5 Navratri Fasting Recipes for Every Meal of the Day (Vrat-Friendly)

Buckwheat-flour pancakes folded over a spiced paneer filling: a vrat breakfast with protein that keeps you full until the evening aarti, unlike sabudana khichdi. Made with kuttu atta and sendha namak, with no onion or garlic. If your family skips coriander or lemon during the fast, leave them out.

• Serves 2 (4 cheelas)
• Prep 20 min
• Cook 15 min

For the batter

• 1 cup kuttu atta (buckwheat flour)
• ¾ to 1 cup water, added slowly
• ½ tsp sendha namak (rock salt)
• ½ tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• ¼ tsp black pepper powder
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• ½ tsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander

For the paneer filling

• 100 g paneer, crumbled
• A pinch of rock salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1 tsp lemon juice

To cook

• 2–3 tsp ghee

Method

1. Mix the buckwheat flour, rock salt, cumin, pepper, chilli, ginger and coriander. Add water a little at a time and whisk to a smooth batter, like thick dosa batter. Rest 10 minutes.
2. Mix the paneer with a pinch of salt and pepper, the coriander and the lemon juice.
3. Heat a pan on a medium flame. On high, buckwheat burns outside before it cooks through.
4. The batter thickens as it rests, so whisk in 1–2 tbsp water before each cheela.
5. Spread ½ tsp ghee on the pan, pour a ladle of batter and spread it gently, about 4 mm thick. Cook 1–2 minutes, until the top looks dry.
6. Flip, add a quarter of the paneer on one half, fold it over and press lightly.
7. Serve hot with green chutney or yogurt.

Tip: Keep the flame at medium: buckwheat burns on the outside before the middle cooks. And whisk 1–2 tbsp water into the rested batter before each cheela, because it keeps thickening.

Contains: dairy (paneer, ghee).

Thick honey-cardamom yogurt, fresh fruit and crunchy roasted makhana (fox nuts) in a glass: a 5-minute breakfast for the morning after garba. The only cooking is roasting the makhana for 2–3 minutes. Yogurt, fruit, makhana, honey and nuts are fasting-friendly in most homes, so use whatever fruit you have.

• Serves 2 (2 glasses)
• Prep 5 min
• Cook 3 min

For the makhana

• 1 cup makhana (fox nuts)
• 1 tsp ghee

For the sweet yogurt

• 1½ cups thick yogurt (hung curd or Greek yogurt works best)
• 1–1½ tbsp honey (or 1 tbsp jaggery powder)
• A pinch of cardamom powder

For the fruit

• 1 banana, sliced
• ½ apple, diced small
• ½ cup pomegranate seeds
• A few grapes, halved (optional)

To top

• 1 tbsp chopped almonds or walnuts
• Honey to drizzle

Method

1. Heat the ghee in a pan on low and roast the makhana for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until one breaks with a crisp snap.
2. Let the makhana cool for a minute, then lightly crush about half. Keep the other half whole for the top.
3. Whisk the yogurt with the honey and cardamom until smooth. Watery yogurt makes runny layers, so hang it in a cloth for 20 minutes or use Greek yogurt.
4. Dice the fruit into small, even pieces.
5. Layer in a tall glass: crushed makhana, yogurt, fruit, then crushed makhana, yogurt and fruit again.
6. Top with the whole makhana, pomegranate and nuts, and finish with a drizzle of honey.
7. Serve right away. To make it ahead, layer the yogurt and fruit in the fridge and add the makhana when serving.

Tip: Roast a big batch of makhana and keep it airtight, and the parfait takes 2 minutes all week. Add it last: makhana goes soft in yogurt within about 10 minutes.

Contains: dairy (yogurt, ghee), tree nuts (almonds or walnuts).

Puffed amaranth and roasted peanuts bound in jaggery syrup make a light, crunchy energy ladoo. When the 4 pm samosa-and-chai order goes round the office, keep a box of these in your bag. The only cooking is 2–3 minutes of syrup, and they stay fresh for 2 weeks.

