Navratri 2025: Delicious And Fasting-Friendly Navratri Recipes

Sabudana Khichdi by Chef Ashish Singh, COO & Head Chef, Cafe Delhi Heights

Ingredients:

1 cup sabudana (tapioca pearls)

2 tbsp ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds

1–2 green chilies, chopped

2 medium potatoes, diced

¼ cup roasted & crushed peanuts

Sendha namak (rock salt) to taste

Lemon juice & coriander leaves

Method:

Soak sabudana for 5–6 hours; drain.

Heat ghee, add cumin, chilies, and potatoes. Cook until golden.

Add sabudana, peanuts, and salt. Toss on low flame until translucent.

Finish with lemon juice and coriander before serving.

Sabudana & Coconut Payasam by Chef Ashish Verma, Executive Chef, Masala Synergy

Ingredients:

½ cup sabudana

2 cups fresh coconut milk

½ cup grated jaggery

1 tbsp ghee

8–10 cashew nuts, halved

1 tbsp raisins

½ tsp cardamom powder

2 cups water

Method:

Soak sabudana for 30 minutes; drain.

Boil water, add sabudana, and cook until translucent.

Add jaggery and stir until dissolved.

Pour in coconut milk; simmer gently.

Fry cashews and raisins in ghee until golden; add to payasam.

Sprinkle cardamom powder and serve warm.

Chef’s Note: Onion- and garlic-free, sattvic, and perfect for Navratri fasting.

Paneer Aloo Stick recipe by Swapnadeep Mukherjee, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa

Ingredients:

500 g potato

100 g cottage cheese

10–12 soaked cashews

10 g chopped chili

10 g chopped coriander

100 g chestnut flour

500 g sabudana crumbs

Sendha namak & pepper to taste

1 litre refined oil

Parsley for garnish

Method:

Boil potatoes with skin; cool and mash.

Mix mashed potato with parsley, salt, pepper, chili, and coriander.

Blend cottage cheese, cashews, and a pinch of salt into a paste.

Flatten a portion of potato mash, add cheese-cashew filling, roll into logs.

Coat in chestnut flour, then sabudana crumbs; set aside.

Fry in hot oil until golden and crispy. Serve with chutney or sauce.

Malai Kuttu Bhalla recipe by Swapnadeep Mukherjee, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa

Ingredients:

300 g kuttu atta (buckwheat flour)

100 g potato starch

500 ml full cream milk

10 g brown sugar

1/5 tsp cardamom powder

20 g chopped dry nuts

10 g pomegranate seeds

4 saffron threads

Method:

Make a batter with kuttu atta and potato starch; form small dumplings and fry on low flame. Soak in cold water.

Reduce milk to a thick consistency; let cool.

Whisk milk with sugar and cardamom powder.

Drain dumplings and pour sweetened malai over them.

Garnish with pomegranate seeds, nuts, saffron, and mint. Serve cold.

Mawa Yogurt Cake with Rose-Infused Sugar Glaze & Nuts by Chef Parth Gupta, Founder, Bloom Cafe | Eggless & Vegetarian

Serves: 8–10 | Baking Temp: 180°C | Time: 35–40 mins

Cake Ingredients:

250 g mawa (khoya)

200 g thick yogurt

100 g sugar

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

150 g all-purpose flour

75 g ghee or neutral oil

½ tsp cardamom powder

1 tbsp rose water

2–3 tbsp milk

Topping & Glaze:

50 g mixed nuts, roughly chopped

Few edible rose petals (optional)

50 g sugar

50 ml water

1 tsp rose water

Few drops lemon juice

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 7-inch cake tin.

Mix yogurt, sugar, and baking powder; let sit 5 minutes.

Add crumbled mawa, ghee, cardamom powder, and rose water.

Sift flour and baking soda; fold into wet mixture. Add milk to adjust consistency.

Fold in half of the nuts; pour batter into tin. Top with remaining nuts and rose petals.

Bake 35–40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

For glaze, dissolve sugar in water, add rose water and lemon juice, simmer 2–3 mins.

Drizzle glaze over slightly cooled cake before serving.

Bel Mojito by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor in association with Sugarfree and Zydus Wellness

Ingredients:

8–12 tbsp wood apple (bel) pulp

4 lemons, cut into pieces

8 measures Sugar Free Green

40–48 fresh mint leaves

Pink salt to taste

1 tsp roasted cumin powder

Ice cubes

Drinking soda

Lemon slices for garnish

Method:

Muddle lemon pieces, bel pulp, sugar, mint, pink salt, and cumin.

Add ice cubes and soda; mix well.

Serve chilled, garnished with lemon slices.

Makhana Khir (Fox Nut Pudding) by Pramod Paswan, Head Chef, Lotus Eco Beach Resort, Murud

Ingredients:

1 cup makhana (fox nuts)

2 cups milk (dairy or non-dairy)

¼ cup sugar (to taste)

¼ tsp cardamom powder

1 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp chopped nuts (almonds/pistachios)

1 tbsp raisins (optional)

Method:

Roast makhana in ghee until lightly browned; grind coarsely.

Boil milk; add ground makhana and cook on low heat until thickened.

Add sugar, cardamom, and nuts; cook 2–3 mins.

Serve warm or chilled, garnished with extra nuts and raisins.

Why Makhana Khir?

