7 Famous Diwali Sweets From Different Indian States And Where To Find Them

Diwali is one of the most important festivals in India and is known as the festival of lights. But little did you know that it is also the festival of flavors, with every state across the country offering a unique flavor. Every state has a sweet that is infused with its local heritage and adds a piece of variety to the festive platter. So this Diwali, let's explore the flavors of various Diwali sweets from different Indian states and also where you can easily find them. 

Indian Diwali Sweets By State

1. Karanji, Maharashtra

Karanji is an important element of Maharashtra’s Diwali Faral thali. It is a crescent-shaped fried pastry with a flaky, delicate outer cover or crust. The shell is made from a refined flour mix that is mixed with hot ghee or mohan. The inner filling of this dish is made using grated dry coconut, poppy seeds, powdered sugar, semolina, and aromatic cardamom. The outer crust is filled with this filling and closed in a special manner before deep-frying in pure ghee until it is golden brown and crisp. 

Where To Find: Panshikar in Dadar, Girgaon in Mumbai, or Chitali Bandhu Mithaiwale in Pune. 

2. Mysore Pak, Karnataka

Mysore Pak is the pride of Karnataka’s culinary heritage and was created in the royal kitchen of Amba Vilas Palace. This sweet dish was made by royal chef Kakasura Madappa using three simple ingredients: sugar, roasted chickpea flour (besan), and a generous amount of ghee. The magic of creating this sweet dish lies in the precise temperature control as molten ghee is continuously folded into the hot batter. The traditional version of this sweet features a golden, crisp texture with rich aerated pockets, while the modern ones have a fudge-like consistency. Serving Mysuru Pak during Diwali is considered a mark of royal hospitality in Karnataka. 

Where To Find: Sri Krishna Sweets, Bengaluru & Chennai; Guru Sweets in Mysuru. 

Also Read: Is Diwali 2026 On November 8 Or 9? Dates And The Confusion Explained

3. Adhirasam, Tamil Nadu

Adhirasam is a doughnut-like ancient sweet pastry that is deeply rooted in Tamil spiritual traditions and history. It is prepared during Diwali and served as naivedhyam in various temples. This sweet is prepared using simple ingredients where raw rice is soaked, ground into a fine flour, and mixed with dark jaggery syrup, seasoned with cardamom and dry ginger, to create a soft dough. This dough is aged for several days until it is fermented. After fermentation, it is cut into small portions, flattened into discs, and fried in ghee or sesame oil. It is known to yield a deep-golden sweet with a crispy outer shell and a soft core. 

Where To Find: Grand Sweets & Snacks in Chennai, Heritage sweet outlets in Madurai & Kumbakonam. 

4. Sandesh, Bengal

Sandesh is one of the well-known Chhena-based sweets that is an essential part of West Bengal’s Diwali celebration. It is cooked with sugar or date palm jaggery or Nolen gur on low heat. Unlike other sweet dishes from Bengal, Sandesh does not depend on subtle flavors like saffron, cardamom, or green pistachio. Sandesh is available across Bengal and India in various forms and flavors. From soft-dough Kachagolla to firm molded shapes that are pressed into wooden blocks showing shapes of leaves and conches, Sandesh has wide varieties. 

Where To Find: Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick in Kolkata and K.C. Das in Kolkata. 

5. Mawa Kachori, Rajasthan

This Rajasthani sweet dish was invented in Jodhpur and is known to transform the savory kachori format into a rich dessert. It is a pastry pocket of refined flour dough that is stuffed with a rich mixture of mawa, saffron, crushed almonds, cardamom, and pistachios. After deep-frying this dish till you get a hard golden crunch, this kachori is cracked open at the top and drenched in saffron-infused sugar syrup. It is one of the most loved and relished dishes during Diwali in Rajasthan. 

Where To Find: Janta Sweet Home in Jodhpur and Rawat Mishthan Bhandar in Jodhpur and Jaipur. 

Also Read: What To Gift This Diwali? Unique Ideas Beyond Mithai And Dry Fruits

6. Mohanthal, Gujarat

Mohanthal is a traditional Gujarati sweet fudge that is made as an essential prasad for Goddess Laxmi on Laxmi Puja in Diwali. It is prepared by roasting coarsely ground chickpea flour or besan with milk and ghee until it turns brown. A warm sugar syrup with saffron strands, green cardamom, and nutmeg is added to the mixture and mixed until it offers a grainy, melt-in-the-mouth texture. It is then spread in wide trays and left to set. For garnishing, people use slivered almonds or pistachios, and it is loved for its nutty aroma, comforting, warm spices, and roasted flavors. 

Where To Find: Kailash Sweets in Surat and Kandoi Bhogilal Mulchand in Ahmedabad. 

7. Doda Barfi, Punjab

Hailing from the heartland of Punjab, Doda Barfi is a multi-textured milk fudge that is known to offer the rustic flavors of North India. It is made by slow-cooking full-cream milk along with ankurits gehu, or sprouted wheat flour, sugar, and ghee for several hours. As the milk thickens and reduces, the liquid jaggery or glucose is added to achieve a dark mahogany color with a grainy texture. It is then garnished with cut dry fruits and is loved for its nuttiness. 

Where To Find: Lovely Sweets in Jalandhar, Royal Kotkapura Doda Barfi in Kotkapura, Punjab.

Also Read: Here’s Where You Can Eat, Sip And Socialize This Diwali 2026 In Mumbai

Note: This article was compiled after verifying current publicly available business information. 

Summing Up

From Rajasthan’s Mawa Kachori and Maharashtra’s Karanji to Karnataka’s Mysore Pak and Bengal’s Sandesh, every single regional Indian sweet dish is a symbol of hospitality and prosperity during Diwali. Let us know which of these sweets you have already tried and which ones are your favorites!