What Is Panjiri Made Of? A Guide to Panjiri Ingredients

If you look at a bag of Panjiri for the first time, the ingredient list can raise a few questions. Lentils? Lotus seeds? Edible gum? Ghee?

It doesn't read quite like granola. It doesn't read quite like trail mix either. And that's because Panjiri comes from a much older way of thinking about food.

Across South Asia, Panjiri has long been made from combinations of grains or lentils, nuts, seeds, ghee, sugar, spices and, in some recipes, edible gums. There is no single universal Panjiri recipe. Ingredients change between regions, households and generations.

Our family's version has its own story.

My nani spent much of her early life in Kashmir before later living in Lahore. The Panjiri I grew up with was made with moong lentils rather than wheat flour or semolina, along with makhana, almonds, melon seeds, coconut, gond, ghee and cardamom. These weren't ingredients we added later to make Panjiri sound more “functional.” They were simply the ingredients that were already there.

So, what is Panjiri made of?

Traditionally, Panjiri recipes vary considerably. Many versions use wheat flour or semolina roasted in ghee and combined with nuts, seeds, sugar and spices. Other family recipes look different.

Babo's family recipe is built around roasted moong lentils. Our Original Panjiri combines:

• moong lentils 
• almonds
• makhana, also known as fox nuts or lotus seeds
• coconut
• melon seeds
• gond, or edible gum
• ghee
• cardamom
• brown sugar

Our Unsweetened Panjiri uses the same savory-nutty foundation without added sugar.

What interests us isn't only what is in the recipe, though. It's why ingredients like these have continued to appear in South Asian food traditions for generations.

Moong lentils: the foundation of our family recipe

This is where Babo's Panjiri takes a different turn from many versions. Our family has always made Panjiri with moong lentils instead of wheat flour or semolina. For us, lentils do two jobs particularly well: they create the distinctive crunch of our Panjiri and contribute plant protein.

That second point isn't simply family lore. Mung bean (Vigna radiata) is a well-established food crop and has been studied extensively as a source of plant protein. Published reviews report that mung beans can contain roughly 20–30 percent protein by dry weight, although composition varies by variety and other factors.

That doesn't make a handful of Panjiri equivalent to a protein supplement nor are we trying to make it one. It simply helps explain something we find fascinating about this old family recipe: one of its defining ingredients happens to be a legume.

For the longer story behind our version, read Why We Make Panjiri With Lentils Instead of Flour.

Makhana: the crunch between the crunch

Those airy white pieces tucked between the lentils and almonds are makhana. Makhana comes from the seeds of Euryale ferox, an aquatic plant. You may also see it called fox nut or gorgon nut. On Babo's ingredient label, we use the familiar term lotus seeds.

In our Panjiri, makhana brings a completely different kind of crunch from the lentils: lighter, airier and almost popcorn-like. It also contributes nutrients including carbohydrate, protein and dietary fiber, though the exact composition varies depending on the product and processing method.

Makhana has a long history as a food in parts of Asia, and modern researchers continue to study its nutritional composition.

For Babo, however, its first job is wonderfully uncomplicated: crunch.

Gond: the ingredient people ask us about most

Gond is probably the least familiar ingredient on our label. The word gond can refer to edible plant gums used in South Asian cooking. In Babo's Panjiri, the edible gum is tragacanth.

In our family recipe, gond was there in part for binding, helping the ingredients come together rather than behaving like a collection of completely separate pieces.

Modern food science gives us a useful way of understanding why plant gums behave this way. Tragacanth is a natural hydrocolloid used in food applications as a thickener, stabilizer, emulsifier and binder. In the presence of water, its polysaccharides can form networks that change viscosity and texture.

That doesn't mean our grandmothers needed a food-science textbook to use it. They knew what it did because they cooked with it. And sometimes that is the most interesting thing about old food knowledge: the technique existed long before we had today's vocabulary for explaining the mechanism.

Almonds and melon seeds: richness, texture and substance

Nuts and seeds are common companions in many Panjiri recipes. In ours, almonds and melon seeds bring richness and another layer of texture alongside the lentils and makhana.

Almonds contain predominantly unsaturated fats along with protein, fiber, vitamin E and minerals.

Melon seeds also contain protein, fats and minerals. Research on Cucumis melo seeds has identified nutrients including magnesium, potassium, zinc and iron, although exact amounts vary by variety and growing conditions.

But again, Panjiri wasn't built by reading nutrient tables.

The nuts and seeds make the mixture satisfying to eat. They give it density against the lighter makhana and the smaller roasted lentils. Every ingredient has a different bite. That's part of what makes Panjiri Panjiri.

Coconut: another layer of richness

Coconut adds its own texture and flavor to the mixture. Coconut flesh contains fat, fiber and smaller amounts of protein and other nutrients. Its nutritional composition changes depending on whether it is fresh, dried or processed. In Panjiri, we think of coconut less as a “health ingredient” and more as part of the architecture of the recipe.

Lentils crunch one way. 

Makhana crunches another.

Almonds snap.

Seeds are smaller and denser.

Coconut sits somewhere in between.

Panjiri works because all of those textures get to show up at once.

Ghee: the roasting fat

Ghee is clarified butter, and it has a long culinary history across South Asia. It also appears extensively in Ayurvedic literature. A modern review examining eleven important Ayurvedic texts found hundreds of references to ghee in traditional formulations and descriptions.

That historical record is important, but it should not be confused with modern clinical evidence. Researchers studying those texts themselves note that many traditional therapeutic uses of ghee have not yet been established by contemporary scientific research.

