12 Traditional Maharashtrian Diwali Sweets

Prashant Dhingra

Maharashtrian Diwali centers on faral, a tray of homemade sweets and snacks prepared in the days before Lakshmi Puja.

By Prashant Dhingra

See all 12 sweets Keeping guide

Chart titled 12 Traditional Maharashtrian Diwali Sweets, showing Anarsa, Karanji, Shankarpali, Chirote, Besan Ladoo, Rava Ladoo, Naral Ladoo, Puran Poli, Basundi, Shrikhand, Modak, Sheera

In short

Maharashtrian Diwali centers on faral, a tray of homemade sweets and snacks prepared in the days before Lakshmi Puja. The sweet half usually holds anarsa, karanji, shankarpali, chirote and besan, rava or naral ladoos. Festive meals add puran poli, basundi, shrikhand and sheera, especially on Padwa and Bhau Beej.

Diwali sweets in Maharashtra

Families start making faral a week or more ahead, and plates of it are exchanged with neighbors and offered to every visitor. Anarsa is the most demanding item: the rice must be soaked for days and the dough rested, so many households begin with it. Basundi and shrikhand are typically served at the Padwa and Bhau Beej meals.

The 12 sweets

What each one is, what it is made of, and how long it keeps.

01 of 12
Anarsa
Fried & crispKeeps 2+ weeks
A crisp-edged, chewy fried disc made from rice flour and jaggery dough rested for several days, then pressed onto poppy seeds. It is the signature faral sweet and the hardest to get right.

Made with: Soaked rice flour, jaggery, poppy seeds, ghee
02 of 12
Karanji
Stuffed pastry & flatbreadKeeps 2+ weeks
A crescent-shaped fried pastry filled with roasted dry coconut, sugar and cardamom. Sealed edges are crimped by hand or with a cutter so the filling stays dry and crisp.

Made with: Maida or fine rava, dry coconut, sugar, poppy seeds, cardamom
03 of 12
Shankarpali
Fried & crispKeeps 2+ weeks
Small diamond-cut sweet crackers, fried until golden and crunchy. They are easy to make in large batches, which is why every faral box has them.

Made with: Maida, milk, sugar, ghee
04 of 12
Chirote
Fried & crispKeeps 2+ weeks
A layered, flaky pastry rolled with a ghee and rice-flour paste between the layers, fried and dusted with powdered sugar or dipped in light syrup.

Made with: Maida, ghee, rice flour paste (satva), powdered sugar
05 of 12
Besan Ladoo
LadooKeeps 2+ weeks
Gram flour roasted slowly in ghee until it smells nutty, then mixed with powdered sugar and shaped. Patient roasting is what removes the raw taste.

Made with: Gram flour, ghee, powdered sugar, cardamom
06 of 12
Rava Ladoo
LadooKeeps about a week
Roasted semolina and coconut bound with sugar syrup or ghee. Softer than besan ladoo, and quick enough to make on the day.

Made with: Semolina, coconut, sugar, ghee, cashews, raisins
07 of 12
Naral Ladoo
LadooRefrigerate, 2 to 4 days
Coconut ladoo, cooked with sugar or jaggery and often milk or khoya. With fresh coconut they are moist and should be refrigerated.

Made with: Fresh or dry coconut, sugar or jaggery, milk or khoya
08 of 12
Puran Poli
Stuffed pastry & flatbreadRefrigerate, 2 to 4 days
A soft flatbread stuffed with sweet chana dal and jaggery (puran), cooked on a tava and served with ghee or katachi amti.

Made with: Chana dal, jaggery, wheat flour, cardamom, nutmeg, ghee
09 of 12
Basundi
Milk & chhenaRefrigerate, 2 to 4 days
Milk simmered for a long time until thick and creamy, sweetened and served chilled with nuts. A favorite for Padwa and Bhau Beej meals.

Made with: Full-fat milk, sugar, cardamom, nutmeg, nuts
10 of 12
Shrikhand
Milk & chhenaRefrigerate, 2 to 4 days
Strained yogurt whisked with sugar, saffron and cardamom until silky. Served chilled with puris; the mango version is amrakhand.

Made with: Hung curd, sugar, saffron, cardamom
11 of 12
Modak
Stuffed pastry & flatbreadBest eaten fresh
Steamed rice-flour dumplings with a coconut and jaggery filling, best known from Ganesh Chaturthi. Fried modaks keep longer than steamed ones.

