The Grand Indian Navratri Thali: Fasting and Feasting the Healthy Way over the Nine nights of festive Valour
Most Hindus are familiar with the nine-day celebration of Navratri. The Hindu ‘Nine Nights’ Festival Celebrates Motherhood Of God, Triumph Of Good Over Evil. Maa Durga represents the infinite power of the universe and is a symbol of a female dynamism.
The festival, celebrated for nine consecutive days and nights, is full of ritualistic pujas and fasting.
As a kid, I and my brother were very fond of Navratri puja and fasting as it followed a scrumptious feast at the end of the day. Mom used to have an exclusive navratri fasting menu for Nine days. We used to wait for Navratras to come. We used to embrace the joy of the festival with the best of her fasting recipes. As kids we knew Navratri was a special spiritual time celebrating the power of divine mother. We also knew that during this period we didn’t eat onions, garlic or eggs.
The eighth and ninth day used to be very special as we celebrated “Kanya-Pujan” in the house. As a custom, dad washed the feet of these nine young girls, applied ‘Tika’ to their forehead and tied ‘Kalawa’ to their hands as a mark of respect for the Goddess.
For Kanya puja, mom used to prepare ‘Halwa’, ‘puri’ and ‘chane ki sabzi’ and feed young girls and then offered gifts and seeked their blessings.
Kanya puja is performed to recognise the feminine power vested in the girl child. The vidhi has a lot of importance as the ‘kanyas’ who visit one’s home are considered to be forms of Maa Durga and their arrival is considered to be auspicious and blissful.
“The Foodies” is the name my husband has given to my family as we always find ways to convert even the simplest meal to a more delectable one. So, even my ‘calorie-conscious’ hubby can’t resist the platter served in my house.
I used to get carried away with the Navratri platter without even worrying about the weighing scale tipping to the wrong side. However, today, I have become more conscious and try to include more fruits,salad,a bowl of yoghurt and a low-calorie sweet dish to my Navratri platter.
So, here I share a few Navratri recipes from my mother’s kitchen. Hope you would enjoy the navratri fasting with this healthy and feasting menu.
May Maa Durga empower you with her nine blessings of name, fame, health, wealth, happiness, peace, humanity, knowledge and spirituality! Happy Navratri to you and your family!!!
Eat healthy, exercise well and stay tuned for more recipes!!! Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook ,Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest.
