The dry fruits in a Maharashtrian Diwali faral: karanji, chivda, shankarpali and besan laddoo, with quantities for a household batch

In Mumbai, faral is as much about sharing as eating. Plates go across the corridor to neighbours, down to the building watchman, and out to relatives on the other side of the city, and every family’s karanji is compared with the one next door. The dry fruit is a small share of the cost, but it is the part people notice.

Karanji: what goes in the filling

The karanji filling starts with grated dry coconut (kopra), sugar and khuskhus (poppy seeds), roasted until fragrant. Dry fruit adds the bite.

For about 30 karanjis:

• 1½ cups grated dry coconut, lightly roasted
• 2 tablespoons khuskhus, roasted
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 25 g kaju, chopped small
• 25 g kishmish
• 1 tablespoon charoli
• ½ teaspoon ground elaichi

Chop the kaju finely. Large pieces tear the thin dough when you seal the edge, and a karanji that splits in hot oil soaks up oil and goes soft. Charoli is small and soft, and it gives the traditional taste many families look for. Grind the green elaichi just before you use it for the strongest smell.

Chivda: kaju and kishmish fried to a crunch

Thin poha chivda is the savoury half of the plate, and the kaju and kishmish are what make it feel like a festival snack.

For a batch from 500 g of thin poha: about 50 g kaju, 50 g kishmish, a generous handful of peanuts, thin slices of dry coconut, curry leaves, green chilli, turmeric, and a little sugar and salt.

1. Roast the poha in a wide pan on a low flame until it is crisp, and set it aside.
2. Fry the peanuts, then the kaju, until golden.
3. Add the kishmish last, for a few seconds, until they puff up. They burn quickly.
4. Add the curry leaves, chilli, coconut and turmeric, then toss in the poha with the salt and sugar.

Chivda is the best place for broken cashew (kaju tukda). It fries evenly, looks right in the mix, and costs less than whole kaju. Long green Kishmish (Lambi Dakh) puffs up well in hot oil. Our guide on kishmish, munakka and dakh explains why munakka is the wrong pick here.

Shankarpali: mostly no dry fruit

Classic shankarpali is maida, ghee, sugar and milk, cut into diamonds and fried. Most families add no dry fruit, and it does not need any. Some add a spoonful of white sesame to the dough for a nutty crunch. If yours does, Safed Tilly (white sesame) in a 100 g pack is plenty for a batch.

Besan laddoo: badam, kaju and a charoli on top

For about 20 laddoos:

• 500 g besan, roasted slowly in ghee until it smells nutty
• About 250 g ghee
• About 350 g powdered sugar, added once the besan has cooled a little
• 40–50 g badam and kaju, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground elaichi
• A few kishmish or charoli to press on top

Roast the nuts lightly before chopping them. It brings out their flavour and keeps them crisp inside the laddoo for longer. Everyday Regular Badam is fine here, because the nuts are chopped.

The household shopping list

Double everything if you send faral plates to a lot of neighbours. The kaju, kishmish and badam are on our kaju shelf and the shelves beside it.

When to order for Diwali

Diwali falls in October or November, and faral-making usually starts a week or so before. Orders reach Mumbai in 2–4 days, so order about ten days ahead. Delivery is free on orders over ₹1,500. Below that, a delivery charge is added at checkout. Kaju was running at around ₹930–₹1,480 a kilo and kishmish at around ₹600–₹680. For today’s figures, see today’s dry fruit prices in Mumbai.

Prices on this page were checked in September 2026 and are a guide only. Dry fruit rates change with the crop and the season, so our product pages always show today’s price.

Store the nuts in airtight jars until you cook. Mumbai’s air is still damp in October, and soft kaju does not fry crisp.

Questions people ask