Dry Fruit Names in Hindi and English: A Complete Buyer's Glossary
Buying dry fruits in India means moving between two vocabularies. The shopkeeper says akhrot, the packet says walnut. A recipe calls for munakka, the website sells raisins. Someone asks for anjeer and you are not certain whether that is a fig or a date.
This is a plain names reference: the English name, the common Hindi or Urdu name, the Kashmiri word where there is one, and a line on what the thing actually is so you can tell apart the pairs that get confused. Keep it open the next time you are ordering.
Nuts
| English | Hindi / Urdu | Kashmiri | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almond | Badam | Badaam | The kernel of a stone fruit, not a true nut. Badam giri means the shelled kernel |
| Walnut | Akhrot | Doon | Kashmir grows most of India's crop. The brain-shaped kernel inside a hard shell |
| Cashew | Kaju | Kaju | Grows on the bottom of the cashew apple. Graded by code: W180, W240, W320 |
| Pistachio | Pista | Pista | Sold in shell or shelled, salted or plain. Green kernel, purple skin |
| Pine nut | Chilgoza | Chilgoz | Seed of a Himalayan pine, gathered from wild cones. Soft, not crunchy |
| Hazelnut | Pahadi badam / hazelnut | — | Round, hard-shelled. Not grown in India |
| Peanut | Moongphali | — | A legume, not a nut, although it is eaten as one |
| Apricot kernel | Khubani ki giri | — | The seed inside the apricot stone. Sweet varieties are eaten; bitter ones are not |
Walnuts, almonds and chilgoza from the valley, plus the cashews and pistachios that do not grow here, labelled honestly either way.
Browse the rangeDried fruits
| English | Hindi / Urdu | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Fig | Anjeer | A dried fig. Chewy, seedy, naturally sweet. Not a date |
| Date | Khajoor | Fruit of the date palm. Ajwa, Medjool and Kalmi are varieties |
| Dry date | Chhuara / kharak | A date dried hard, quite different from a soft Medjool |
| Raisin | Kishmish | A dried grape, usually small, pale and seedless |
| Large dark raisin | Munakka / abjosh | A different, larger grape, dried with seeds. A soaking raisin, not a snacking one |
| Apricot | Khubani | Sun-dried apricot. Genuine untreated ones are brown, not bright orange |
| Prune | Aloo bukhara (dried) | A dried plum |
| Cranberry | Cranberry | Nearly always sweetened, because the fruit is too sour otherwise |
| Blueberry, blackberry | — | Dried berries, usually sugar-infused. Check the ingredient list |
| Gooseberry | Amla | Dried or candied Indian gooseberry |
| Mulberry | Shahtoot | Small, pale, very sweet dried berry |
Seeds
| English | Hindi | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Chia seeds | Chia (no older Hindi name) | Often confused with sabja. Chia is grey-black and speckled |
| Basil seeds | Sabja / tukmaria | Pure black, swells faster than chia. Used in falooda |
| Flax seeds | Alsi | Glossy brown. Usually ground before use |
| Pumpkin seeds | Kaddu ke beej | Flat green kernels, sold hulled |
| Sunflower seeds | Surajmukhi ke beej | Pale, mild, usually hulled |
| Sesame seeds | Til | White or black. The base of gajak and til laddu |
| Melon seeds | Magaz / char magaz | Char magaz is a four-seed mix used in Indian sweets and gravies |
Chia, flax, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, plain and unroasted, sold as single packs or as one mix.
Browse the rangeKashmiri specialities
| English | Local name | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Saffron | Kesar (Hindi), Kong (Kashmiri) | The dried red stigmas of the crocus flower. Mongra is the top grade |
| Morel mushroom | Guchi / gucchi | Wild foraged, never farmed. Hollow, honeycombed cap |
| Kashmiri green tea | Kahwa | Green tea with saffron, cardamom and cinnamon. No milk |
| Pink salt tea | Noon chai / sheer chai | Salted milk tea, pink from long boiling with a pinch of soda |
| Rose preserve | Gulkand | Rose petals preserved slowly in sugar |
| Spice cake | Ver / veri masala | A pressed, dried cake of ground spices, crumbled into a dish at the end |
| Black cumin | Shahi jeera | Finer and darker than ordinary cumin, sweeter aroma |
The six pairs people mix up
- Anjeer and khajoor. Anjeer is a fig: round, flat-ish, pale brown, full of tiny crunchy seeds. Khajoor is a date: oval, smooth, sticky, with a single long stone.
- Kishmish and munakka. Both are dried grapes, but from different grapes. Kishmish is small, pale and seedless, eaten as a snack. Munakka is large, dark and usually has seeds, and is meant to be soaked.
- Chia and sabja. Chia is grey-brown and speckled and takes its time to swell. Sabja is jet black, swells within minutes into a thick jelly, and is what goes into falooda.
- Badam and badam giri. The second simply means the shelled kernel. Neither is a variety.
- Khubani and the kernel inside it. Khubani is the dried apricot. Khubani ki giri is the seed inside its stone, a different product.
- Mamra and Gurbandi. Both small, oily Afghan-type almonds, frequently mislabelled as each other. We untangle them in Kashmiri almond varieties explained.
Words on packets that are not names
Some words look like varieties and are not. Knowing them stops you paying for nothing.
- Giri: kernel.
- Kaghzi: paper-like, meaning a thin shell. A shell type, not a variety.
- W180, W240, W320: cashew grades. W is whole, and the number is roughly how many kernels make a pound, so a lower number means a bigger nut.
- Jumbo, premium, A1, export quality: seller language with no fixed meaning.
- Seedless: for apricots and dates it usually means pitted, not a seedless variety.
- Organic: a certification with a licence number, not a description. Ask for it.
How to use this when you order
Give the seller the name and one specific: not just badam, but Kashmiri badam giri, or Mamra; not just kishmish, but black kishmish or munakka; not just anjeer, but dried white figs. Specifics are how you avoid getting the cheaper cousin of the thing you wanted. The rest of the checks are in how to buy Kashmiri dry fruits online.
Our own range is in the dry fruits collection, with almonds, walnuts, raisins, dates and seeds separately. If a name on a packet anywhere is confusing you, send us a photo on WhatsApp and we will tell you what it is, even if you are buying it from someone else.
Common questions
What is anjeer in English?
Fig. Anjeer is the dried fig sold in Indian dry fruit shops.
What is munakka called in English?
It is a raisin, specifically a large dark raisin dried with the seeds in, from a different grape than ordinary kishmish.
What is akhrot in English?
Walnut. In Kashmiri it is doon.
What is khubani in English?
Apricot. Dried apricot in most shop contexts.
Are chia seeds and sabja the same?
No. Sabja is basil seed: jet black and swells in minutes. Chia is speckled grey-brown and swells more slowly.
What does W180 mean on cashews?
A grade. W is whole kernels, and 180 is roughly how many go into a pound, so W180 are large and W320 are smaller.