Diwali Sweets of India Eight states, 120 sweets, one festival.
From Maharashtrian faral and Tamil bakshanam to Bengali chhena sweets and Bihari thekua: what each state makes for Diwali, what it is made of, and how long it keeps.
In short
Diwali sweets change from state to state: faral in Maharashtra, bakshanam in Tamil Nadu, chhena sweets in Bengal, ghee-rich mohanthal and ghevar in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and thekua and khaja in Bihar. Many are regional versions of the same idea, such as crimped crescent pastries, jaggery rice discs and gram-flour fudges. This guide covers 96 sweets from eight states plus twelve laddoos and twelve burfis, 120 in all, with what each is made of and how long it keeps.
Diwali sweets by state
Twelve traditional sweets from each of eight states.
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12 Traditional Maharashtrian Diwali Sweets
Maharashtrian Diwali centers on faral, a tray of homemade sweets and snacks prepared in the days before Lakshmi Puja.
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12 Traditional Andhra Diwali Sweets
Andhra's Deepavali sweets mix jaggery-rich home classics with famous town specialities.
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12 Types of Bengali Diwali Sweets
Bengali sweets are built on chhena, fresh curdled-milk cheese, kneaded and either simmered in syrup (rasgulla, rajbhog, cham cham), fried (pantua, langcha) or gently cooked (sandesh).
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12 Traditional Gujarati Diwali Sweets
Gujarati Diwali sweets are rich in ghee and gram flour: mohanthal, magaj and sukhdi are made at home in big batches, alongside ghughra, kopra pak and the winter-warming adadiya pak.
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12 Traditional Karnataka Diwali Sweets
Karnataka's Deepavali sweets range from palace classics to town specialities: Mysore pak, Dharwad peda and Belagavi kunda sit beside home favorites such as obbattu (holige), chiroti, karjikai and kobbari burfi.
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12 Traditional Rajasthani Diwali Sweets
Rajasthani Diwali sweets are rich with ghee, mawa and gram flour: ghevar and rabri ghevar, Jodhpur's mawa kachori, mohanthal, besan chakki, churma ladoo and mishri mawa.
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12 Traditional Bihari Diwali Sweets
Bihari festival sweets are rustic and long-keeping: thekua, khaja, anarsa, tilkut, lai and khurma sit beside syrup sweets such as balushahi, malpua and kala jamun.
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12 Traditional Tamil Nadu Diwali Sweets
Tamil Deepavali begins before dawn with an oil bath, new clothes and a plate of homemade sweets (bakshanam).
Diwali sweets by type
The two sweets every Indian region shares.
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12 Types of Diwali Laddoos
Laddoos are the easiest Diwali sweet to make and share: besan, motichoor and boondi ladoos are the classics, rava and coconut the quick ones.
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12 Types of Diwali Burfi
Burfi is a fudge-like sweet set in a tray and cut into squares or diamonds, which makes it the backbone of Diwali gift boxes.
One sweet, many names
Across the eight states, the same few techniques appear again and again under different names. Here are the families that connect them.
| Family | What it is | Regional versions |
|---|---|---|
| Rice and jaggery fried discs | Soaked rice flour and jaggery dough, rested, then fried. | Anarsa (Maharashtra), Ariselu (Andhra Pradesh), Adhirasam (Tamil Nadu), Anarsa (Bihar) |
| Crimped crescent pastries | A sealed half-moon pastry with a dry sweet filling, fried crisp. | Karanji (Maharashtra), Kajjikayalu (Andhra Pradesh), Karjikai (Karnataka), Ghughra (Gujarat), Somas (Tamil Nadu), Pedakiya (Bihar) |
| Sweet-stuffed flatbreads | Chana dal and jaggery filling inside a thin flatbread. | Puran Poli (Maharashtra), Bobbatlu (Andhra Pradesh), Obbattu / Holige (Karnataka) |
| Flaky syrup-soaked discs | A layered fried dough disc finished in syrup. | Balushahi (Rajasthan), Balushahi (Bihar), Badusha (Karnataka), Badusha (Tamil Nadu) |
| Layered fried pastries | Many thin layers fried crisp, then sugared or soaked. | Chirote (Maharashtra), Chiroti (Karnataka), Khaja (Bihar), Kakinada Kaja (Andhra Pradesh), Madatha Kaja (Andhra Pradesh) |
| Fine pastry threads | Hair-fine fried pastry nests, eaten dry or with milk. | Suterfeni (Gujarat), Feeni (Rajasthan) |
| Gram flour and ghee fudges | Besan roasted in ghee and set with sugar. | Mysore Pak (Karnataka), Mysore Pak (Tamil Nadu), Mohanthal (Gujarat), Mohanthal (Rajasthan), Magaj (Gujarat), Besan Chakki (Rajasthan), Besan Burfi (Burfi) |
| Slow-reduced milk sweets | Milk cooked down for hours into kova, peda or kunda. | Palakova (Andhra Pradesh), Palkova (Tamil Nadu), Dharwad Peda (Karnataka), Belagavi Kunda (Karnataka), Basundi (Maharashtra), Basundi (Gujarat) |
| Sesame and jaggery | Winter sweets of sesame bound with jaggery. | Gajak (Rajasthan), Tilkut (Bihar), Til-Gud Ladoo (Laddoos) |
Find a sweet
Search all 120 sweets by name or ingredient, or filter by state, type and keeping time.