Made with: Rice flour, fresh coconut, jaggery, cardamom
12 of 12
Sheera
Halwa & puddingBest eaten fresh
A quick semolina halwa cooked in ghee and milk, often made as naivedya (offering) for puja and served warm.

Made with: Semolina, ghee, sugar, milk, saffron, cardamom

At a glance: type and keeping time

Make the long-keeping sweets first and the milk-based ones last. Keeping times are typical for homemade sweets in an airtight container in a cool kitchen; shop-bought sweets may differ.

Sweet	Type	Keeps
Anarsa	Fried & crisp	Keeps 2+ weeks
Karanji	Stuffed pastry & flatbread	Keeps 2+ weeks
Shankarpali	Fried & crisp	Keeps 2+ weeks
Chirote	Fried & crisp	Keeps 2+ weeks
Besan Ladoo	Ladoo	Keeps 2+ weeks
Rava Ladoo	Ladoo	Keeps about a week
Naral Ladoo	Ladoo	Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
Puran Poli	Stuffed pastry & flatbread	Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
Basundi	Milk & chhena	Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
Shrikhand	Milk & chhena	Refrigerate, 2 to 4 days
Modak	Stuffed pastry & flatbread	Best eaten fresh
Sheera	Halwa & pudding	Best eaten fresh

Related sweets in other states

Anarsa: soaked rice flour and jaggery dough, rested, then fried. Related: Ariselu (Andhra Pradesh), Adhirasam (Tamil Nadu), Anarsa (Bihar).
Karanji: a sealed half-moon pastry with a dry sweet filling, fried crisp. Related: Kajjikayalu (Andhra Pradesh), Karjikai (Karnataka), Ghughra (Gujarat), Somas (Tamil Nadu), Pedakiya (Bihar).
Puran Poli: chana dal and jaggery filling inside a thin flatbread. Related: Bobbatlu (Andhra Pradesh), Obbattu / Holige (Karnataka).
Chirote: many thin layers fried crisp, then sugared or soaked. Related: Chiroti (Karnataka), Khaja (Bihar), Kakinada Kaja (Andhra Pradesh), Madatha Kaja (Andhra Pradesh).
Basundi: milk cooked down for hours into kova, peda or kunda. Related: Palakova (Andhra Pradesh), Palkova (Tamil Nadu), Dharwad Peda (Karnataka), Belagavi Kunda (Karnataka), Basundi (Gujarat).

Frequently asked questions

What are the most popular Maharashtrian Diwali sweets?

Maharashtrian Diwali centers on faral, a tray of homemade sweets and snacks prepared in the days before Lakshmi Puja. The sweet half usually holds anarsa, karanji, shankarpali, chirote and besan, rava or naral ladoos. Festive meals add puran poli, basundi, shrikhand and sheera, especially on Padwa and Bhau Beej.

Which Maharashtrian Diwali sweets keep longest for gifting?

Anarsa, Karanji, Shankarpali, Chirote and Besan Ladoo keep for two weeks or more in an airtight container, so they can be made first and are the safest to gift or courier.

Which Maharashtrian Diwali sweets need to be made last or refrigerated?

Naral Ladoo, Puran Poli, Basundi, Shrikhand, Modak and Sheera are milk-, chhena-, curd- or fresh-coconut based or best served warm. Make them a day or two ahead at most, refrigerate, and serve within a few days.

Which other states make similar sweets?

Rice and jaggery fried discs: Ariselu (Andhra Pradesh), Adhirasam (Tamil Nadu), Anarsa (Bihar). Crimped crescent pastries: Kajjikayalu (Andhra Pradesh), Karjikai (Karnataka), Ghughra (Gujarat), Somas (Tamil Nadu), Pedakiya (Bihar). Sweet-stuffed flatbreads: Bobbatlu (Andhra Pradesh), Obbattu / Holige (Karnataka). Layered fried pastries: Chiroti (Karnataka), Khaja (Bihar), Kakinada Kaja (Andhra Pradesh), Madatha Kaja (Andhra Pradesh). Slow-reduced milk sweets: Palakova (Andhra Pradesh), Palkova (Tamil Nadu), Dharwad Peda (Karnataka), Belagavi Kunda (Karnataka), Basundi (Gujarat).