Dishes for Navaratri Fast

Fasting during the Navaratra's is very common in the northern parts of India. But people from the counterparts of India are hardly aware of this.

In these Navratri, nine deities of different forms Lord Durga is worshiped each day. The actual purpose is to satisfy goddess Durga. Well India is a country with various cultures and traditions. And this is the reason which makes India more beautiful.

Usually people who are just doing this fast the first time have a question that how to keep this fast?
So, here is the answer. You can do this fast Nir Jala or fal aahar. Nirjala is when you do not drink even a drop of water for seven days. And Fal aahar is when you intake only fruits.

Generally people do this fal aahar as it is not much difficult to do and it is beneficial for the health too.
This fast is kept from the first day to the seventh day. On the eighth day, people break their fast by worshiping nine girls and serving them.This is known as Kanjika.

In kanjika people worship nine girls as nine forms of goddess Durga. They wash their feets, tie them a kalava( a red colour thread) and serve them puri,chole , halwa, etc.This is actually the prasad.

After this kanjika, they break their fast by taking the prasad.

There is a very popular story about this kanjika. There was a brahmin who didn`t have any children. He prayed goddess Durga every day. One day a girl visited his house ( it was goddess Durga herself), she asked the reason of his disappointment. The brahmin told her the reason. She advised him to keep a fast for seven days during the Navratri's and do the kanjika puja. He did that as she said. And he got a daughter.

Since, then this kanjika puja has started. In the northern parts of India everyone keeps this fast and perform this Kanjika.

Now coming to those who are newly keeping this fast.There are lot many dishes which you can make while keeping this fast.As you can see in the market there are lot many things available in the market.
Here, I`m listing a few:

• SPECIAL VRAT RICE:  This is very easily available in the market especially during the navataris. It is known as rice but actually, it is made up of some grass. So, during the Navratri's, you can consume them. Mainly you can`t have rice, wheat, pulses and cereals during the Navratri's. But this kind of rice can be consumed.

Now next is how to prepare them? Really very simple. You can cook them like normal rice and add on some potatoes, green chillies, capsicum to it. Along with that, you can add salt( saudha namak, a special kind of salt meat for fast). Remember you can have only saudha namak, not any other. You can also add black pepper to it and lemon for taste.

• KATTOO ATAA AND SINGARA ATAA:  You can prepare them aloo tikka. Just mix this ataa and potatoes in the equal amount otherwise, it becomes very difficult to swallow.After mixing them properly fry them in sunflower or groundnut oil. Remember you can`t have your regular mustard oil or soyabean oil. You can have only sunflower or groundnut oil.Fry them deeply, it will enhance the taste. You can sprinkle black pepper over it for taste. Have curd with it, because sometimes it becomes difficult to swallow.

• SABU DAANA KHEER: This is one of the favourite dish of mine during these Navratri's. It is very easy to prepare. Sabu daana is very easily available in all the grocery shops. Wet them for two-three hours. Then cook them in the milk, you can also coconut and dry fruits for taste. Cook them like a normal kheer. Don`t boil them much as they are already soft enough before cooking.

• ALOO TIKKI: This is not the normal aloo tikka which we normally get in the market. Prepare it as normally we do, but don`t add any kind of spices. You can only add saudha namak and black pepper. Deep fry them to enhance the taste.

• BANANA PAKAURAS: This is prepared with singara ataa and banana. Just mix them well with a little amount of salt and sugar. and deep fry them like you do while making dahi valla.

These were a few dishes which people commonly consume during this fast other than fruits and normally available chips and wafers.You can keep this fast easily because there are lot many things available in the market. You can also have fruits, milk products, but no vegetables except capsicum, potatoes and green chilly. During these Navratri's, you can only have saudha namak, not the regular salt which we use.

Navaratris brings joy and colours to everyone's lives. All the best if you are a beginner.

And Happy Navaratri to all.

See you all in my next post:)