Diwali Sweets and Festive Foods

No part of Diwali is more shared, in the literal sense, than the food. Trays of mithai move between neighbours, savouries pile up next to the puja thali, and the kitchen carries a faint smell of ghee for days. This guide walks through the foods that show up most often during the festival — what they are, where they come from, and how they're served.

Last reviewed on 30 April 2026.

Why food matters at Diwali

Diwali sits at the end of the harvest in much of the subcontinent. The festival's older meaning is partly a thanksgiving for what's been gathered, and the food shows it: fresh ghee, new-season rice flour, sugar, dried fruit, gram flour, jaggery. On Lakshmi Puja night, sweets are placed before the goddess and then distributed as prasad — a portion that has been offered first. On Govardhan Puja, the offering becomes spectacular: Annakut, literally "mountain of food", is a large vegetarian spread arranged before Krishna and shared with everyone present.

The social side runs in parallel. Boxes of mithai are exchanged with relatives, colleagues and the neighbours one floor up. Many households prepare a small batch of two or three things and trade rather than try to make everything — a quiet way the festival keeps people in touch.

The classic Diwali sweets

Ladoo

Round, hand-shaped sweets made from gram flour (besan), semolina, coconut or peanut, depending on the version. Besan ladoo, made from roasted gram flour and ghee, is the most common Diwali variant; motichoor ladoo, made from tiny droplets of fried batter soaked in syrup, is the formal one. Ladoos travel well, which is why they end up in most gift boxes.

Barfi

A fudge-like sweet cut into squares or diamonds. Plain milk barfi is the base; from there it branches into many varieties — pista barfi (pistachio), coconut barfi, chocolate barfi, and silver-leaf-topped versions that turn up at festivals and weddings. Texture is the key: barfi should be set, not crumbly, and not so dense that it fights back.

Kaju Katli

Diamond-shaped cashew fudge, paler than barfi, finer in texture and usually leafed in edible silver (vark). It's one of the most-gifted Diwali sweets because of its restraint — it isn't aggressively sweet and reads as elegant rather than indulgent.

Jalebi

Bright orange spirals of fermented batter, deep-fried and dunked in saffron-spiked syrup. Eaten warm and best on the day they're made. In some regions jalebi pairs with rabri (thickened sweet milk) at Diwali for a richer dessert.

Gulab Jamun

Soft, deep-brown spheres made from khoya (reduced milk solids) and soaked in cardamom-and-rose syrup. Comforting rather than showy. Most homes either make their own or pick up a tray from a trusted halwai.

Soan Papdi

Flaky, almost candy-floss-like squares with cardamom and pistachio. Probably the single most-circulated Diwali gift box in many cities — partly because of long shelf life, partly because of price. Quality varies wildly between brands.

Peda

Small flattened discs made from milk solids and sugar, often perfumed with cardamom or saffron. Mathura peda from Uttar Pradesh and Dharwad peda from Karnataka are two well-known regional styles, each with a different colour and grain.

Other sweets you'll meet

Chikki (jaggery and peanut brittle), halwa (semolina or carrot), ras malai (cheese discs in sweet milk), mysore pak (a south Indian gram-flour fudge), mohanthal (Gujarati gram-flour sweet) and balushahi (a flaky, glazed pastry) all show up regularly. Northern India leans toward milk-and-khoya sweets; southern India leans toward jaggery, rice flour and ghee.

Savouries (namkeen and farsan)

Sweet boxes are usually balanced by savoury counterparts. Together they make up the faral spread that Maharashtrian families set out, and the wider farsan tradition across western India. Common items include:

• Chakli / Murukku. Spiral-shaped fried snacks made from rice and gram flour, seasoned with cumin and sesame. Crisp, slightly spicy, addictive.
• Chivda / Poha chivda. Flattened rice tossed with peanuts, curry leaves, mustard seeds, turmeric and a hint of sugar. The same idea as a trail mix, savoury side.
• Sev. Thin gram-flour noodles, fried until crisp. Eaten on its own or used to top chaat.
• Mathri. Layered, salty crackers spiced with carom seeds. Pair with tea.
• Shankarpali. Diamond-shaped crisp biscuits that can be sweet or savoury depending on the household.
• Namak Pare. Salt-and-pepper version of shankarpali, usually a touch shorter and crisper.

Regional patterns

Diwali food isn't one menu. A few rough patterns are worth knowing:

• Maharashtra and Gujarat emphasise faral and farsan — trays of mixed savouries and small sweets. Shankarpali, chakli, chivda, ladoo and karanji (a stuffed pastry) are typical.
• North India leans heavily on milk-based sweets — barfi, kaju katli, peda, gulab jamun — and on dry fruit boxes.
• South India centres around murukku, adhirasam (a deep-fried jaggery sweet), mysore pak and rice-flour-based snacks. The festival is sometimes called Deepavali rather than Diwali in this region.
• Bengal has its own confectionery vocabulary built on chhena (fresh cheese): sandesh, rasgulla and the dark, syrup-soaked pantua all appear during the festival, especially around Kali Puja which falls on the same night.

Annakut: the food mountain

Annakut, on the day after Lakshmi Puja, is the most theatrical food moment of the festival. Temples and many households arrange a vegetarian spread — rice dishes, curries, chutneys, breads, sweets — in front of an image of Krishna. The arrangement is meant to evoke the Govardhan hill that Krishna lifted to shelter villagers, and the practical idea is that nothing prepared should be wasted: after the offering, everything is shared.

For more on the day itself, see our overview of the five days of Diwali.

How sweets are gifted

A few small conventions make Diwali gifting easier:

• Mixed boxes are safer than single varieties. Tastes differ widely; an assortment is more likely to please.
• Quantity follows closeness. A tray of mithai for close family, a small box for a colleague or doorman, a single packet for a casual acquaintance.
• Dry fruit is the most universal alternative. Almonds, cashews, pistachios and dates are accepted by households that avoid milk-based sweets, by people watching their sugar, and by anyone who doesn't want yet another box of soan papdi.
• Pair sweet with savoury. Many households prefer a smaller box that includes both rather than two separate sweet boxes.

Common mistakes

• Buying too far ahead. Khoya- and chhena-based sweets — barfi, kaju katli, sandesh — are best within a few days. Soan papdi, chikki and most savouries hold longer.
• Forgetting dietary needs. Many Diwali sweets contain dairy and tree nuts; ask before sending boxes to households with allergies, or pick fruit-and-nut mixes you can verify.
• Overlooking the savouries. A spread that's all sugar gets tiring fast. A handful of chivda or chakli alongside two sweets is a better experience than three sweets alone.
• Treating store-bought as second-best. A reliable halwai's mithai will usually outperform a hurried home batch — the expectation is sharing, not performance.

A small home menu for Lakshmi Puja

If you want to put a simple Diwali plate together at home without an all-day kitchen project:

• One sweet you make — besan ladoo or coconut barfi are both forgiving for first-timers.
• One sweet from a halwai — kaju katli, peda or jalebi.
• One savoury — chivda or store-bought chakli is fine.
• A small bowl of dry fruit and a bowl of fresh fruit (banana, pomegranate) for the puja thali.
• A glass of milk or panchamrit for the offering.

For the order in which these are placed during the actual puja, see our Lakshmi Puja step-by-step guide. If you're thinking about packaging and waste, our notes on an eco-friendly Diwali include suggestions for reusable boxes.