6 Vrat Recipes To Try When Fasting During Navratri 

The tradition of keeping a vrat, or a sacred fast, does not have one fixed point of origin. Its roots are linked to early ideas of tapas—spiritual discipline, self-control and renunciation—which later developed into a range of fasting and worship practices. A vrat can be observed as an act of devotion to a particular deity, as part of a prayer or vow, or as a practice of restraint and spiritual focus. The rules vary across observances, with some requiring complete abstinence while others allow specific foods and ingredients. And this is where it gets interesting: fasting does not necessarily mean eating the same thing every time. From kuttu cheela and samak pulao to makhana kheer and sabudana khichdi, there are plenty of dishes made specifically for vrat. With Navratri coming up, here are six dishes to try when fasting.

Kuttu Atta Cheela

If you associate kuttu only with puris during Navratri, the flour can do considerably more. Kuttu atta, or buckwheat flour, is made from the seeds of a plant that is not actually a cereal grain. Buckwheat is believed to have originated in Central Asia and the Himalayan region and has long been cultivated in parts of the Indian Himalayas, including Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Its classification as a seed rather than a conventional cereal is also why it fits into many falahari fasting traditions.

During fasts such as Navratri, Maha Shivratri and Janmashtami, kuttu flour is commonly turned into puris, rotis and cheelas. For a cheela, the flour is mixed with water or curd, rock salt and cumin, with grated or mashed potato sometimes added to the batter. It is then spread on a hot tawa and cooked with ghee. The cheela is usually eaten with curd or a fasting-friendly chutney.

Samak Rice Pulao

The name can be misleading: samak chawal is not rice. It refers to barnyard millet, a small seed from a grass species that has been cultivated in India for centuries. It is known by different names across the country, including sama, moriyo and bhagar. Because it can be cooked and served in a rice-like format while fitting into many fasting practices, it became a familiar ingredient on vrat plates.

Samak is used during Navratri, Ekadashi and Maha Shivratri, among other fasting occasions. It can be made into khichdi, pulao or even kheer. For pulao, the grains are generally cooked with potatoes, peanuts or dry fruits and seasoned with cumin, black pepper and sometimes cinnamon. Ghee is commonly used, while regular salt is replaced with sendha namak.

Makhana Kheer

Makhana has a particularly strong connection with Mithila in Bihar, where the aquatic plant Euryale ferox has traditionally been cultivated in ponds and wetlands. The fox nuts are harvested, dried and processed before being sold, and the ingredient has long been part of local food traditions. Its association with fasting has also made it familiar well beyond Bihar.

Makhana kheer is made by roasting the makhana in ghee and then simmering it in milk until the milk reduces. Sugar or jaggery can be added along with cardamom, nutmeg and saffron, while almonds and pistachios are commonly used to finish the dish. It is eaten during fasting occasions including Navratri and Janmashtami, as well as other religious observances.

Farali Dhokla

Dhokla may be closely associated with Gujarati kitchens, but the version eaten during a fast has a different ingredient list. Traditional dhokla is generally made using rice and pulses, ingredients that are excluded from many vrat diets. Farali dhokla replaces them with ingredients permitted during fasting, including barnyard millet, sabudana and, in some versions, kuttu.

The dish belongs to the wider Gujarati faral tradition, where familiar foods are adapted around fasting rules. Sama, also called moriyo or bhagar, can form the base, while sabudana provides starch and helps give the steamed preparation its structure. Sour curd is sometimes used instead of the longer fermentation associated with conventional dhokla, and sendha namak replaces ordinary salt. Onion, garlic and turmeric are left out.

Shakarkandi Ka Halwa

Sweet potato makes its way into fasting kitchens in several forms, and shakarkandi ka halwa is one of them. The preparation is particularly associated with North Indian cooking and uses boiled and mashed sweet potato cooked with ghee and sugar or jaggery. Milk can be added, while cardamom, nuts and sometimes saffron provide the finishing touches.

Sweet potato itself is not native to India. It originated in the Americas and reached India through Portuguese trade during the 16th and 17th centuries. It was subsequently incorporated into local agriculture and cooking. Its status as a root vegetable also made it suitable for falahar, helping it find a place in fasting meals during occasions such as Navratri, Ekadashi and Maha Shivratri.

Sabudana Khichdi

Then there is the fasting dish most people probably think of first: sabudana khichdi. The chewy pearls are made from tapioca starch, which comes from cassava rather than a cereal grain. Tapioca reached India in the 19th century and became particularly important in Kerala, where it was promoted as a source of starch during a period of food shortage in the erstwhile Travancore kingdom.

Sabudana’s connection with fasting developed later. During the 20th century, tapioca processing expanded in India, including the establishment of production units in Salem, Tamil Nadu, around the 1940s. The pearls subsequently became part of fasting cuisine in western and central India. Maharashtra is particularly associated with the familiar version of sabudana khichdi made with soaked pearls, roasted peanuts, potatoes, cumin, and green chillies.

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