Navratri Food | 12 Navratri Vrat Recipes | Navratri Fasting Recipes

Navratri Food Recipes For Vrat- Navratri is an auspicious Indian festival celebrated all across India. The festival is characterized by a distinct cuisine especially tailored around those who observe some type of fasting or restrictions on which food items to eat during this period.

Many see the vrat as a means of detoxifying their bodies. Eating healthy and nourishing foods becomes really important during festival season marked with fast during day times. This has given rise to a plethora of Navratri dishes which add to the joy of these festivities and also provide a refreshing change along with a balanced and nourishing diet.

What is Navratri?

Navratri is one of the biggest and most important festivals celebrated in India among Hindus. It is celebrated with great ardor twice a year for a stretch of nine days throughout the entire country.

Navratri refers to the nine auspicious nights during which Goddess Durga is worshiped and has its origin in Hindu mythology, wherein Goddess Durga is believed to have different incarnations with each female deity signifying a distinct power.

During Navratris many people observe vrat or fast. While traditionally people used to fast for nine days, now most people observe the festival by eating one time meal after sunset.

What food can be eaten in Navratri fast?

As a general rule, people don’t drink alcohol or eat non-vegetarian dishes during these auspicious days, and many don’t even consume onion and garlic. Legumes and lentils are also avoided in Navratri recipes.

Navratri recipes don’t make use of cereals like wheat flour, rice etc. Instead flours or grains derived from vegetables like kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour), singhare ka atta (water chestnut flour), rajgira ka atta (amaranth flour), samvat ke chawal (barnyard millet) and sabudana (sago) are commonly used for preparing food.

Vegetables can also be consumed during navratras. The vegetables used in navrati food typically vary from region to region. In addition, makhana (fox nuts or lotus seeds), milk, yoghurt, nuts are also commonly used for preparing Navratri dishes.

The choice of spices for Navratri recipes is also limited to the basic ones and instead of using common salt, a different variety of salt called sendha namak or rock salt is used as it is believed to be un-processed.