Showing all 120 sweets.
- Anarsa Keeps 2+ weeks
- Karanji Keeps 2+ weeks
- Shankarpali Keeps 2+ weeks
- Chirote Keeps 2+ weeks
- Besan Ladoo Keeps 2+ weeks
- Rava Ladoo Keeps about a week
- Naral Ladoo Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Puran Poli Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Basundi Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Shrikhand Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Modak Best eaten fresh
- Sheera Best eaten fresh
- Ariselu Keeps 2+ weeks
- Pootharekulu Keeps 2+ weeks
- Kakinada Kaja Keeps about a week
- Bandar Laddu Keeps 2+ weeks
- Sunnundalu Keeps 2+ weeks
- Boorelu (Poornalu) Best eaten fresh
- Bobbatlu Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Bellam Gavvalu Keeps 2+ weeks
- Madatha Kaja Keeps 2+ weeks
- Rava Laddu Keeps about a week
- Palakova Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Kajjikayalu Keeps 2+ weeks
- Rasgulla Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Rajbhog Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Gulab Jamun Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Pantua Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Langcha Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Cham Cham Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Pink Cham Cham Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Rasmalai Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Sandesh Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Kesar Sandesh Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Kheer Kadam Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Chocolate Sandesh Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Mohanthal Keeps 2+ weeks
- Magaj Keeps 2+ weeks
- Sukhdi / Golpapdi Keeps 2+ weeks
- Ghughra Keeps 2+ weeks
- Adadiya Pak Keeps 2+ weeks
- Kopra Pak Keeps about a week
- Suterfeni Keeps 2+ weeks
- Basundi Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Shrikhand Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Lapsi Best eaten fresh
- Dudhi Halwo Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Kansar Best eaten fresh
- Mysore Pak Keeps 2+ weeks
- Dharwad Peda Keeps about a week
- Belagavi Kunda Keeps about a week
- Obbattu / Holige Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Chiroti Keeps 2+ weeks
- Karjikai Keeps 2+ weeks
- Rava Ladoo Keeps about a week
- Kobbari Burfi Keeps about a week
- Hayagreeva Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Jangiri Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Badusha Keeps about a week
- 7 Cup Barfi Keeps 2+ weeks
- Ghevar Keeps about a week
- Rabri Ghevar Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Mawa Kachori Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Mohanthal Keeps 2+ weeks
- Besan Chakki Keeps 2+ weeks
- Churma Ladoo Keeps about a week
- Feeni Keeps 2+ weeks
- Mishri Mawa Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Balushahi Keeps about a week
- Malpua Best eaten fresh
- Moong Dal Halwa Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Gajak Keeps 2+ weeks
- Thekua Keeps 2+ weeks
- Khaja Keeps 2+ weeks
- Anarsa Keeps 2+ weeks
- Balushahi Keeps about a week
- Malpua Best eaten fresh
- Pedakiya Keeps about a week
- Lai Keeps 2+ weeks
- Tilkut Keeps 2+ weeks
- Khurma Keeps 2+ weeks
- Khurchan Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Kala Jamun Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Parwal Ki Mithai Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Adhirasam Keeps 2+ weeks
- Mysore Pak Keeps 2+ weeks
- Jangiri Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Badusha Keeps about a week
- Rava Ladoo Keeps about a week
- Boondi Ladoo Keeps about a week
- Thengai Burfi Keeps about a week
- Palkova Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Tirunelveli Halwa Keeps about a week
- Somas Keeps 2+ weeks
- Nei Appam Best eaten fresh
- Paal Kozhukattai Best eaten fresh
- Besan Ladoo Keeps 2+ weeks
- Motichoor Ladoo Keeps about a week
- Boondi Ladoo Keeps about a week
- Rava / Suji Ladoo Keeps about a week
- Coconut / Nariyal Ladoo Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Atta Ladoo Keeps 2+ weeks
- Dry Fruit Ladoo Keeps 2+ weeks
- Gond Ladoo Keeps 2+ weeks
- Til-Gud Ladoo Keeps 2+ weeks
- Peanut Ladoo Keeps 2+ weeks
- Rajgira Ladoo Keeps 2+ weeks
- Makhana Ladoo Keeps about a week
- Kaju Katli Keeps 2+ weeks
- Pista Burfi Keeps about a week
- Coconut Burfi Keeps about a week
- Chocolate Burfi Keeps about a week
- Badam Burfi Keeps 2+ weeks
- Mango Burfi Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Rose Burfi Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Kesari Burfi Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Mawa Burfi Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
- Anjeer Burfi Keeps 2+ weeks
- Besan Burfi Keeps 2+ weeks
- Tri-Color Burfi Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
Making Diwali sweets at home
- Plan by keeping time. Start about a week ahead with fried and ghee sweets (anarsa, karanji, chirote, thekua), then laddoos and burfis, and leave milk sweets for the last day.
