Wedding season in Mewar runs from late November into February, and the single most common conversation at a dry fruit counter in those months is somebody trying to work out how much they need while standing at the counter.
Here are the numbers, worked out from what actually leaves this shop.
Short answer: Reckon on 25-30 g of mixed dry fruit per guest for a thali, and 60-80 g per guest if dry fruit is also going into the mithai. Order ten days ahead for quantities over ten kilos - not because of stock, but because grading and packing take time.
The per-guest numbers
For a welcome thali or bowls on the table, 25 to 30 grams per guest is the working figure. For 300 guests that is 8 to 9 kilos of mixed dry fruit. People eat less of it than you expect at a wedding because they are eating everything else.
If dry fruit is also going into the mithai - kaju katli, badam barfi, anjeer rolls - add 40 to 50 grams a head on top, and buy that portion as tukda and katran rather than whole grades. It is being ground; nobody will ever see it.
For gift boxes, count the boxes and multiply by the box weight, then add ten per cent. Something always spills, something always gets opened to check, and two boxes always go to people who were not on the list.
The two expensive mistakes
Buying whole grades for things that get ground. This is the big one. A family will buy fifteen kilos of W180 kaju for a wedding and send ten of it to the halwai to be made into katli. That is a third of the money gone for a size nobody will see. Buy whole for the thali and the boxes; buy tukda for the mithai.
Ordering everything on the same day. The second is about timing rather than grade. Dry fruit for the mithai needs to reach the halwai several days early; dry fruit for the thali should arrive as late as possible so it is fresh. Treating it as one order means one of the two is wrong.
When to order
Ten days ahead for anything over ten kilos. Not because the stock is not there - it is - but because grading, weighing and packing fifteen kilos into the forms you need takes a working day, and because the week before a wedding is the week nobody in the family has a spare hour.
In peak season, late November to January, make it two weeks. Several weddings in the same town in the same week is normal here, and the shop is doing the same work for all of them.
The thali portion can come two or three days before. Dry fruit does not need to sit in your house for a fortnight.
What to ask for, in the words that work
A dry fruit order goes smoothly when it is specified in the form it will be used in rather than as a shopping list. So:
"Eight kilos mixed for the thali, boxes of half a kilo." Better than "eight kilos of dry fruit".
"Ten kilos kaju tukda, going to the halwai on the 14th." Tells us the grade and the date in one line.
"Hundred gift boxes, 250 grams, mixed, delivered on the 20th morning." That is a complete order.
Send it on WhatsApp if that is easier - a list in a message is a perfectly good order, and we will send back the weight, the grades and the price before anything is packed.
Buying it in Salumbar
Our dry fruits is on this site with the weight and the price on every pack. Order before 5 PM and it reaches you the same day inside Salumbar, free over ₹200. We have been on Sadar Bazar since 1961. If you would rather just say what you want, send it on WhatsApp and we will confirm the price before we pack anything.
Questions people ask
How much dry fruit for 300 wedding guests?
About 8 to 9 kilos of mixed dry fruit for a welcome thali, at 25 to 30 grams a head. Add another 12 to 15 kilos if dry fruit is going into the mithai as well.
Which kaju grade for wedding mithai?
Tukda or four-piece. It is being ground into katli or barfi, so the size is invisible and whole grades are a waste of a third of the money.
How far ahead should I order?
Ten days for anything over ten kilos, two weeks in peak season from late November to January. The constraint is packing time, not stock.
Do you deliver bulk orders in Salumbar?
Yes, free inside Salumbar. Large orders are delivered on the date you name rather than the date you order.
Can I order on WhatsApp instead of the website?
Yes. Send the list as a message and we will come back with weights, grades and the total before anything is packed.
How long will leftover dry fruit keep?
Whole nuts six to eight months in an airtight tin away from heat. Raisins and figs should go in the fridge. Roasted and broken grades go stale faster - use those first.
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