NAVRATRI RECIPES

Navratri is a festival which is celebrated mainly in the Northern parts of India and is an important festival as well in the states of Gujarat and West Bengal. It is called as Durga Pooja in Bengal, and in the South it is called as Saraswathi Pooja or ayudha Pooja. People fast during the day and eat at sunset. Navratri is a festival of dance, worship and food. The recipes prepared on Navratri day are strictly vegetarian.

Special ingredients like onion, garlic, and some spices are not to be used in the recipes. Milk, curd, fruits and nuts can be used with ease. Even with this restricted grocery a number of lip-smacking dishes can be prepared. Do try some of the Navratri recipes consolidated just for you.

Ingredients

Method

• Wash Sago properly and drain the surplus water. Soak it for about 3 hours.
• Next, add all the ingredients to Sago except oil. Blend it all into a paste.
• In the deep frying pan, heat the oil.
• Moist your hands and make small ball shaped moulds out of the paste you have made. Slip these into the heated oil on medium flame.
• Keep frying the balls till they turn crisp and light brown. Drain them well using a sieve ladle. Serve with badaam chutney (pungent relish of peanut).

Ingredients

Method

• Melt some ghee(clarified butter) in a kadai (conical metal cooking vessel). .
• Roast the cashews in the ghee and put aside.
• In the remaining ghee, roast the rice flakes until golden brown.
• Pour safforn into some water and bring to a boil. Add the flakes and allow them to get cooked for few minutes. Pour sugar and cardomom to it.
• Keep stirring the mixture until it becomes non-sticky. If required, add some more ghee. Add the roasted cashwes to it. Serve hot.

Ingredients

Method

• Melt ghee in a pot. Add in cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. Blend well.
• When the blended ingredients start giving off fragrance, mix in potato and rice. Stir-fry to a light brown color.
• Add powdered cardamom  to it and set aside. Sieve gram flour/besan with the baking soda.
• Mix in rock salt, chilli powder and water. Bring them to a boil.
• Cover the pot and let the mixed items boil slowly at low temperature for 10-15 minutes. 
• Decorate with green coriander. Serve hot.

Ingredients

Method

• Heat oil in a frying pan and crackle cumin seeds.
• Add green chillies and ginger paste into the pan. Cook over low heat.
• Add dry masala and fry briefly over high heat.
• Next add tomatoes and potatoes. Cook till the potatoes are half-done.
• Then lend the fenugreek leaves. Season with salt. End it all up with butter. 

Ingredients

Method

• Heat oil in a pan.
• Add curry leaves, cumin seeds, chillies.
• Add potato, lemon juice, salt, coriander, mix well.
• Cool a little, make round balls, keep aside till required.
• Mix well.

Preparation

• Heat oil in frying pan and dip each ball in the batter.Then put them gently into hot oil.
• Fry on medium heat till light golden.
• Drain on absorbent paper.
• Repeat for all.
• Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Ingredients

Method

• Cook the carrots in the milk in an open pan on a low flame with constant stirring.
• When the carrots are done, take them out and drain any excess milk.
• Add the milk powder(mava), the ricotta cheese and the sugar to the carrots.
• Heat the ghee in a frying pan, add the carrot mixture and keep on high flame until the carrot paste loses the milky texture and becomes golden brown and the sugar is totally dissolved.
• Add the raisins, cardamoms, powdered pistas and the almonds.
• Heat through and serve either hot or cold with cream on the side.

Ingredients

Method

• Beat curds in a deep salad bowl.
• Add cumin powder, salt, sugar, chilli, mix well.
• Add all prepared vegetables, peanuts, mix to blend well.
• Chill well till required.
• Heat oil in a small crucible, or tempering spoon.
• Add cumin seeds, allow to splutter.
• Pour sizzling tempering over raitha.
• Garnish with chopped coriander.

Note: To save a lot of time in chilling raithas, chilled prepared ingredients well ahead of time. Minimum time will be required in then preparing them for serving.

Ingredients

Method

• Soak the cashew nuts in boiling water for 1 hour.
• Combine the sugar, milk and cashew nut(drained) in a food processor to create a smooth paste.
• Heat the ghee in a large pan, add the cashew nut paste and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes thick.
• Then, add vanilla essence and mix thoroughly.
• Put this mixture in a greased tray and spread it evenly and press the silver leaf on the top.
• Let it cool. After it is cooled, cut into diamond shaped pieces.

Ingredients

Method

Sugar syrup

• Combine the sugar and milk with 1 1/2 cups of water in a bowl and heat while stirring continuously till the sugar dissolves.
• Add the saffron food colour to the syrup and make a syrup of one string consistency and keep warm.

Boondi

• Combine the gram flour, semolina and 3/4 cup of water and mix well to make a smooth batter.
• Heat ghee or butter in a kadhai.
• When hot, hold a perforated spoon (boondi jhara) over the hot ghee and pour a little boondi batter at a time using a ladle over the perforated spoon.
• Spread the batter with the back of a spoon so that the boondi falls into the ghee.
• Fry the boondis over a high flame to a light golden color, taking care to ensure that they are not very crisp.
• Add the boondis to the warm sugar syrup and mix well so that the boondis soak in the syrup well.
• Wash and dry the perforated spoon (boondi jhara) every time you pour the boondi batter through it.
• Proceed making the boondis with the remaining batter and immerse them in the sugar syrup immediately after frying.
• Allow the mixture to cool completely.Add 2 tbsps of hot water, the saffron, chopped almonds, chopped pistachios, powdered cardamom, rose water and mix well.
• Shape the mixture to make laddoos and garnish with silver sheets (optional).

Ingredients

Method

• Soak tomatoes in hot water and crush them.
• Extract the imli pulp adding warm water and add the crushed tomatoes.
• Add turmeric powder, salt, hing and the finely grounded masala paste.
• Allow the mixture to boil well. Add the diluted dhal and bring to boil.
• Add Coriander leaves and a few pieces of finely chopped tomatoes before removing from fire.
• Season with ghee and mustard.
• Serve hot with rice. Vadas can also be soaked and served as RASAM VADA.

Ingredients

Method

• Take the potatoes and mash them, and it to the panner and the rest of the ingredients (if the paneer has solidified - crumble it with your hands).
• Mix all the ingredients to form a soft dough.
• Make small balls from this. If the mixture sticks to your hands, apply some cooking oil on your palms.
• Heat some oil in a wok or kadhai and deep fry these balls. the oil should be hot or else the balls will tend to break apart. Strain them on a paper towel and keep aside.
• For the Gravy: Take the tomatoes, onions, ginger and grind them to paste.
• Take some oil in a deep and broad vessel and stir fry this paste till the oil starts to separate. then add salt, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala and the liquid that was saved after making paneer.
• let this simmer for about 15 minutes on medium heat. the gravy is ready. Do not add the koftas immediately.
• The koftas are very soft, hence should be added 5 minutes before serving or else they will absorb too much gravy and crumble.
• I ususally make them ahead, and then heat the gravy and koftas together in the microwave just before serving.

Ingredients

Method

• Mildly roast methi seeds and red chilli.
• Mix it with all other ingredients and blend it in a blender.
• Take it out to a serving bowl and season it with mustard seeds.
• This tastes good with Idli,Dosa, Chapathi, or any thing which needs chutney.

Ingredients

Method

• Soak chana over night remove all water.
• Grind all the ingredients to a thick paste by adding water as needed.
• You can use this as a vegetable dip or use it as a chutney ,tastes very good with white rice, pakoras, Poori etc.
• Try and enjoy..