Navratri - Navratri, literally interpreted as 'nine nights' is the most celebrated Hindu festival devoted to Goddess Durga symbolizing purity and power or 'shakti'. Navratri festival combines ritualistic puja and fasting and is accompanied by resplendent celebrations for nine consecutive days and nights. Navratri in India follows the lunar calendar and is celebrated in March/April as Chaitra Navratri and in September/October as Sharad Navratri.
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Jai Mata Di :)
Welcome to my blog!
So, Today I am going to share few important details on Navratri 2021 Dates - Navratri Festival
- On the first day of Navratri, Shailputri is worshipped.
- On the second day Navratri, Brahmacharini is worshipped.
- On the third day Navratri, Chandraghata is worshipped.
- On the fourth day Navratri, Kushmanda is worshipped.
- On the fifth day Navratri, Skandamata is worshipped.
- On the sixth day Navratri, Katyayani is worshipped.
- On the seventh day Navratri, Kaalratri is worshipped.
- On the eighth day Navratri, Mahagauri is worshipped.
- On the ninth day Navratri, Siddhidaatri is worshipped.
Mummy says that, Since the Navratri puja stretches over nine days, it is advised that on all the nine days of the Navratri puja, follow the same time schedule and do the puja once in the morning and once in the evening.
Picture or idol of Maa Durgaa, a clay pot with fertile soil for sowing seeds, barley seeds, water, kalash, coconut, a piece of red cloth, a bunch of mango leaves, flowers, coin, altar for the idol or picture, red cloth to spread on the altar, sacred thread, raw rice, fragrances, flowers, incense sticks, clay lamp with ghee and wicks, dishes to offer, camphor, matchbox, puja plate, roli for tilak, bell, kutu flour, chana, wheat flour, sugar, ghee, potato and fruits.
Chant Maa Durga Mantras and invite her presence in the altar and request her to stay with you accepting the puja over the nine days. Repeat the Panchoopachaar (five offerings) to Maa Durga.
If you prefer, you can observe fasting over the nine days of Navratri in the prescribed manner. the specific food eaten once a day in the evening alone by those observing the nine day fast is called as Saagaar.
So basically, you need to leave the food behind for 9 days and do the kanjak at the end of fasting.
The details in the regard of the kanjak, I will be sharing in next blog!
Navratri Vrat Rules | Navratri Fasting Food & Pooja Vidhi
Flour allowed:
- Singhare ka atta (water chestnut flour) – You can make Singhare ki poori, paratha, pakoras, halwa.
- Kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour) – You can make Khichdi, Paratha, Pakoras, Poori, Halwa.
- Rajgira ka atta (amaranth flour) and rajgira (amaranth) – You can make Poori, Vrat ka halwa,
- Vrat ki kadhi, Paratha and thalipeeth. Roasted rajgira can be had mixed with fruits, porridge and even ladoo. From amaranth grains you can also make Rajgira kheer.
- Sama ke chawal ka atta (barnyard millet flour) – Can be used to make Vrat ke uttapam, Idli, dosa, poori.
- Vrat ke chawal (barnyard millet) – You can make Pulao, Khichdi, Kheer, dalia, Idli, dosa, upma or just plain steamed.
- Arrowroot flour or paniphal flour – Used as a thickener and binding agent.
Vegetable allowed:
- Potatoes – Make Vrat ke aloo, Dahi aloo, Jeera aloo, Aloo tamatar ki sabzi, Vrat ke aloo palak or you can make snacks like Aloo tuk, Farali pattice, easy Aloo chaat. You can also make halwa or add them to raita.
- Pumpkin – You can make Kaddu ki sabzi, Halwa, Khatta meetha kaddu sabzi or Pakoras.
- Sweet potato – You can make Shakarkandi halwa, Tikki or chaat.
- Colocasia (arbi or kachalu) – You can make many dishes from arbi like Sukhi arbi, Dahi arbi, Arbi tikki, Arbi cutlet.
- Yam (suran or jimkand or regular yam or purple yam) – You can make Suran chips, suran ki sabzi.
- Plantain or Unripe Banana – You can make sabzi, banana fries and Banana chips.
- Unripe or semi ripe papaya – You can make Papaya halwa and salad from raw papaya.
- *Tomatoes – Generally tomatoes are added to curries or sabzi. Tomato sauce and chutney is also made. But some people don’t use tomatoes too.
- *Veggies – Some folks also use spinach (palak), bottle gourd (lauki), cucumber (kheera) and carrots (gajar)
Other food or ingredients allowed
- Sabudana (sago or tapioca pearls) – sabudana is favorite during fasting. You can make Sabudana khichdi, Sabudana vada, Thalipeeth, Pakora, Ladoo, Tikki, Bhel and Kheer.
