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Quick answer
The dry fruits in a govardhan puja annakut are usually kaju, kishmish, badam, charoli and makhana, with mishri and dates in many homes. They appear twice: as a panchmeva bowl offered on its own, and inside the sweets such as kheer, halwa and ladoo. A home mandir needs roughly 250 to 400 g in total for one offering.
What is the annakut?
Annakut means a mountain of food. On Govardhan Puja, which usually follows the day after Diwali, families and temples offer Krishna dozens of dishes arranged in a heap, remembering the story of Krishna lifting Govardhan hill to shelter the people of Braj from Indra’s rain. The Wikipedia page on Govardhan Puja covers the legend and the regional customs. This year Govardhan Puja falls on Tuesday 10 November, by most calendars, so check your local panchang for the muhurat.
In Pushtimarg and Vaishnav homes, and at temples from Nathdwara to Mathura, the annakut can run to 56 dishes, the chappan bhog. A home mandir usually offers a smaller version: a mixed vegetable annakut ki sabzi, kadhi, rice, puri, a few sweets and a bowl of dry fruit.
Which dry fruits go into the annakut bhog?
| Dry fruit | Where it appears in the bhog | Home mandir quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Kaju | Panchmeva bowl, kheer, halwa, the annakut sabzi in some homes | 75 to 100 g |
| Kishmish | Panchmeva bowl, kheer, sheera | 50 g |
| Badam | Panchmeva bowl, kheer, slivered on halwa | 50 to 75 g |
| Charoli | Sprinkled on kheer, shrikhand, mohanthal | 15 to 20 g |
| Makhana | Panchmeva bowl, makhana kheer | 25 to 30 g |
| Mishri and dates | Offered alongside the panchmeva | As the family prefers |
Panchmeva, the five dry fruits offered together, is the core of the dry fruit offering. Our panchmeva prasad page explains the usual five and how they are mixed.
What is on a Govardhan Puja bhog list?
Families differ, but a typical home bhog list looks like this:
- Annakut ki sabzi, a mixed dish of many seasonal vegetables cooked together.
- Kadhi and plain rice, or kadhi-chawal.
- Puri or bajra roti.
- Kheer with kaju, kishmish, badam and charoli.
- Halwa or sheera topped with slivered badam and pista.
- Besan or boondi ladoo, often with chopped kaju inside.
- A panchmeva bowl with mishri.
- Seasonal fruit, paan and tulsi leaves.
Many homes also make a small hill of cow-dung or of food itself, representing Govardhan, and perform parikrama around it before the meal.
How do you prepare the panchmeva bowl?
Keep it simple and clean. Wash nothing that will be offered dry; instead, pick through the kaju, badam and kishmish on a plate and remove any broken or discoloured pieces, because the bhog should be the best of what is in the house. Use whole kaju and whole badam rather than pieces. Mix them in roughly equal parts with kishmish, add a handful of makhana and a few pieces of mishri, and place the bowl in silver, brass or a clean steel katori with a tulsi leaf on top. Some families keep the panchmeva aside on the day before so nobody tastes from it. After the aarti, the panchmeva becomes prasad and is shared with everyone who visits the house that evening.
How much dry fruit does a home mandir need?
For a family of four to six offering bhog at home, a sensible total is:
- Panchmeva bowl: 100 to 150 g of mixed kaju, badam, kishmish, makhana and a little mishri.
- Kheer for the family and prasad: 30 g kaju, 25 g kishmish, 25 g badam and a spoon of charoli per litre of milk.
- Halwa or sheera: 30 g of mixed nuts for a kadhai.
- Ladoo: 50 to 75 g chopped kaju per kilo of ladoo.
That comes to roughly 250 to 400 g in all. If you distribute prasad to neighbours or a society temple, double the panchmeva and the kheer.
What does the dry fruit for the bhog cost?
Because the quantities are small, the annakut dry fruit is a modest share of the festival spend. Today kaju works out to at today's shop rate, kishmish to at today's shop rate and charoli to at today's shop rate. A home bhog uses only 15 to 20 g of charoli, so a 100 g pack lasts several festivals; the charoli price page lists the packs. Kishmish grades are on the kishmish price page.
Our orders start at ₹1,000 and every order ships free. The easiest way is to order Govardhan Puja dry fruit with the Diwali stock: 500 g kaju, 500 g badam, 250 g kishmish, 100 g charoli and 100 g makhana covers the guest bowl, the Diwali sweets and the annakut together. Order by the end of October so it all arrives before Dhanteras on 6 November. Our best dry fruits for Diwali post has the rest of the festive list, and every item is in the dry fruits collection.
Questions people ask
What is annakut prasad?
It is the food offered to Krishna on Govardhan Puja and then shared among the family and guests. It usually includes the mixed annakut sabzi, kadhi, rice, puri, sweets and a bowl of dry fruit.
What is annakut ki sabzi made of?
It is a mixed dish of many seasonal vegetables such as potato, pumpkin, brinjal, beans, radish and leafy greens, cooked together with simple spices. Some families add a few kaju or kishmish.
Which sweets are made for Govardhan Puja?
Kheer, halwa or sheera, besan or boondi ladoo and pedas are common, and Gujarati homes often add mohanthal. Most of them carry kaju, badam, kishmish or charoli.
Can I offer packaged dry fruit in the bhog?
Yes. Most families transfer it to a clean bowl or thali first, and add mishri and tulsi leaves before offering it.
Written at our counter, where these questions get asked every week.
