A solar dryer fitted with a novel design of absorber having inbuilt thermal storage capabilities was designed, fabricated, simulated and also tested at Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering Research & Technology, Chandrapur (MS) India. Thermic oil was used as a storage material. The main objective of the study was to reduce the drying period and enhance the quality of dried product mainly chillies and fenugreek leaves. The products were laid in a single layer. The dimensions of the dryer were arrived at using the well-defined procedure available in literature. The mass of thermic oil needed in the absorber and mass of product to be dried in trays were optimized using simulation techniques. The maximum drying air temperature required for drying agricultural products was around 65 degrees C. The ambient conditions at the location were 25-40 degrees C, 16-43% RH and solar radiation 105-1024 W m(-2). Experimental studies based on temperature and humidity measurements were performed on the dryer. The research concluded that the desired drying air temperature was achieved and maintained for a longer period. The length of operation of the solar air heater and the efficiency of the dryer were increased, and better quality of agricultural products in terms of colour value were obtained compared with open sun drying. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.