• Makes 10–12 small ladoos
• Prep 10 min
• Cook 5 min

Ingredients

• 2 cups puffed rajgira (amaranth), sold as rajgira lahi or ramdana
• ½ cup roasted peanuts, skins rubbed off, coarsely crushed
• ¾ cup grated jaggery (gud)
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp ghee, plus a little for your palms
• A pinch of cardamom powder

Method

1. Keep the puffed amaranth and crushed peanuts ready in a bowl, because the next steps move fast.
2. In a heavy pan, heat the ghee, jaggery and water on low until the jaggery melts, then let it bubble for 2–3 minutes.
3. Soft ball test: drop a little syrup into a bowl of water. If it gathers into a soft ball you can roll between your fingers, it’s ready. If it dissolves, cook 30 seconds more and test again.
4. Turn off the heat. Stir in the cardamom, then tip in the amaranth and peanuts and mix quickly until everything is coated.
5. Grease your palms with ghee and, while the mixture is still warm, press a spoonful firmly into a ladoo. Careful: jaggery syrup is very hot, so let it cool for 30 seconds if it’s too hot to touch.
6. Shape fast, because the mixture sets as it cools. If it hardens, warm the pan on low for 20 seconds.
7. Cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Tip: The soft-ball test is the whole recipe: undercooked syrup won’t hold, overcooked turns hard. Shape while the mix is warm, and if it sets, rewarm the pan on low for 20 seconds.

Contains: peanuts, dairy (ghee).

Four days into Navratri and it’s been pakoras, tikkis and chips on repeat? This cool bowl of soft barnyard millet in creamy yogurt, with cucumber, a ghee tadka of cumin, peanuts, ginger, chilli and curry leaves, and pomegranate on top, gives your stomach a break. With samak rice, rock salt and no mustard seeds, it suits most vrat kitchens. Skip the curry leaves if your family does.

• Serves 2
• Prep 40 min
• Cook 20 min

For the rice

• ½ cup samak rice (barnyard millet, or vrat ke chawal)
• 1½ cups water
• ½ tsp sendha namak (rock salt)

For the yogurt mix

• 1 cup yogurt, whisked
• 2–3 tbsp milk
• 3 tbsp grated cucumber, lightly squeezed
• Rock salt to taste

For the tadka

• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp peanuts
• ½ tsp grated ginger
• 1 green chilli, slit
• 8–10 curry leaves

For the topping

• 3 tbsp pomegranate seeds
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander

Method

1. Rinse the samak rice 2–3 times, soak it for 15 minutes, then drain.
2. Bring the water and rock salt to a boil, add the rice, cover and cook on low for 10–12 minutes until soft and the water is absorbed (or 2 whistles in a pressure cooker). Mash lightly with the back of a spoon.
3. Let it cool completely. Spread it on a plate to speed this up.
4. Stir in the yogurt, milk, cucumber and salt. It should be creamy, not stiff, so add another spoon of milk if needed.
5. For the tadka, heat the ghee and add the cumin. When it crackles, add the peanuts and fry until golden. Add the ginger, green chilli and curry leaves (they’ll splutter) for 10 seconds, then pour it straight over the bowl.
6. Top with pomegranate and coriander. Serve chilled or at room temperature. If it thickens in the fridge, loosen it with a spoon of milk or yogurt.

Tip: Cool the rice completely before the yogurt goes in: hot rice turns the yogurt sour and makes it split. The milk keeps it from souring too, so the bowl stays fresh for 4–5 hours in a lunch box.

Contains: dairy (yogurt, milk, ghee), peanuts.

The taste of Ashtami mornings at nani’s: water chestnut flour roasted slowly in ghee until golden and nutty, then cooked in hot saffron syrup and finished with cardamom, almonds and pistachios. It’s the classic vrat halwa, and a quick bhog for Ashtami and Navami.

• Serves 3–4
• Prep 5 min
• Cook 20 min

For the syrup

• 1½ cups water (or half water, half milk, for a creamier halwa)
• ½ cup sugar (⅓ cup for less sweet, or the same amount of jaggery)
• 8–10 saffron strands

For the halwa

• 4 tbsp ghee
• ½ cup singhara atta (water chestnut flour)
• ¼ tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp sliced almonds
• 1 tbsp sliced pistachios

Method

1. In a small pan, bring the water, sugar and saffron to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Keep it hot on the lowest flame.
2. Heat the ghee in a heavy kadhai or pan on low. Add the flour and roast it for 7–8 minutes, stirring all the time, until it turns golden brown, smells nutty and the ghee starts to separate at the edges.
3. Pour in the hot syrup slowly and carefully, standing back, because it splutters hard. Stir fast to break up any lumps.
4. Cook for 2–3 minutes on low, until the halwa thickens, leaves the sides of the pan and the ghee shines through.
5. Stir in the cardamom and most of the almonds and pistachios. Serve warm as bhog, topped with the rest of the nuts. It firms up as it cools, so loosen leftovers with a splash of hot water or milk when you reheat them.

Tip: Keep the syrup hot: that’s what stops lumps. And don’t rush the roast. On high heat the flour burns in seconds, and under-roasted flour tastes raw and slightly bitter; 7–8 minutes on low, until the ghee separates.

Contains: dairy (ghee, and milk if used), tree nuts (almonds, pistachios).