Walk into most Maharashtrian kitchens and the flour shelf usually has more than wheat on it — jowar and bajra for bhakri, nachni for porridge and laddoos, sometimes oats for a quicker breakfast. DIVYNKA, made by the women of Shri Krishna Mahila Swayam Sahayata Samuh in Satara, has turned four of these everyday grains into a tea-time cookie: no maida, no artificial colour, sweetened with jaggery instead of refined sugar. If you've opened the DIVYNKA section on UmedMart and aren't sure whether to pick Oats, Jwari, Bajri or Nachni first, here's what actually separates the four — and which pack size makes sense for how you'll eat them.
Same recipe idea, four different grains
All four DIVYNKA cookies follow the same basic approach: a single grain flour, natural jaggery for sweetness, no maida (refined wheat flour) and no artificial colour, handcrafted in small batches. What changes from tin to tin is the grain itself — and each one carries its own place in Maharashtrian food habits.
Oats
Of the four, oats will feel the most familiar if you already eat oatmeal or muesli — it's not a grain with deep roots in Maharashtrian cooking the way the other three are, but it bakes into a milder, more neutral cookie that's an easy entry point if you're trying the range for the first time or buying for kids who haven't grown up on millet bhakri.
Jwari (Jowar / Sorghum)
Jowar is a staple grain across Maharashtra, most familiar as jwarichi bhakri — the flatbread that shows up on thalis across the state, especially in winter. DIVYNKA's Jwari cookie carries that same base grain into a sweet format, so if you already know and like the taste of jowar bhakri, this is the closest match to something you'd recognise.
Bajri (Bajra / Pearl Millet)
Bajra is the other major bhakri grain in Maharashtra, particularly through Marathwada and Vidarbha, and is traditionally eaten more in the cooler months. It has a heartier, denser character than jowar, which is roughly what carries over into the cookie — a more substantial bite than the Oats variant.
Nachni (Ragi / Finger Millet)
Nachni is the grain most people in Maharashtra grew up with in porridge (ambil) form, and it's also the one distinctive fact worth knowing if you're choosing between the four for a specific reason: finger millet is naturally gluten-free, unlike wheat, oats (which can carry cross-contamination unless certified gluten-free) or the other grains in this range. If that matters for someone in your household, Nachni is the one to check first — though do note DIVYNKA doesn't market this as a certified gluten-free product, so if gluten is a strict medical concern, that certification is what to look for rather than the grain name alone.
What "no maida, no artificial colour" is actually replacing
Most mass-market cookies in India are built on maida — refined wheat flour with the bran and germ removed — plus refined sugar and often added colour to keep every batch looking identical. DIVYNKA's cookies swap that formula for whole grain flour and jaggery, which is why the colour and texture vary slightly from batch to batch — that's a sign of small-batch, handmade production rather than a factory line, not a defect. Jaggery is still a form of sugar and these are still cookies, not a health food in disguise — the honest way to think about the difference is "whole grain and unrefined sweetener instead of refined flour and refined sugar," not "guilt-free."
Picking your pack size
All four flavours come in a 100 g single pack, a pack of 4 (400 g), and a pack of 12 (1.2 kg) of the same flavour. There's also a Whole Grain Variety Combo — one 100 g pack each of Oats, Jwari, Bajri and Nachni — which is the easiest way to try all four before committing to a full case of one.
- First time trying DIVYNKA: the single 100 g pack of whichever grain you're curious about, or the four-flavour Variety Combo if you can't decide.
- Regular tea-time snacking for one or two people: the pack of 4 in your preferred flavour.
- Family use, school tiffins, or gifting: the pack of 12, or a mix of packs of 4 across flavours if the household has more than one favourite.
All four flavours and the Variety Combo are currently in stock on UmedMart, sold individually or as part of the Cookies collection — you'll also find other whole-grain and millet snacks from Maharashtra's SHGs in the Millets collection if you want to build out a wider whole-grain pantry.
Where to buy each flavour
- DIVYNKA Oats Cookies, 100 g
- DIVYNKA Jwari Cookies, 100 g
- DIVYNKA Bajri Cookies, 100 g
- DIVYNKA Nachani Cookies, 100 g
- DIVYNKA Whole Grain Variety Combo (Oats + Jwari + Bajri + Nachni)
Every DIVYNKA cookie is handcrafted by the women of Shri Krishna Mahila Swayam Sahayata Samuh in Satara district — buying a pack, in a small way, supports that group's income directly rather than a large commercial bakery.
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