A month of dry fruit snacks for a Pune hostel room, on a student budget

Here is how we would split the money, and how to make it last to the end of the month.

Why this matters in a student city

Pune has been called the Oxford of the East for a long time, and a lot of the city is living in a hostel, a PG or a shared flat. Mess food fills you at lunch and dinner. It is the long stretch between, the late library sessions and the exam-week nights, where money goes on packets of chips and instant noodles.

A jar of nuts on the desk is a cheaper habit than it looks, provided you buy the right grades and do not pay for looks you do not need.

The monthly list and what it costs

This is for one person, about 25 g a day, a small handful. Costs are worked out from today’s catalogue rates and will move a little either way.

Flax seeds are not a snack on their own. A spoon goes into curd, poha or a glass of buttermilk. Peanuts and roasted chana are cheaper still and make good bulk, but we do not keep them, so pick those up locally.

For today’s figures before you order, check dry fruit prices in Pune or our product pages.

Where the savings actually come from

• Broken kaju, not whole. Kaju Tukda is the same kernel as a whole cashew, split during shelling. Eaten from a jar, it tastes the same. Our kaju grades guide explains the gap.
• Regular badam, not Mamra. Regular Badam is around a third of the price of Mamra. Soak five overnight if that is your habit at home.
• Kishmish for sweetness. Kishmish costs well under half as much as kaju and stops the sweet craving that sends you to the canteen.
• Seeds for the rest. Flax Seeds are among the cheapest items on our seeds shelf, and pumpkin and sunflower seeds make good roasted snacks when you want a change.
• Skip the flavoured nuts. Masala and peri peri kaju are good, but they cost more and go stale faster once opened.

Pool an order with your flatmates

Delivery is free on orders over ₹1,000. Below that, a delivery charge is added at checkout. One student’s month comes to around ₹700, so three people ordering together clear the free-delivery mark and split the parcel on arrival. Parcels reach Pune in about 2 to 4 days. Payment is online at checkout.

Storing dry fruits in a hostel room

Pune is pleasant most of the year, but from June to September the air stays damp, and a hostel room with no fridge is the hardest place to keep nuts fresh.

1. Use jars, not the bag. A steel dabba or a glass jar with a screw lid is best. Plastic tubs are fine if the lid seals.
2. Keep a small jar on the desk and the rest sealed. Refill the small one weekly, so the bulk is opened as little as possible.
3. Keep them away from the window and the kettle. Sun and steam both speed up staleness.
4. Watch for ants. Kishmish attracts them. Keep that jar tightly shut and off the floor.
5. If nuts go soft, dry-roast them for a few minutes in a pan in the pantry or mess kitchen, cool them fully and put them back in the jar.

Check before eating: a kaju should snap, badam should smell of nothing much, and kishmish should not taste sour. Anything bitter or paint-like has gone rancid. Throw it out.

How to make one jar last the month

Portion it. Twenty-five grams is a small palmful. If you eat from the jar while studying, it will be gone in ten days. Pour a handful into a cup, close the jar and put it back on the shelf.

Questions people ask