Dry fruit names in English and Hindi: akhrot, anjeer, munakka and thirty more, and what each one is

Akhrot in English is walnut, anjeer is dried fig, badam is almond, and kismis (kishmish) is raisin. Munakka is a large, dark raisin that still has its seeds, pista is pistachio, khubani is dried apricot and chilgoza is pine nut.

Those are the ones people ask us about most. But the counter runs on Hindi names and most recipes online run on English ones, so here is the whole list in one place. Keep it open the next time a recipe asks for “fennel” and you are looking at a jar marked saunf.

The full list: Hindi name, English name, and what it is

Hindi name	English name	What it is
Kaju	Cashew	The kernel of the cashew nut, sold whole or broken
Badam	Almond	The everyday imported almond, flat and even
Mamra badam	Mamra almond	A smaller, curved, oilier almond, dearer than ordinary badam
Akhrot	Walnut	Sold in the shell, or as kernels in halves and quarters
Pista	Pistachio	Green kernel, sold shelled, roasted in the shell, or slivered
Chilgoza	Pine nut	The long, thin seed of a Himalayan pine, sold in its shell
Makhana	Fox nut	The popped seed of a water plant, light and crunchy
Charoli / chironji	Charoli nut, chironji seed	A small, flat, mild seed used in kheer and mithai
Anjeer	Dried fig	Whole figs dried flat, soft, full of tiny seeds
Kishmish / kismis	Raisin	Seedless dried grapes, green to golden
Munakka	Large seeded raisin	A big, dark, sticky raisin with seeds inside
Kali dakh	Black raisin	Dried black grapes
Khajur	Date	The soft, ripe fruit of the date palm
Chuara / chhuhara / kharak	Dry date	Dates dried hard
Khubani	Dried apricot	Sold whole; Turkish ones are soft and bright
Aloo bukhara	Dried plum	A sour-sweet dried plum
Magaj beej	Melon seed kernels	Peeled melon seeds, mostly watermelon
Kharbuja beej	Muskmelon seeds	Small, pale peeled seeds
Tukmaria / sabja	Sweet basil seeds	Tiny black seeds that swell into jelly in water
Alsi	Flax seed, linseed	Flat brown seeds, usually eaten roasted or ground
Til	Sesame seeds	White or black; the white goes into laddoo and chikki
Kalonji	Nigella seeds	Small black seeds, often sold as onion seeds
Halim / aliv	Garden cress seeds	Small reddish seeds, used in laddoo
Kaddu ke beej	Pumpkin seeds	Green, flat, peeled seeds
Surajmukhi ke beej	Sunflower seeds	Grey-white peeled seeds
Gond	Edible gum	A dried tree gum, fried and used in winter laddoo
Supari	Areca nut, betel nut	The hard nut used in paan and mukhwas
Kali mirch	Black pepper	Dried peppercorns
Saunf	Fennel seeds	Green, sweet, chewed after meals
Elaichi	Green cardamom	Small green pods, the sweet-dish cardamom
Badi elaichi	Black cardamom	Large, smoky pods for savoury cooking
Laung	Clove	Dried flower buds
Dalchini	Cinnamon	Dried bark, sold as sticks or quills
Tej patta	Indian bay leaf	A long leaf used in rice and gravies
Jaiphal	Nutmeg	The hard seed, grated as needed
Javitri	Mace	The red-orange lacy cover of the nutmeg seed
Chakra phool / badian	Star anise	An eight-pointed, star-shaped pod
Saunth	Dried ginger	Ginger root dried hard, usually powdered
Shahi jeera	Black cumin	A thinner, darker cumin; not the same as kalonji
Pathar phool	Stone flower	A dried lichen used in some spice blends

Nuts: kaju, badam, akhrot, pista, chilgoza

Badam in English is simply almond, but at a counter the word splits in two. Ordinary badam is the flat, even, imported almond. Mamra Badam is a smaller, more curved almond with more oil in it, and it costs roughly three times as much. Ask for the one you mean.