Nutritious, gluten-free, high in protein and fiber

Perfect for festive occasions

Easily customized with saffron, rose water, or non-dairy milk

Belamrit Sharbat by Chef Ajeet Kumar, Beverage and Banquet Operations Manager at Conrad Bengaluru

A divine blend crafted for the spirit of Navratri. Ripe bel (wood apple), revered for its purity, meets the tropical zest of passion fruit, brightened with fresh lime and gently sweetened with raw honey. Served in a tall glass, this drink is a refreshing offering that symbolizes devotion, energy and the joy of the festive season.

Ingredients:

1 Ripe wood apple

1 passion fruit

20 ml fresh lime juice

25 ml raw honey syrup

Glass: High ball

Method:

Scoop out the pulp of ripe wood apple and passion fruit, and shake together with fresh lime juice and raw honey syrup over ice. Fine strain into a highball glass filled with ice, and garnish with a lime wheel or a sprig of mint for a refreshing festive serve.

Sabudana Bhel recipe by Swapnadeep Mukherjee, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa

Ingredients:

100 g sabudana

30 g boiled potato, diced

10 g roasted cumin seeds

10 g sweet tomato sauce or jaggery

50 g tamarind sauce

10 g chopped coriander

10 g chopped green chili

2 tomatoes, chopped

100 g mint leaves

20 g dry ginger powder

50 g curd

1 tbsp lemon juice

10 g fennel (sauf) powder

10 g cumin powder

10 g coriander powder

Sendha namak to taste

1 pomegranate

2 ragi papads

Method:

Toss sabudana, potatoes, tomatoes, coriander, green chili with tamarind sauce. Adjust sweet-sour taste as needed.

Heat ragi papads until soft; roll into triangles.

Stuff bhel into papads, garnish with coriander, pomegranate, and a squeeze of lime.

Paneer & Peanut Seekh Kebab by Shreyas Bhat, Culinary Director, GAIA | Sattvik & Navratri-friendly

Yields: 8–10 kebabs

Ingredients:

250 g grated paneer

3 tbsp roasted peanuts, coarsely ground

1 medium boiled potato, grated

1 green chili, finely chopped

1 tsp grated ginger

2 tbsp chopped coriander

2–3 tbsp rajgira (amaranth) or kuttu flour

½ tsp roasted cumin powder

½ tsp black pepper

Sendha namak to taste

1 tsp lemon juice

Ghee as needed

Method:

Combine all ingredients except ghee; gradually add flour until mixture binds. Finish with lemon juice.

Shape into elongated kebabs on skewers; optionally smoke with hot coal and ghee for aroma.

Cook on a greased tawa or grill pan for 8–10 minutes, rotating until golden. Alternatively, bake at 200°C for 12–15 minutes.

Serve hot with marinated cucumber-yogurt salad or ‘Vrat ki Chutney’.

Chef’s Notes:

Dust with rajgira flour for extra crispness.

Perfect for fasting and festive occasions.

Keto Coconut Laddoo By Rahul Kamra, Keto Coach, Founder of Ketorets

Ingredients

• Coconut Flour- 50 grams
• Coconut Cream- 30 ml (replace with fresh cream)
• Cardamom powder- 1/4th tsp
• Stevia – 2/3 sachets

Preparation

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and make a laddoo. Coat it with coconut flour.

Keto Sandesh By Rahul Kamra, Keto Coach, Founder of Ketorets

Ingredients

• Medium-fat Cow milk- 1 litre
• Lemon juice- 10 ml
• Cardamom powder- 1/4th tsp
• Stevia- 6 sachets
• Saffron strands (Kesar) – 3/4
• Milk for kesar- 10 ml

Preparation

1. Boil milk and add lemon juice.

2. Once it curdles, remove it from the flame or switch it off.

3. Add 2-3 glasses of cold water.

4. Strain using a muslin cloth and keep ‘chenna’ (the leftover) aside.

5. Add saffron strands to 10 ml lukewarm milk and keep it aside.

6. Take a steel plate with edges ‘thaal or thali’

7. Knead chenna till it forms a smooth consistency. Add stevia and cardamom powder. Knead it again.

8. In a pan, add this doughy mixture to reduce moisture. Keep the flame really low to avoid burning it.

9. Roll over the dough and place it on a plate, forming it into desired shapes.

10. Cocoa powder, vanilla essence or other essence can also be added to Sandesh.

No Sugar Walnut Dates Barfi By Chef Meghna Kamdar on behalf of Chilean Walnut

Ingredients

• Walnuts- 200gm
• Date- 150 gm
• Khoya or Paneer- 100 gm
• Ghee- 2 tsp

Preparation

1. Dry roast 200 gm walnuts and chop them coarsely.

2. In a pan, heat 2 tsp ghee and add 150 gm of dates. Cook on a slow medium flame until the dates are soft.

3. Remove the softened dates. In the same pan, add another tablespoon of ghee and roast the chopped walnuts until you catch a lovely toasty aroma.

4. Mix in 100 gm of khoya (or paneer if you prefer) and cook for about 5-10 minutes until everything blends beautifully.

5. Add the soft dates back in and mix until the ingredients come together perfectly.

6. Press the mixture into a greased pan, flatten it nicely, and sprinkle some toasted walnuts on top.

7. Cut into pieces and enjoy!

Swati Chaturvedi

Swati Chaturvedi, a seasoned media and journalism aficionado with over 10 years of expertise, is not just a storyteller; she’s a weaver of wit and wisdom in the digital landscape. As a key figure in News18 Engl…Read More

Swati Chaturvedi, a seasoned media and journalism aficionado with over 10 years of expertise, is not just a storyteller; she’s a weaver of wit and wisdom in the digital landscape. As a key figure in News18 Engl… Read More