Navratri Fast Recipes

Durga Maa, lehengas, dandiya, garba and Falguni Pathak! These are things that excite us the most during the 9-day celebration of Navratri. But there is one thing that people miss the most during these 9 days – FOOD (at least the people who fast). People who strictly fast are not allowed to eat a long list of items, some of which include – onion, garlic, rice, maida, atta, coffee, lentils and of course chicken!! Sigh.

No worries though cause we have brought you a list of the best food recipes that you can eat while you’re fasting.

Sabudana Pakora

Ingredients

½ cup sabudana or tapioca pearls

1 large potato

¾ tsp cumin seeds/jeera

½ to 1 tsp sugar

1 green chili, chopped

2 tbsp kuttu ka atta/buckwheat flour

¼ cup peanuts

rock salt to taste

Procedure

1.Soak the sabudana or tapioca pearls in enough water overnight or for 4-5 hours.

2.Drain and keep aside in a mixing bowl.

3.Boil the potatoes, peel and chop roughly.

4.Roast the peanuts in a pan till browned and crisp.

5.In a mortar-pestle, coarsely crush the roasted peanuts.

6.Add all ingredients to the drained sabudana, including the chopped potatoes and peanuts.

7.Mix well.

8.Check the taste and add more salt or sugar if required.

9.Heat oil in a kadai or pan.

10.Make small balls with your hands or using a spoon drop the mixture in to medium hot oil.

11.Let the pakoras become opaque and then turn them with a slotted spoon.

12.Deep fry till the sabudana pakoras become light golden and crisp.

13.Drain the pakoras on paper napkins to remove excess oil.

14. Serve hot.

Image Credit:Taste Melanger

Aloo Paneer Kofta

Ingredients

200 gms paneer/cottage cheese, grated

3 medium sized aloo/potatoes, which have been boiled & peeled and then grated

1.5 tbsp almond flour or 1 tbsp milk powder or 1.5 tbsp khoya 

½ tsp black pepper powder or crushed black pepper

¼ or ½ tsp red chili powder/lal mirch powder

¼ or ½ tsp garam masala powder

1 or 1.5 tbsp chopped coriander leaves/dhania patta

1.5 or 2 tbsp corn flour/corn starch

2 to 3 tbsp mixed chopped dry fruits – almonds, cashews, pistachios and raisins

vegetable oil for frying 

rock salt or regular salt as required

chaat masala as required (optional)

Procedure

1.Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, except the dry fruits.

2.Check the seasoning and add more salt or spice powders if required.

3.Take a medium sized ball from the mixture and flatten it slightly.

4.Place the dry fruits in the center.

5.Bring the edges toward the center and cover the dry fruits completely.

6.Seal the kofta well, so that they do not break while frying.

7.Make all the koftas this way.

8.Heat oil for shallow frying or deep frying in a kadai or pan.

9.Add the stuffed koftas and fry till golden brown from all over.

10.Drain the kofta on paper tissues.

11.Serve aloo paneer kofta hot or warm with green chutney or sweet chutney and sprinkled with some chaat masala.

Image Credit: Recipes Hub

Vrat Aloo

Ingredients

3 medium potatoes/aloo

3 medium tomatoes or about a cup of chopped tomatoes

1 or 2 green chilies, chopped

½ tsp carom seeds/ajwain or cumin seeds

1 .5 to 2 cups water

2 tbsp oil

rock salt or sendha namak as required

Procedure

1.Rinse the potatoes; add the potatoes with 3 cups water in the pressure cooker.

2.Sprinkle teaspoon of sendha namak.

3.Boil the 3 potatoes in the pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles, till the potatoes cook and soften.

4.Peel and keep them aside.

5.Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan.

6.Crackle the ½ teaspoon of carom seeds first.

7.Now add the 1-2 chopped green chilies.

8.Sauté for half a minute.

9.Add a cup of chopped tomatoes and saute.

10.Stir and saute till the oil starts to leave the sides of the mixture.

11.The tomatoes would have cooked by now and become soft.

12.Continue to stir in between when cooking the tomatoes a couple of times.

13.Directly crumble the 3 boiled potatoes in the tomato gravy.

14.Stir and mix well.

15.Add 2 cups of water, stir well.

16.Sprinkle sendha namak as required.

17.Simmer till the gravy thickens a bit.

