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Best Mukhwas in Chicago

“Colorful seeds and nuts—fennel, anise, coconut—sweetened and aromatic, used for centuries to freshen breath after meals.”

Mukhwas

What the real thing tastes like

Mukhwas is a colourful South Asian after-meal snack used as a breath freshener. As per Agamas, mukhwas forms one of the components of sixteen upcharas (offerings) to a deity in a Puja, the Hindu mode of worship or prayer. It consists of various seeds and nuts, often fennel, anise, coconut, coriander, and sesame. They can be savory or sweet in flavor and are often aromatic due to the addition of various essential oils, including peppermint. Mukhwas are often coated in sugar and brightly colored.

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Mukhwas is a jeweled handful—seeds and nuts tumbling with fennel, anise, and coconut, their brightness coming from sugar coating and essential oils like peppermint. Born from Hindu ritual as one of sixteen sacred offerings, it evolved into the South Asian after-meal ritual: a palate cleanser that sits between savory and sweet, aromatic and grounding. You finish a meal, pop a few seeds, and your breath transforms.

Order it here when it has

  • vibrant appearance
  • aromatic complexity
  • ritual significance
  • flavor versatility

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