Chaitra Navratri 2023: The Hindu festival of Navratri honours the nine avatars of Goddess Durga for nine-long days. During Navratri, people generally fast and indulge in only sattvic or vrat-friendly foods such as fruits, makhana, sabudana, and paneer and avoid rajasic or tamasic foods including grains, onion, garlic, meat, packaged or preserved foods.
Here are five vrat-friendly namkeens to serve with tea for Chaitra Navratri. These snacks are made without onion and garlic specifically for this festival and are suitable for vrat.
Sabudana Tikki:
During the Navratri fasts, sabudana or tapioca pearls are frequently used. Prepared by mixing sabudana, boiled potatoes, fresh herbs, aromatic spices, and other essential ingredients, these crispy tikkis are abundantly delicious.
Sweet potato chips:
Also known as shakarkandi chips, these deep-fried snacks are nutritious and delectable. During the Navratri fasts, prepare some with rock salt, black pepper, and other seasonings that can be used to season thinly sliced sweet potatoes. They can be deep-fried or baked until crisp.
Makhana Chivda:
Fox nuts, also known as makhana, are a great source of protein and can be used to make numerous snacks. Makhana chivda is a crunchy, spicy, flavorful concoction made with roasted makhana, peanuts, raisins, cashews, herbs, and spices.
Aloo chaat:
Aloo chaat is a common Indian street food snack that can be savored during the fasts of Navratri. The sweet and tangy snack is made from boiled and diced potatoes that are combined with spices, chutneys, roasted peanuts, and pomegranate seeds. Also, you can add curd and mint for more flavor. Remember to prepare without onions and garlic-infused chutneys.
Singhara pakoras:
Water chestnut fritters, also known as Singhare ke pakore, are crispy and delectable treats that are prepared by combining flour and spices and deep-frying the batter till golden brown. During Navratri, Singhare ke Pakore, which is made with Singhara atta, or water chestnut flour, is a popular dish. Singhara flour is abundantly rich in fibre and protein and contains few calories.
All the aforementioned snacks are healthy and can be made at home.