18.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve vrat wale aloo hot. The gravy will thicken as it cools down.

Image Credit: hindi.khoobsurati

Kaju Paneer Barfi

Ingredients

1 cup (150 grams) cashew nuts

1 cup milk

250 grams paneer

3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar 

2 tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

10-12 pistachios (for garnishing)

Procedure

1.For making the barfi, soak the cashews in milk for 2 hours.

2.After this grind the cashews along with milk in a mixture jar and make a fine paste.

3.Also add sugar to the paste, followed with crumbled paneer. Churn again and make a fine paste.

4.Mixture for making barfi is ready. Preheat a non stick pan.

5.Add 2 tsp ghee in the pan and allow it to melt. When the ghee is hot, add cashew-sugar-paneer paste.

6.Stir the mixture constantly and roast until it gets thick and dense in consistency. When the mixture gets thick in consistency and ghee starts separating from it then the mixture is ready.

7.Now add cardamom powder into the mixture and turn off the flame.

8.Take out the mixture is a greased plate and spread it evenly with a spoon. Sprinkle finely chopped pistachios over the mixture and press gently with a spoon. Keep aside the barfi to set. Within 2 to 3 hours, barfi sets.

9.Now cut the barfi in desired shape and size. Mouth watering barfi is ready to eat!

Image Credit: Yummy Delight For U

Sabudana Thalipeeth

Ingredients

⅔ cup sabudana/tapioca pearls

2 medium or large potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed

½ tsp cumin powder (jeera)

4 tbsp peanuts, roasted and coarsely ground

½ inch ginger, finely chopped or grated

¼ cup chopped coriander leaves

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp sugar or as required

rock salt as required

Procedure

1.Pick and rinse the sabudana well till you get transparent water while rinsing.

2.Soak them overnight in enough water.

3.The next day, drain them really well.

4.Make sure there is no moisture in them.

5.Add the mashed potatoes and all the ingredients to the soaked sabudana. Mix well.

6.Heat a non stick frying pan.

7.Spread 1 or 2 tsp of oil on the pan.

8.Apply some oil on your palms.

9.Take some portion from the mixture and flatten it with your palms. You can also flatten on a ziplock bag.

10.Place the flattened round on the frying pan.

11.Fry till both sides are golden brown and crisp. Repeat.

12.If you have a large pan, you can cook 2-3 thalipeeths at the same time.

13. Serve sabudana thalipeeth with a phalahari chutney or raita.

Image Credit: SBS Food

Raw Banana Cutlet

Ingredients

4 raw bananas

2-4 potatoes

2 tbsp singhada/kattu flour (or gram flour)

1 tsp sendha salt (or plain salt) – add to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp green coriander(dhaniya) (finely chopped)

oil – to fry cutlets

Procedure

1.Wash the bananas properly, cut off the edges on both ends, keep bananas in a utensil then place them in a cooker allowing them to cook with the steam or roast it in the microwave for 3 minutes.

2.Boil the Potatoes.

3.Peel the skin from the bananas and mash them, peel potatoes and mash them too or grate them.

4.Mix mashed or grated potatoes, bananas, salt, black pepper and green coriander in a utensil. After you mix all the ingredients well knead them as you would knead a dough.

5.Pour 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan/kadhai and heat. Take little mixture in your hands, roll it into a round ball then press gently with your palms to flatten it a bit. Similarly make 4-5 balls and flatten them. Put these in hot oil to fry.

6.Fry (turn the sides regularly) till both sides turn brown then take out the cutlets in keep them on a plate. Fry all the cutlets in this same manner. Raw Banana Cutlets are ready.

7.Deep fry Banana Cutlets : to deep fry these cutlets add 2 tbsp Singhada/Kattu flour to them and mix well.

8.Pour oil in a frying pan and heat, break of lemon sized pieces from the mixture make cutlets in any shape you want. Put these in hot oil, 3-4 cutlets can be fried at one time, turn over the cutlets regularly and fry till they turn brown.

9.Serve hot.

Image Credit: Mithai Khazana

Dry Fruit Laddu

Ingredients

1 cup chopped dates

2 to 3 tbsp almonds or badam

2 tbsp raisins

1 to 2 tbsp cashews

8-9 whole dry figs

1 to 2 tbsp desiccated coconut (optional)

2 green cardamom pods, peeled and seeds crushed in a mortar-pestle

Procedure

1.Roast the almonds in a pan till they get browned.