Akhrot is walnut, in the shell or out of it. Kernels are sold by how they broke: Walnut Kernels Two Pieces are halves, four pieces are quarters, and the taste is the same.

Pista is pistachio, and chilgoza is pine nut. Chilgoza is the long, thin Himalayan kind, sold in its brown shell, and quite different from the short, pale pine nuts in Italian recipes.

Makhana is usually called a nut but is really a seed. In English it is fox nut, and some packets call it lotus seed.

Dried fruits: anjeer, kishmish, munakka, khajur, khubani

Anjeer in English is dried fig. Regular Anjeer and Jumbo Anjeer are the same fruit in two sizes.

The raisin names are where people get confused. Kismis is the English raisin: small, seedless, green or golden. Munakka in English is also a raisin, but a large dark one with seeds, so “seeded raisin” is the nearest name. Dakh is a general word for dried grape. We have written about all three in what kishmish, munakka and dakh actually mean.

Khajur is a date. Chuara, chhuhara and kharak all mean dry date: the same fruit, dried hard. Khubani is dried apricot, and the Turkish Apricot on our shelf is the soft, orange, stoneless kind.

Seeds: magaj, tukmaria, alsi, charoli

Seeds cause the most trouble in English because each one has two or three names. Tukmaria and sabja are both sweet basil seeds, the ones that go into falooda. Chia is a different seed that behaves in much the same way in water. Alsi is flax seed, also sold as linseed. Magaj is the peeled kernel of melon seeds. Charoli and chironji are the same seed, and its English name is so rarely used that most shops, us included, just write charoli.

Our seeds shelf has most of these in 100 g packs, which is the right size for trying something new.

Spices: kali mirch, saunf, elaichi and the rest

Kali mirch in English is black pepper. Saunf in English is fennel seed. The mistake we see is saunf being called “anise”. Anise is a different, smaller seed, and star anise (badian) is a different plant again.

Elaichi is green cardamom and badi elaichi is black cardamom. They do not swap for each other: the green one goes into tea and kheer, the black one into biryani and dal. Jaiphal and javitri, nutmeg and mace, come from the same fruit. Javitri is the lacy red cover wrapped around the nutmeg seed.

Regional names for the common ones

We have listed only the names we are sure of, and English spellings of them vary from family to family.

English	Gujarati	Marathi	Tamil	Telugu	Bengali
Cashew	Kaju	Kaju	Mundhiri paruppu	Jeedi pappu	Kaju badam
Raisin	Kismis	Manuka	Ular thiratchai	Endu draksha	Kishmish
Date	Khajur	Khajur	Pericham pazham	Kharjuram	Khejur
Black pepper	Kala mari	Kali miri	Milagu	Miriyalu	Gol morich
Fennel	Variyali	Badishep	Sombu	Sompu	Mouri
Clove	Lavang	Lavang	Kirambu	Lavangam	Labanga
Sesame	Tal	Til	Ellu	Nuvvulu	Til
Nutmeg	Jaiphal	Jaiphal	Jathikai	Jajikaya	Jaiphal

On our site, the Hindi name in brackets on each product is the one we use at the counter, so you can search either way.

Questions people ask

What is munakka called in English?

Munakka is a large seeded raisin. There is no separate everyday English word for it, so recipes usually say “large raisins” or “seeded raisins”.

Are kismis and raisin the same thing?

Yes. Kismis, kishmish and raisin all mean dried grapes. In India the word usually means the small, seedless, green or golden kind.

What is khubani in English?

Khubani is dried apricot. It is best known for khubani ka meetha, the Hyderabadi dessert made by stewing the dried fruit.

Is chilgoza the same as pine nut?

Chilgoza is a pine nut, from a pine that grows in the Himalaya and Afghanistan. It is longer and thinner than the pine nuts used in pesto, and is usually sold in the shell.