Chuara in English is dry date, sometimes written dried date. Chhuhara, chohara, chuare and kharak are all names for the same thing: a date that has been dried until it is hard, pale brown and wrinkled, rather than eaten soft.
People often assume it is just an old khajur that has dried out. It is not, and the difference matters when you are buying.
What chuara actually is
A date on the palm goes through stages. Early on it is firm, crisp and not very sweet. Later it softens, darkens and turns sticky, and that soft, ripe fruit is what we sell as khajur.
Chuara is made from dates picked before that soft stage. They are usually boiled and then dried in the sun, which is why a chuara is hard all the way through, keeps for a long time, and has a drier, more toffee-like sweetness than a soft date. Kharak is the name used more in Gujarat and Maharashtra; chhuhara and chuara are the north Indian names. Spellings drift, so “chohara” and “chuare” on a recipe mean the same thing.
Chuara and khajur, side by side
| Chuara / kharak | Khajur | |
|---|---|---|
| English name | Dry date | Date |
| Texture | Hard, dry, chewy once soaked | Soft, moist, sticky |
| Colour | Pale to mid brown, wrinkled | Brown to nearly black, glossy |
| How it is eaten | Soaked, boiled in milk, or chopped | Straight from the box |
| Keeps | Months in a dry jar | Weeks; best refrigerated in summer |
| Price | Around ₹340–₹480 a kilo | Around ₹380–₹1,380 a kilo, by variety |
Because it is dry, chuara is also one of the cheaper things on our dry fruit shelf. For today’s figure, see the all-India price list.
If what you want is a soft date to eat as it is, this is the wrong product, and our guide on how to judge a khajur will be more use.
How people use chuara at home
A hard chuara is not pleasant to bite into dry. Almost every household use starts by softening it.
- Soaked overnight. Put two or three in water or milk at night. By morning they are soft enough to slit, take out the stone and eat.
- Boiled in milk. Chhuhara wala doodh is an old winter habit in many north Indian homes: chopped chuara simmered in milk until it softens and sweetens the milk, sometimes with a little elaichi.
- Chopped into sweets and panjiri. Deseeded and cut into thin rings, it goes into winter laddoo, panjiri and gond preparations alongside almonds and makhana.
- Ground into halwa or barfi. Soaked and ground, it makes a dense, naturally sweet base.
To take the stone out of a dry one, soak it for twenty minutes first. Trying to cut a dry chuara is how people cut their fingers.
Chuara at weddings
In a lot of north India, chhuhare belong to weddings. At many Muslim weddings they are handed out or scattered after the nikah, and in other families they go into the shagun thaal or are given with sweets. Customs differ from family to family, so we will not pretend there is one rule. What is common is the quantity: people buy chuara by the kilo for a wedding, not by the packet, and they want pieces that look even and clean because they will be seen.
For that kind of order, buy a few weeks ahead rather than the day before, and keep it in a sealed tin.
What we keep, and how to pick a good lot
We keep two. Chuara / Kharak (Dry Dates) is the usual pale-brown kind that most recipes mean. Kali Kharak is the darker kind, used the same way. Both come in 250 g and 500 g packs. If you want a soft date as well, Black Dates – Khajoor sits on the same dates shelf.
Whatever you buy and wherever you buy it, check these:
- Even size and colour across the pack. A mix of sizes usually means a mixed or leftover lot.
- No powder or webbing in the folds. Chuara keeps well, but a badly stored lot attracts insects, and the first sign is fine dust in the creases.
- Dry, not damp. A chuara that bends easily has taken in moisture and will not keep.
- Clean smell. It should smell faintly of caramel, never sour or musty.
Delivery is free on orders over ₹1,500; below that a delivery charge is added at checkout.
Questions people ask
What is chhuhara called in English?
Chhuhara is dry date or dried date. Chuara, chohara, chuare and kharak are other spellings and regional names for the same thing.
Is kharak the same as chuara?
Yes. Kharak is the name more common in Gujarat and Maharashtra, and chuara or chhuhara is the north Indian name. It is the same hard, dried date.
Can I use khajur instead of chuara?
For milk or halwa, soft khajur works and needs no soaking, but it gives a stickier result. For recipes where chuara is cut into rings and needs to hold its shape, a soft date will not do the same job.
How long does chuara last?
Kept in an airtight jar in a cool, dry place, it lasts for months. Check it now and then for dust in the folds, which is the first sign of insects.
Written at our counter, where these questions get asked every week.