In Babo's Panjiri, we can say something much simpler. Ghee is what we roast with.

It carries flavor, gives the ingredients richness and helps create the deeply toasted character that makes Panjiri taste like Panjiri. No wellness vocabulary required.

Cardamom: intentionally quiet

Cardamom has a long history as a culinary spice, prized particularly for its aroma. You can find plenty of traditional medicinal claims associated with cardamom too, and researchers continue to study its plant compounds. But that isn't why we're going to tell you to eat our Panjiri. 

In our family's recipe, cardamom had a much more specific job: you shouldn't taste it before you taste everything else. It's subtle.

Enough to perfume the mixture without turning the entire bag into cardamom. Sometimes an ingredients importance isn't about how loudly you can taste it. It's what you'd notice if it disappeared.

And then there is sugar

Babo's Original Panjiri contains brown sugar. We're not going to call sugar something it isn't. It's there for sweetness. 

Our Unsweetened Panjiri is made without added sugar for people who prefer the roasted, nutty side of Panjiri without the sweetness.

Both begin with the same idea: lentils, nuts, seeds, coconut, makhana, gond, ghee and cardamom, roasted together into something that doesn't fit neatly into the modern American snack categories we already know.

Why was Panjiri traditionally eaten postpartum?

This is where food history and health claims need to be kept separate. Panjiri has a documented place in postpartum food traditions in parts of South Asia. Research involving postpartum women in Punjab, India, for example, records women being given Panjiri prepared with ingredients such as ghee, nuts, dried fruit, sugar and herbal gums after childbirth. Mothers and mothers-in-law were among the people preparing it.

That tells us something valuable about how Panjiri has been used culturally. It does not, by itself, prove that Panjiri increases breast-milk production, speeds postpartum recovery or produces any other particular medical outcome. We think that distinction matters.

In our own family, Panjiri was especially associated with pregnancy, postpartum and lactation. But it wasn't reserved exclusively for new mothers.

It was winter food too.

Children ate it.

Parents ate it.

Grandparents ate it.

The recipe belonged to the household.

A recipe shaped before the modern snack aisle

Today we're surrounded by foods organized around individual nutrients.

Protein bars.

Fiber snacks.

Energy bites.

Functional foods.

Panjiri comes from a different culinary lineage.

Its ingredients weren't assembled because someone needed a protein callout on the front of a package. Lentils, nuts, seeds, ghee, spices, edible gums and makhana were already part of established food traditions.

Modern nutrition can now measure some of what those ingredients contain. Food science can explain why a gum binds. Agricultural research can analyze mung bean protein. Historical and ethnographic research can document how particular foods were prepared and eaten. But none of those things need to turn Panjiri into a miracle food.

For us, the more interesting story is simpler. People knew how to build food long before we learned how to market nutrients.

Our job isn't to reinvent that recipe. It's to keep making it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main ingredients in Panjiri?

Panjiri recipes vary between regions and families. Many recipes combine a roasted base such as wheat flour or semolina with ghee, nuts, seeds, sugar and spices. Babo's family recipe uses roasted moong lentils instead of wheat or semolina and includes almonds, makhana, coconut, melon seeds, gond, ghee and cardamom.

Is Panjiri always made with flour?

No. While many Panjiri recipes use wheat flour or semolina, recipes vary. Babo's family recipe has always used moong lentils as its base.

What is gond in Panjiri?

Gond is a term used for edible plant gums in South Asian cooking. Babo's recipe uses tragacanth, a natural plant gum. Our family used it in part for binding and texture.

What is makhana?

Makhana is the edible seed of Euryale ferox, an aquatic plant. It is also known as fox nut or gorgon nut and is valued for its light, airy crunch.

Does Panjiri help with breastfeeding?

Panjiri has a documented history of being eaten during the postpartum period in parts of South Asia, including among lactating mothers. That cultural history should not be interpreted as clinical evidence that eating Panjiri increases breast-milk production.

Is Panjiri only for postpartum mothers?

No. Practices vary between families and regions. In Babo's family, Panjiri was particularly associated with pregnancy and postpartum, but it was also eaten during winter by the wider family, from children to grandparents.

Does Babo's Panjiri contain wheat?

Babo's family recipe is made with moong lentils rather than wheat flour or semolina. For current allergen, facility and ingredient information, always refer to the individual product page and package label.

Want to taste our family's version? Explore Babo's Panjiri.

Continue exploring the Babo Pantry Guide

New to Panjiri? Start with What Is Panjiri? A Modern Guide to South Asia's Original Superfood.

Wondering how it compares with something more familiar? Read Panjiri vs. Granola: What's the Difference?

For a closer look at nutrition, visit Is Panjiri Healthy? Understanding the Ingredients.

And for the story behind our lentil base, read Why We Make Panjiri With Lentils Instead of Flour.

Sources & Further Reading

• Mung bean / moong lentils: National Institute of Nutrition review on the nutritional composition of green gram (Vigna radiata). Read on PubMed
• Makhana: Punjab Agricultural University review of Euryale ferox and its nutritional composition. Read on PubMed
• Gond / tragacanth: Scientific literature on tragacanth gum's use in foods as a thickener, emulsifier and binder, plus the European Food Safety Authority's evaluation of tragacanth as a food additive. Read the food-science review · Read the EFSA evaluation
• Ghee and Ayurveda: 2024 review examining references to ghee across eleven major Ayurvedic texts and the gaps between traditional literature and contemporary scientific evidence. Read on PubMed