Navratri means nine nights that are celebrated to honour the goddess Durga. It is an auspicious time of year to celebrate the goddess and her nine faces. A lot of people tend to fast during this festival, hence we have assorted 3 best Navratri dishes for you to try. Make your fast interesting and tasty with these delicious fast-friendly dishes.
- Peanut Stuffed Balls
Ingredients:
- 5 tbsp freshly grated coconut
- 3 tbsp roasted coarsely ground organic peanuts
- 3 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
- 1 ½ tsp chopped raisins
- 1 ½ tsp chopped cashew nuts
- ½ tsp of sugar
- Salt to taste
Instructions:
- Boil 350 grams potatoes or 3 large potatoes in a steamer or pressure cooker till they are tender and completely cooked
- Peel and chop them when still warm or slightly hot. Take the potatoes in a mixing bowl
- Mash the potatoes with a potato masher very well. Allow the mashed potatoes to cool
- Once the mashed potatoes have come to room temperature, then add 3 tbsp of cornflour and salt
- You can also add buckwheat flour or water chestnut flour if making for fasting. If making for regular days, then add corn starch, rice flour or bread crumbs
- Mix the cornflour and lightly knead the mixture
- Roast the cashews till you see golden spots on them
- Then heat a small pan and add 3 tbsp of organic peanuts and roast the peanuts stirring often on a low flame till they become crunchy and have a few black spots on them
- Now, remove the peanuts and keep aside and in the same pan add 3 tbsp cashews
- Keep also the cashews aside. Allow them to cool
- In a mortar-pestle, add the organic peanuts and coarsely crush them. You can also use a grinder to do the same
- In the same mortar-pestle, then add the roasted cashews and just crush them lightly
- In another mixing bowl, take 1/4 cup tightly packed grated coconut and add the peanuts and cashews
- Then add 2 tbsp raisins (chopped) 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp lime juice, 2 to 2.5 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and 1/2 tsp green chilli paste
- Lastly, add a dash of lemon juice and serve!
2. Makhana Kheer
Ingredients:
- 1 cup makhana (foxnuts or phool makhana)
- 2 cups of milk
- 3-4 green cardamom – husked and powdered in a mortar-pestle
- 10-12 cashews or 10-12 almonds – blanched and sliced
- 1 tablespoon golden raisins
- 3.5 to 4 tablespoon sugar or as required
- 1 pinch saffron
- 2 to 3 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)
Instructions:
- Heat 2 to 3 tsp ghee in a pan and add the phool makhana and cashews.
- On a low flame, roast 1 cup phool makhana and 10 to 12 cashews in ghee till the makhanas become crunchy
- The cashews will also get golden, keep on stirring and make sure they are well roasted
- Now, heat 2 cups milk/500 ml in a saucepan or a thick bottomed pan
- Stir at intervals so that the milk does not scorch from the bottom
- Whilst the milk is getting heated up, reserve 1/3 cup makhana and add the remaining in a grinder or blender jar
- Now, add cardamom seeds from 4 cardamom pods along with a pinch of saffron strands
- Grind to a fine powder and set it aside
- When the milk comes to a boil, then add 3.5 to 4 tbsp sugar or add as per taste
- Now, add the ground powdered makhana
- Simmer till the makhane softens and the milk thickens a bit. About 9 to 10 minutes on a low to medium flame
- Scrape the evaporated milk solids from sides and add to the milk
- Lastly, add the golden cashews and raisins. If using blanched and sliced almonds, then you can add at this step.
- Stir and simmer the kheer for a minute.
- Serve makhane kheer hot or warm or chilled. After chilling, the kheer’s consistency thickens a bit.
3. Sabudana Khichdi
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sabudana (or tapioca pearls)
- 2 medium-sized potatoes
- ½ cup roasted organic peanuts
- 8 to 10 curry leaves – optional
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger – optional
- 1 green chilli – chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¼ cup grated fresh coconut (optional)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar or as required
- ½ to 1 teaspoon lemon juice or as required (optional)
- 3 tablespoon peanut oil or ghee
- rock salt as required
Instructions:
- Rinse the sabudana very well in water. Then soak sabudana overnight or for 3 to 5 hours
- Next day drain the sabudana very well and keep aside in a bowl
- Now, boil the potatoes and when warm peel and chop them
- In a pan dry roast the peanuts till browned and when cooled make a coarse powder in a mortar-pestle or in a dry grinder
- Mix the coarsely powdered peanuts, salt and sugar with the drained sabudana
- Now heat peanut oil or ghee. Fry the cumin first till they crackle and get browned
- Now add the curry leaves and green chillies. Fry for a few seconds and then add the grated ginger
- Both curry leaves and ginger are optional and can be skipped
- Saute for a couple of seconds till the raw smell of the ginger goes away. Now add chopped boiled potato and saute for a minute
- Add the sabudana. Keep on stirring often on a low flame for approx 4 to 6 minutes
- When the sabudana loses their opaqueness and starts becoming translucent they are cooked
- Don’t overcook as they might become lumpy and hard
- Switch off the flame and add lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well
- While serving garnish with a few coriander leaves and drizzle with some lemon juice. You can even add some grated fresh coconut on top
- Serve sabudana ki khichdi hot.
Are you looking for more fasting recipes? You can check out Recipes You Can Create With Delicious and Healthy Nuts.
