Dates in Delhi NCR
Six varieties, from an everyday 200 g pack to a 1 kg gift box. Dates are the one thing in this shop that keeps for months rather than days — which makes choosing by variety more useful than choosing by price.
Which date should you buy?
If you are buying a gift, buy Medjoul — large, glossy and unmistakably expensive-looking. For Ramadan, Ajwa, for reasons that are about tradition rather than taste. For everyday snacking, Kimia is soft and richly sweet at a third of the price of Medjoul. For cooking and baking, Zahidi or Deglet Noor hold their shape when chopped instead of turning to paste.
The varieties we carry
Medjoul (UAE) — the largest and softest, tasting of caramel and toffee. The default premium date and the one people recognise.
Ajwa (Madinah, Saudi Arabia) — small, dark and only mildly sweet. Prized for its religious significance more than its sugar, and the traditional choice for breaking a fast.
Kimia (Iran) — soft, moist and deeply sweet. The best value in the range, and the one that disappears fastest in a household.
Zahidi (Iraq) — semi-dry, nutty and lightly sweet, with more chew than the others. Good for cooking.
Deglet Noor (Tunisia) — firm and honey-like, translucent held to the light. Chops cleanly, so it suits baking.
Alig (Tunisia) — the everyday date. Simple, sweet and inexpensive.
Fresh dates are not dried fruit
Most people assume every date is dried. Medjoul and Kimia are not — they are fresh fruit, picked ripe and never dehydrated. That soft, yielding texture is simply how the fruit is, and the glossy sheen is the date’s own sugar rising to the surface, not added syrup or glaze.
It is also why they belong in a fridge rather than a cupboard. A properly fresh Medjoul gives under gentle pressure; one that is hard or crystallised has been sitting somewhere warm.
How to store dates
Keep the soft varieties — Medjoul, Ajwa, Kimia — in an airtight box in the fridge, where they hold for several months. Semi-dry varieties such as Zahidi and Deglet Noor are more forgiving and keep in a cool cupboard.
A fine white bloom sometimes appears after a few weeks. That is natural sugar crystallising, not mould. It is harmless, and letting the dates come to room temperature makes it disappear.
Dates for Ramadan
The fast is traditionally broken with dates and water, which is why demand concentrates so sharply across the month. Ajwa is the variety most associated with the practice; Medjoul is the most common premium alternative.
Ramadan begins around 9 February 2027. Both sell through quickly in the fortnight beforehand, so ordering early is usually the difference between getting the variety you wanted and getting whatever is left.
Dates for gifting
Dates travel better than any other fruit we sell, and they keep for months — which is why they dominate Diwali and corporate gifting. Four of our six fruit hampers are built around them: 500 g of Kimia at ₹2,200 and ₹2,500, and 250 g of Medjoul at ₹2,800 and ₹3,500.
For a gift meant to feel generous rather than merely expensive, 500 g of Medjoul does more work than a mixed basket at the same price.