- Makhana or phool makhana – You can make Makhana kheer, Roasted makhana, Aloo makhana, rotis or a simple makhana sabzi.
- All nuts & dry fruits – You can make Dry fruits milkshake or Dry fruits ladoo or Badam pista barfi or add them to halwas or other dishes.
- All fruits – Make Fruit chaat, Vegan fruit salad, Fruit raita, mix Fruit lassi or fruit juices like Musk melon juice, Jackfruit shake, Pineapple juice, Apple milkshake, Guava juice or have them raw.
- All milk products like paneer, Curd, white butter, cream, ghee, Khoya, malai, condensed milk. But some people make Paneer at home (use lemon juice or curd for curdling the milk) and don’t use the paneer brought from market. With homemade paneer you can make Kalakand, Paneer kheer, Aloo paneer kofta (substitute the corn flour with fasting flours), Paneer Barfi.
- Sugar, honey, or jaggery
- Tamarind (imli), kokum, lemon juice, yogurt – these can be used as souring agents.
- Coconut and coconut milk – You can use coconut in your dishes, make Coconut ladoo, Coconut barfi or use Coconut milk in Milkshakes.
- Melon seeds (magaz), cucumber, peanuts, groundnut oil
- Tea is allowed.
Foods to be avoided while Fasting
- Onion and garlic are strictly avoided. If you find any recipe on my blog or any other food blog which has onion and garlic then skip adding them. Usually ginger is added is most vrat recipes.
- No lentils and legumes
- Common salt is not used and instead rock salt or sendha namak also called as upvaas ka namak is used.
- Spices like turmeric (haldi), asafoetida (hing), mustard (sarson or rai), fenugreek seeds (methi dana), garam masala and dhania powder (coriander powder) are not allowed.
- Alcohol, non-vegetarian food, eggs and smoking is strictly NO during this holy period.
- Coffee is not allowed. Homemade ice cream can be consumed. But avoid buying from outside as they might have lot of preservatives.
- Corn, corn starch, corn flour, oats, flaxseeds, chia seeds not allowed.
- Fats like peanut oil or groundnut oil and ghee can be used for frying purpose. Don’t use any oil made from seeds like sunflower oil.
- Flours and grains not allowed
- Rice and rice flour
- Wheat flour or atta
- Maida (all-purpose flour)
- Sooji (rava or semolina)
- Besan (chickpea flour or gram flour)
Navratri vrat pooja
- Cleaning house and home temple: To start with if possible, clean the house as you are inviting the Goddess Mother in your house. You can specially clean your house temple and sprinkle Ganga water in it.
- Avoiding onions & garlic: We do not use any onion and garlic in any recipe, no matter other people are keeping fast or not. So try to use all the onions and garlic before the fast is starting.
- Fasting: Many devotees keep fast on all nine days. We kept fast on all nine days through out her life. But now because of old age and falling health, she keep fast on one day. If somehow, its not possible for you to keep fast on all nine days then you can try that on each day one person of your family is keeping fast in the house.
- Fasting for last two days: Some people keep fast on the first and last day This year one brahmin lady told her that it is better to keep fast on last 2 days. As after the first day fast you have started eating again and then you are keeping fast on the last day. According to this brahmin lady, it is better to keep fast on last 2 days than on keeping fast on first and last day of Navratri.
- Potting Barley seeds: Many people grow ‘Khetri’ or Barley seeds during this period. For this they collect, clean mud from an auspicious or clean place. This mud is put in a earthen pot. Clean and wash the barley to remove any insects or impurities and soak them in water for 15 to 30 minutes and then put these barley or ‘jau’ on the top of mud. Make a thin layer of mud on top of barley, so as to cover it. Don’t put too much mud otherwise barley will not grow and put just enough water to soak the barley. One red color string (mauli) of mata rani is tied to khetri pot.
- Khetri color: The progress of ‘khetri’ or barley is observed very keenly by the devotee and it is believed that the longer they grow in height, the better it is for your family’s fortune and well being. It is also related to the blessings or happiness of the Goddess on you. Few people believe that instead of observing the height of khetri, we should look at the color of khetri. Yellow color khetri is not good whereas green color khetri is considered good. On the last day of Navratri, the khetri is immersed in moving water body like river or even a pond. If there is no water body nearby to your house then you can put the khetri under pipal tree in a temple.
Jai Mata Di!
In my next blog, I will be sharing ingredients used In khetri :)
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