Badam ki Jali
the net of almonds
Authentic Nawaiti almond cookies and desserts from the Aziz Bagh family recipe of Hyderabad — jali, Ashrafi coins, paan, almond strawberries, peosi and lauz — made fresh to order right here in the USA and shipped to your door.
A lattice you can eat
“Jali” is the word for a lattice with holes, each hole carrying an ornamental design — the pierced stone screens of Deccani tombs and palaces. Badam ki Jali borrows the name because the moulds leave the same lace-like pattern in the almond dough.
The original recipe was milk, egg white, ground almonds, sugar and rose water, kneaded well, cut into lattice shapes and baked in a pan on hot coals — which gave the skin the delicate hardness (khasta) that lets a jali snap at the lightest touch. Ours is made from that family recipe, with organic, eggless and gluten-free options, and each piece is individually wrapped and made fresh after your order is received.
A simple jali is one layer; a warqi jali is two layers with a leaf of silver in between. Its sister sweet, the Ashrafi, is the same almond paste tinted saffron-yellow and pressed between two coin dies — after the gold coins of the old State of Hyderabad.
Cookies, coins and almond shapes
Every piece begins as the same almond dough. What changes is the mould, the layers and the finish.
JaliWarqi jali
Two thin lattice layers with a leaf of silver pressed between them — 4.5 in large or 2.7 in medium.
Warqi jali
JaliNon-warqi jali
The single-layer classic — the pierced round that gave the whole family its name.
Non-warqi jali
CoinsAshrafi
Saffron almond coins, 1.25 in, engraved on both sides — a wedding favour that stands for prosperity.
About the coins
ShapesPaan
The betel leaf, folded and tinted green, pinned with a clove — 1.5 by 1.5 inches.
Paan
ShapesAlmond strawberry & fruits
Fruit shapes modelled by hand from the almond dessert material, leaves and all.
Fruits & shapes
DessertsPeosi & lauz
Egg peosi, hab ke lauz and kaddu ke lauz — the other Nawaiti desserts from the same kitchen.
Peosi & lauzFrom Aziz Bagh, Hyderabad
A Nawaiti family recipe carried from Madras to the Old City of Hyderabad, made for weddings and festivals in the small colony of Aziz Bagh — and now in Michigan.
When the Nawait people migrated to central India from Madras and the southern coasts, they brought their desserts with them: badam ki jali, badam ki ashrafi, anday ki peosi, hab ke lauz, pooran puri, gil-e-firdous and more. Nawab Aziz Jung Bahadur built Aziz Bagh in 1899 with the earnings from his books; the neighbourhood he laid out still carries his name, and the almond sweets its families made at home became something the whole city ordered. Kishwar’s brings that same recipe to the United States.
Read the story
Soak, grind, knead, press, bake
Almonds peeled by hand, ground and kneaded with sugar into a smooth dough, rolled thin, cut into lattice shapes and baked just long enough to set. Every piece is shaped by hand — which is why we make it only after your order comes in.
Making this dessert is labour-intensive, but the result is a creation that looks as good by itself as it does arranged in a tray with Ashrafi, paan and the other shapes.
Step by stepWeddings first, then everything else
For generations the sweet was made at home only for weddings and festivals. We still make trays and decorations for the same days.
Weddings & Sanchak
Decorated trays for the pre-wedding Sanchak, pieces served after the wedding dinner, Ashrafi coins as favours, and the trousseau tradition of old Hyderabad.
Eid, Ramzan & Diwali
Stars-and-crescent trays for Eid, gift boxes for the festive season, and packs that ship free anywhere in the USA.
Family days & gifts
Ladybugs and samosa decorations for the children, almond tablets with a name for a naming day or birthday, trays for any occasion.
What has been written
Nawabi brides were gifted painstakingly made badam-ki-jaali in their trousseaus.
Outlook Traveller, 2014
The name Badam Ki Jali means ‘net of almonds,’ a nod to its intricate, netted designs.
The Siasat Daily, 2025
There are only a couple of families here that make these sweets and they too are related.
Chowder Singh, food blog
Order a pack, or plan a tray
Store packs — 15 large warqi jali, 20 medium warqi, 40 medium non-warqi, 40 Ashrafi, 40 paan or 40 almond diamonds — ship free within the USA. Custom quantities, trays and decorations are arranged by phone or email.
Because every piece is shaped, pressed and baked by hand after your order is received, please allow a few days for a pack and longer for wedding trays and custom pieces in season.
