From appetizers to desserts, we prepare a lavish dinner or lunch menu for our guests. But, oops, did we leave out one of the most anticipated parts of the meal? No, it’s not the dessert. It is served after it. It is mukhwas or mouth freshener.
Most Indian homes have more than one variety of mukhwas to complete the meal. Mukhwas trays are filled with different flavours of mouth fresheners that can be sweet, salty, or pungent.
What is Mukhwas?
Mukhwas is a mouth freshener that can be prepared in various ways and flavours. Indians eat mukhwas after a meal because it freshens their breath and helps them digest.
It comprises various seeds, including sesame seeds, fennel seeds, flax seeds (alsi), ajwain, suva seeds, and dhana dal seeds. It has numerous health benefits, helps freshen the breath and aids in digestion.
Ingredients to Make Mukhwas Recipe
This mukhwas recipe uses the following ingredients. You can choose to omit any of the ingredients or can even increase the quantity of some.
- water
- lemon juice
- salt
- turmeric powder/haldi
- black salt/sanchal
- white sesame seeds/til
- suva/dil seeds
- flax seeds
- ajwain/carom seeds
- variyali/fennel seeds
- dhana dal
How to Make Mukhwas Recipe | Step-by-Step Recipe
Combine everything in a small bowl – water, lemon juice, salt, turmeric powder, and black salt. Mix.
In a plate or bowl, take white sesame seeds. Add 1 tablespoon of the prepared water. Mix with fingertips so that every seed is coated well.
Take suva (dill seeds) in another plate or bowl and add 2 teaspoon water. Mix. For flax seeds, add 2 teaspoon water and mix. Take ajwain (carom seeds) in a plate and add 2 teaspoon of water. Mix. For variyali (fennel seeds), add 2 teaspoon water and mix well.
Make sure you keep every ingredient separately. Now distribute the remaining water evenly among all ingredients and mix. Let the ingredients dry for about 1-2 hours. Do not keep them under sunlight.
Now, in a pan or kadai roast each ingredient separately. We need to roast separately since all ingredients’ roasting time varies.
Suva (dill seeds) and flax seeds will take more time to roast. Next will be sesame seeds (til) followed by ajwain (carom seeds) and variyali (fennel seeds).
You will notice that the seeds have become easy to mix (or stir) when they are roasted well. You can take out a few seeds and check if they are roasted well.
Once roasted, take out seeds in a bowl. At this stage you can take them out in the same bowl. Once all the seeds are roasted, sift them once through a fine sieve.
Take the seeds in a bowl and add dhana dal and mix. Once completely cooled, store the mukhwas in a container.
Pro Tips
- After mixing the flavoured water with the seeds, let them dry for 1-2 hours. Do not keep them under sunlight. You can keep them a little longer.
- On low to medium heat, toast the seeds. Roast them separately because the roasting time of each ingredient differs.
- You can omit any of the ingredients if you want.
- Let the mukhwas cool down completely before storing it in an air-tight container.
- If you still don’t think the seeds have enough crunch after roasting them, then in the end, you can bake them at 120/130 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
Some More Recipes to Try!
Eggless Whole Wheat Coffee Bean Cookies
Recipe Card
Mukhwas Recipe | Homemade mouth freshener
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Ingredients (1 cup = 240 ml)
To be mixed
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi
- 1 teaspoon black salt/sanchal
Other ingredients
- ½ cup white sesame seeds/til
- ¼ cup suva/dil seeds
- ¼ cup flax seeds
- 1/8 cup ajwain/carom seeds
- 1/8 cup variyali/fennel seeds
- ½ cup dhana dal
Instructions
- Combine everything mentioned under “To be mixed” in a small bowl – water, lemon juice, salt, turmeric powder, and black salt. Mix.
- In a plate or bowl, take white sesame seeds. Add 1 tablespoon of the prepared water. Mix with fingertips so that every seed is coated well.
- Take suva (dill seeds) in another plate or bowl and add 2 teaspoon water. Mix.
- For flax seeds, add 2 teaspoon water and mix.
- Take ajwain (carom seeds) in a plate and add 2 teaspoon water. Mix.
- For variyali (fennel seeds), add 2 teaspoon water and mix well.
- Make sure you keep every ingredient separately.
- Now distribute the remaining water evenly among all ingredients and mix.
- Let the ingredients dry for about 1-2 hours. Do not keep them under sunlight.
- Now, in a pan or kadai roast each ingredient separately. We need to roast separately since all ingredients’ roasting time varies.
- Suva (dill seeds) and flax seeds will take more time to roast. Next will be sesame seeds (til) followed by ajwain (carom seeds) and variyali (fennel seeds).
- You will notice that the seeds have become easy to mix (or stir) when they are roasted well. You can take out a few seeds and check if they are roasted well.
- Once roasted, take out seeds in a bowl. At this stage you can take them out in the same bowl.
- Once all the seeds are roasted, sift them once through a fine sieve.
- Take the seeds in a bowl and add dhana dal and mix.
- Once completely cooled, store the mukhwas in a container.
Video
Notes
- After mixing the flavored water with the seeds, let them dry for 1-2 hours. Do not keep them under sunlight. You can keep them a little longer.
- On low to medium heat, toast the seeds. Roast them separately because the roasting time of each ingredient differs.
- You can omit any of the ingredients if you want.
- Let the mukhwas cool down completely before storing.
- If you still don’t think the seeds have enough crunch after roasting them, then in the end, you can bake them at 120/130 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
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