- Learn the syrup tests. Press a drop of cooled syrup between finger and thumb: a sticky feel suits soaking sweets such as gulab jamun and jalebi, a single thread suits boondi and coconut sweets, and two threads or a soft ball suits burfis that must set.
- Roast flours slowly. Besan, atta and rava need low heat and constant stirring in ghee until they smell nutty; rushing leaves a raw taste.
- Make khoya ahead. Reducing milk for mawa takes an hour or more, so do it the day before and keep it chilled.
- Fry at the right heat. Pastries such as karanji and chirote fry at medium-low so the layers cook through without browning too fast.
A 7-day Diwali sweet plan
- Day 1: fix the menu, shop, and soak rice for anarsa, ariselu or adhirasam.
- Day 2: fried, long-keeping sweets such as shankarpali, chirote, thekua and khurma.
- Day 3: stuffed pastries: karanji, ghughra, somas or pedakiya.
- Day 4: laddoos: besan, rava, boondi or dry fruit.
- Day 5: burfis and fudges such as kaju katli, Mysore pak and mohanthal; make khoya for the milk sweets.
- Day 6: syrup sweets (gulab jamun, jangiri, badusha), then pack gift boxes.
- Diwali day: milk sweets made fresh, such as basundi, shrikhand or sandesh, and the puja naivedya.
Gifting and storing sweets
- For gift boxes and couriers, choose sweets marked "Keeps 2+ weeks": kaju katli, badam and anjeer burfi, Mysore pak, mohanthal, besan ladoo, anarsa, chirote and pootharekulu travel well.
- Keep syrup and dry sweets apart so crisp sweets stay crisp, and line boxes with butter paper.
- Chill milk sweets such as sandesh, rasgulla, basundi and shrikhand, and tell recipients to refrigerate them.
- Label homemade boxes with the date and any nuts, so guests with allergies can choose safely.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most popular Diwali sweets in India?
Kaju katli, besan and motichoor laddoos, gulab jamun, rasgulla, Mysore pak and regional favorites such as anarsa, adhirasam, mohanthal, thekua and sandesh. Each state has its own core list.
Which Diwali sweets keep longest for gifting?
Ghee-, gram-flour-, nut- and jaggery-based sweets keep best: 46 of the 120 sweets here keep for two weeks or more, including anarsa, karanji, chirote, besan ladoo, kaju katli, Mysore pak, mohanthal, thekua, tilkut and pootharekulu.
Which Diwali sweets need refrigeration?
Anything made with fresh milk, chhena, curd, khoya or fresh coconut: rasgulla, sandesh, rasmalai, basundi, shrikhand, palkova and most mawa burfis. Keep them chilled and eat within a few days.
Why do different states have such similar sweets?
Many sweets share a technique and differ in name and detail. The crimped crescent pastry is karanji in Maharashtra, ghughra in Gujarat, karjikai in Karnataka, kajjikayalu in Andhra, somas in Tamil Nadu and pedakiya in Bihar.
When should I start making Diwali sweets?
About a week ahead: begin with the long-keeping fried and ghee sweets, move to laddoos and burfis two or three days before, and make milk and chhena sweets the day before or on Diwali itself.
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