Diwali is not a single day in a Maharashtra kitchen, it is a season. The cleaning starts early, the diyas are counted, and somewhere in the middle of it all, someone gets out the big kadhai for faral.
Faral is the plate of savoury and sweet snacks made at home for the festival. It is what you offer a guest who drops in, what sits on the table while the diyas are lit, and what you pack and send to relatives who could not come this year. With Diwali a few weeks away, our advance bookings for Diwali faral are now open.
What faral means
The Marathi word फराळ (Faral) traditionally means food eaten as a light meal or refreshment, especially food prepared for a festival or special occasion. On a Diwali plate it becomes a spread rather than a single dish: many small items, some crisp and salty, some sweet, each made separately and then arranged together. The point is the choice.
Families have their own list, and it changes a little from home to home. Ours covers the favourites most people ask for.
What goes into our faral
- Chakli — the crisp, spiral one made from rice flour and spices, piped by hand and fried until it snaps.
- Karanji — a fried half-moon pastry with a sweet filling of coconut and jaggery, or of poppy seeds.
- Ladoo — round sweets, most often of besan or rava, roasted slowly in ghee and rolled while warm.
- Chivda — the light, crunchy mix of flattened rice, peanuts, dal and curry leaves, with a little sweetness to balance the salt.
- Shankarpali — small diamond-shaped pieces of dough, fried and tossed in sugar or kept plain.
- Anarse — the sweet rice-flour disc, sprinkled with sesame, made in the days before Diwali.
There is usually more, and the exact list is yours to choose. If your family always had a particular item on the faral plate, message us and ask. We will tell you if we can make it.
Fresh, in small batches
Faral is fried food, and fried food is only as good as the day it is made. Once it is a few days old, the crisp things go soft and the oil turns. This is why we make faral to order rather than keep a stock of ready packets.
Each item is made in its own small batch, because chakli and chivda do not want the same oil, and a sweet ladoo should never sit in a pan that just fried a savoury. Doing it this way takes longer, but the result is faral that still has its snap when it reaches your table.
Sweets for the pooja, snacks for the guests
Most people order faral with two jobs in mind. The sweets, like ladoo and anarse, go on the pooja plate and are offered to guests. The savouries, like chakli and chivda, are the ones that get eaten through the evening while the house is full.
Tell us how many people you are expecting and whether the faral is mainly for the pooja, for guests, or for both. That helps us suggest quantities, so you neither run short nor end up with faral left over after the festival.
Gift packs and custom quantities
Diwali is also a time for giving, and faral travels well. We pack faral in gift boxes for family, neighbours and office colleagues, and in larger packs for the house. Pack sizes are flexible, so you can order a small box as a gift or a big batch for a joint family.
Because the quantities are custom, we do not keep a fixed price card. Message us with what you want and how much, and we will send you the full list of items and prices on WhatsApp.
How to order
Faral is made fresh, so please order in advance. The last week before Diwali is our busiest, and the earlier you tell us, the better we can plan the batches and get your order to you on time.
Message us on WhatsApp with the items you want, the quantities, and the date you need them. We will confirm the order and the price. We deliver in Panvel and nearby areas, and we are happy to help you put together a faral list that fits your family and your budget.
If you are not sure where to start, send us a message and ask for the popular combination. We will guide you through it.
