102 Navratri Recipes, Navratri Vrat Recipes, Navratri Food

Faraali Pahadi Tikka

The first is called as Vasantha Navratri while the other is called Sharadha Navratri in the South and Dusshera in the North. In South India, the festival celebrates the victory of Shakthi over the demon Mahishasura, while North India celebrates the victory of Rama over Ravana. In either case, it is clearly the victory of good over evil.

South Indian Navratri is a total gala celebration spanning nine days, the first three days glorifying Durga, then Lakshmi and finally Saraswati, the three key forms of the Goddess. The tenth day denotes the unification of the three forms into one primordial force that vanquishes evil. Many families have a practice of keeping a doll display at home, while others focus on pujas alone. In either case, South Indians generally invite other women to their homes and honour them by giving them haldi and kumkum.

Layered Handva, Farali Handvo Recipe, Fasting Recipe, Vrat Recipe

The guests are served sundal (a dish of boiled pulses tempered traditionally and garnished with coconut) and some sweets too. Elaborate pujas are held every day, in the mornings and evenings, at homes, and in temples and other community centres.

In North Indian Navratri, people perform pujas and observe fasts during the initial days of Navratri, while the last few days are celebrated as a community event culminating in the burning of Ravana’s effigy on the last day. Durga Puja of Bengal requires no introduction as it is a grand event that has gained international fame. People come from across the world to witness the grandeur with which Maa Durga is worshipped there.

Kand Aloo Pakoda

All over India, Navratri is a busy time. Women, especially, have multiple dimensions to handle, from the pujas and religious activities to social gatherings and of course, fasting too! Like feasting, fasting is an art too.

While fasting properly is a great way to cleanse your body and tone your soul, doing it wrong can make you tired and irritable. Nothing can be worse than doing it wrong for nine days at a stretch!

Buckwheat Khichdi, Farali Kutto Khichdi Recipe

So, we dedicate this section to fasting recipes, which will ensure that you stick to all the religious guidelines while still supplying your body the required energy and nutrition to go about its activities robustly. Once you know which ingredients are to be avoided, you can comfortably replace them with permitted ingredients and prepare tasty foods, ranging from snacks and sweets to one-pot meals.

Walnut Sheera

Foods avoided during Navratri

Foods preferred during Navratri

Several interesting dishes can also be prepared with these ingredients. This section provides an appropriate selection of khichdi (one-pot meal), thalipeeth, pancakes and kadhi recipes for you to fast healthily. Try them out, to make fasting more enjoyable this Navratri.

While the festival is all about fasting, there is usually no limit to the number of meals one can opt for. So snacks play a very important role during this festival. Widen up your culinary skills and you will realise that you can cook a variety of sumptuous meals during Navratri.

Sabudana Vada, is of course, the most traditional fasting snack from the land of Maharashtra. However, this delicacy now features on the most other menus. This recipe needs 4 to 5 hours of soaking, so plan it in advance. The crunchy peanuts that punctuate every bite are something that you will surely enjoy.

The famous South Indian dosa also find place in this Navratri menu. Rice and urad dal have been replaced with rajgira and sanwa millet and is made in the traditional way by soaking in sour buttermilk for 2 hours and fermenting for 8 hours to make Farali Dosa.