People all over India are eagerly waiting for the season of festivities ‘Navratri’ to start. The Sanskrit meaning of Navratri is 'Nine Nights.' These nine days are committed to Goddess Durga; we assume that Goddess resides in our home to bless us during this time. We pray nine forms of Durga during this period.
Each day resembles one of the forms of Maa Durga, and this is the reason it is also called Navdurga. A common practice of keeping the ritualistic fasts is an essential part of the Navratri celebrations. People hold the fast to please the Goddess. Some people say that this is the way to say thanks to 'Maa.'
During the fast, there is food limitation, non-vegetarian foods, eggs, regular salt, wheat flour, alcohol, etc. are strictly restricted time as per Hindu religion. You can use some specific ingredients during these days to prepare fasting food.
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The Navratri food includes:
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Rock salt [Sendha namak]
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Sago [Sabudana]
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Buckwheat flour [Kuttu ka atta]
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Samo rice [Sama ke chawal]
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Certain vegetables
Nevertheless, you can do many experiments with these ingredients.
Best Recipes to Try This Navratri
Here's some delicious recipes;
Sabudana Poha
Filled with good quality starch and carbohydrates, Sabudana is an instant energy booster during these fasts. Sabudana poha is made of tapioca pearls mainly cultivated in the southern part of the country; it is the most relished recipe during Navratri fasting. You can groom it up with peanuts, coriander, and fast spices like sendha namak and black pepper.
Kuttu Ki Puri/Kachodi
The puri made with kuttu atta is most compliment with Aloo Bhaji. To make Khachodi, you can mix boiled potato in Kuttu atta and relish the same with chilled curd. Kuttu is known to lift energy levels. It keeps the stomach full for long hours. As it gives heat to the stomach, you must have the kuttu puri with a good amount of curd to balance. It is one of the most usable ingredients during Navratri fasts.
Roasted makhana
It is one of the popular snacks that devotees love to have these days. You can make kheer also with Fox nut [makahana], but the most popularly enjoyable version of these seeds is when they are just roasted and topped with little salt and pepper.
Bottleguord [Ghiye ki sabzi]
You can make bottled gourd vegetables with Navratri spices as it has a lot of nutrients and has many benefits like it cures constipation which is common during Navratri because of oily food. Bottle gourd is also known as supercooling food during Navratri as it contains 96% water.
Samai Rice [Pulao]
Regular price is not allowed to consume during Navratri fasts. You can make pulao of samai rice [barnyard millet]. You can put tomato, potato, coriander, and green chili to prepare pulao. You can have samai pulao with plain curd or have it with Aloo or ghiya sabzi.
Sabudana/Samai or Makhana kheer
In the dessert, you can make kheer either with sabudana or samai rice or makhana as well. A pinch of cardamom powder and saffron with a topping of nuts will enhance the aroma and taste of the desert. If you plan to make a sabudana kheer, you need to soak the sabudana for 3-4 hours before adding it to milk. For makhana kheer, it's better to put roasted makhana in place of plain one to make the desert more powerful.
Sabudana Tikki or aloo tikki
For sabudana tikki, again, you have to use soaked sabudana. Mix the sabudana with mashed potato, and there you are set to make sabudana tikki. You can make aloo tikki as a regular one with fast spices.
Sweet potato Chaat
For health reasons, people try to consume fruits at maximum. But have you ever tried sakarkandi chaat? Yes, the chatpata chaat that you find on the street. To prepare sakarkandi chaat, you need to boil sweet potato and topped with lemon, rock salt, and pepper.
Raw banana burfi [Kacche kele ki burfi]
Have you ever thought of making burfi out of raw bananas? Ingredients required to make Kacche Kele ki burfi are raw bananas, sugar, and milk. This dessert is healthy and delicious too.
Summer drinks
It is very important to add summer drinks like buttermilk, lassi, and lemon water to your diet during Navratri fasts to keep your body hydrated and cool. Yoand u can consume shakes like banana shake, apple shake, strawberry shake as it gives a lot of energy and keeps the stomach full for long hours.
Apart from the above, there are many other recipes that you can consume during Navratri, such as Aaloo papad, sabudana papad, Chips, Vrat Namkeen, Simple roasted aloo with curd. Please drink a minimum of 8-10 glasses of water to keep your body hydrated and healthy.