2.Keep stirring the almonds at intervals.

3.Whilst the almonds are roasting, chop the dates and figs.

4.Also peel the cardamom pods and powder the seeds coarsely in a mortar-pestle.

5.In a dry grinder add the chopped dates, figs, cashews, raisins, almonds, desiccated coconut and the coarsely powdered cardamom powder.

6.Add the roasted almonds.

7.Grind to a coarse mixture and spread on a tray or plate or take the mixture in a bowl.

8.Make small balls from your hands and the dry fruit laddus are ready.

9. Serve the dry fruits laddus immediately or store in an air tight container and refrigerate. dry fruits laddu stays good for a few days.

Image Credit: Food Fellas 4 U

Uttapam

Ingredients

1 cup swang ke chawal ka atta/barnyard millet flour

1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera

1 medium tomato, finely chopped

1 green chili, chopped

¼ cup chopped coriander leaves/dhania patta

rock salt or sendha namak as required

water as required

Procedure

1.Make a thick flowing batter with the vrat ke chawal ka atta, cumin seeds, coriander leaves, rock salt and water.

2.Heat a skillet or tava.

3.Spread some oil on the tava.

4.With a spoon or ladle pour the batter.

5.Don’t spread as the batter won’t spread.

6.So you can make small sized uttapams.

7.Top the tomatoes and green chilies on the uttapam immediately as soon as you spread the batter.

8.Sprinkle some oil on the top and sides.

9.When the base is cooked, flip and cook the tomato-chili side.

10.The tomatoes will get slightly browned.

11.Flip again and cook the plain side.

12.Serve with coconut chutney.

Image Credit: Namak Swad Anusar

Khatta Meetha Kaddu (Sweet and sour pumpkin)

Ingredients

2 cups pumpkin/kaddu or petha

1 tsp cumin/jeera

¼ tsp roasted cumin powder/bhuna jeera powder

¼ tsp black pepper/kali mirch powder

½ tsp dry mango powder/amchur or as required 

1 tbsp peanut oil/mungphali ka tel

1 to 2 tsp sugar or as required

rock salt or sendha namak as required

Procedure

1.Rinse, peel and chop the pumpkin.

2.Heat oil in a pan.

3.Crackle the cumin seeds first.

4.Add the pumpkin, sugar and salt.

5.Stir and cover the pan and simmer the pumpkin pieces till they are softened.

6.There is no need to add water as the pumpkin will get cooked by its own juices.

7.In case the water dries up, then add about 2-3 tbsp water and cook the pumpkin.

8.Keep on checking at intervals and if the water continues to dry, then add a few tablespoons water again.

9.The pumpkin should not get mushy.

10.Add the mango powder and simmer for a minute.

11.Lastly season with roasted cumin powder and black pepper powder.

12.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Apple Halwa

Ingredients

6-7 apples, peeled, cored and diced

2 tbsp ghee or butter or oil

1 tbsp water

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp vanilla powder or 2 tsp vanilla extract

5 tbsp sugar, add more if the apples are less sweet

1 tbsp blanched, peeled, halved almonds

1 tbsp blanched, peeled, halved pistachios

Procedure

1.Melt the ghee or butter in a kadai or saucepan.

2.Add the apples and fry them for 4-5 minutes.

3.When they get soft and browned, add 1 tbsp water.

4.Lower the heat and cook the apples uncovered for 15 minutes till they merge and thicken.

5.Mash the apples with your spoon and stir frequently to avoid the mixture from getting burnt.

6.Add the sugar.

7.Continue to stir and cook till the whole mixture becomes one and starts to pull away from the bottom of the pot.

8.Raise the heat and keep on stirring.

9.Add cinnamon powder and vanilla powder or vanilla extract. Mix these and continue to stir.

10.When the mixture becomes translucent around the edges and it becomes difficult to remove the spoon, remove the kadai or saucepan from the fire.

11.Add chopped dryfruits or raisins and cook for a further 2 minutes.

12.Take the halwa on a plate and form into a layer of 1 inch thick square

13.Decorate the halwa with halved almonds and pistachios.

14.When cooled, cut into squares.

15.Serve apple halwa warm or cold.

16. Apple halwa can be refrigerated and stays good for 3-4 days.

Don’t let fasting spoil your festive mood, go try these recipes now!