to use

• Ready to eat straight from the pack, on their own or alongside tea or coffee.

Pack size: 75g. Store in a cool, dry place and reseal the pack after opening to keep them fresh and crisp.

Britannia 50-50 Sweet & Salty is a savoury cracker biscuit from Britannia's long-standing 50-50 range, known for combining a light sweetness with a salty edge in the same biscuit. It is a popular everyday snack biscuit in India.

The biscuits are thin and crisp, with small holes across the surface, and have a balanced taste that is both mildly sweet and salty, rather than leaning strongly toward one side.

How to use

• Ready to eat straight from the pack, on their own or with tea.

Store in a cool, dry place and reseal the pack after opening to keep the biscuits crisp.

Haldiram's Bombay Mixture is the western Indian style of namkeen — thin sev, fried split peas and lentils, peanuts and curry leaves tossed in a tangy, chilli-warm masala. It is sharper and more citrusy than a Punjabi mix, with the curry leaf coming through clearly.

Best with

• Chai in the evening
• Snacking with cold drinks
• Mixing into bhel or sprinkling over chaat

Pack and storage

200 g pack. Store in a cool, dry place and keep sealed after opening.