5 easy Chaitra Navratri Vrat recipes to try

New Delhi: Though the holy Navratri occurs four times in a year, these auspicious nine days from Shukla Pratipada to Navami till Chaitra and Ashwin month, are more popular. These dates are considered to be the best time to worship Goddess Bhagwati.

The nine days of fasting for Chaitra Navratri begin tomorrow, April 6, and will end on April 14. So, we spoke to midnight delivery outlet Nukkad on Wheels, who are well-versed with handling hunger cravings, about easy recipes to try out this Navratri:

Banana Walnut Lassi

•    1 cup low-fat yoghurt
•    1/2 banana
•    3-4 walnuts (or include Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, almonds and pine nuts)
•    1 tsp seeds (mix of flax seeds and sesame seeds)
•    1-2 tsp honey

Method
•    In a food processor, pour yoghurt, whey powder, flax seed, sesame seeds, walnuts, honey and bananas.
•    Blend it well till smooth and creamy.
•    Transfer into a glass and garnish with chopped walnuts before serving.

Fruit Chaat

•    1/2 Teaspoon Kala Namak/Rock Salt
•    1/2 Teaspoon Kali Mirch/Black Pepper Powder
•    1/2 Teaspoon  Chaat Masala
•    1/2 Teaspoon Bhuna Jeera/Roasted Cumin Powder
•    1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
•    3 Cup Fruits, like bananas, grapes, apples, pears etc.

Method
•    Dice all the fruits. 2 bananas, 1 apple, 1 pear and a small bunch of grapes. You can add any fruit of your choice
•    Mix the fruits in a bowl and add 1/2 tsp Kala Namak/Rock Salt, 1/ tsp Kali Mirch, 1/2 tsp Chaat Masala and1/2 tsp Bhuna Jeera/Roasted Cumin Powder. Also, sprinkle 1 tsp lemon juice
•    Mix all the ingredients together. Fruit Chaat is ready. Refrigerate for 10 mins and serve it chilled.

Singhare ki poori with masala arbi

•    1 tablespoon minced green chillies
•    2 teaspoon cumin powder
•    1 1/2 cup mashed potato
•    sendha namak as required
•    5 tablespoon refined oil
•    water as required
•    3 1/2 cup water chestnut flour

Method
•    To make this recipe, add potatoes along with salt in a deep bottomed pan and boil it. Once done peel and mash the potatoes. Take a deep bowl and add potatoes, oil, cumin powder, green chilli and water chestnut flour. Mix the ingredients well. Add the required amount of water and knead it to make a soft dough.
•    Now, take a small portion of the dough and make a small round ball. Using some chestnut flour, roll the balls in the shape of pooris. Pooris should be evenly sized, neither thick nor thin.
•    Take a kadhai over medium flame and heat oil in it. Once the oil is heated pour the pooris in it. Deep-fry the pooris until it becomes golden brown from both the sides.
•    Finally, transfer the pooris on a plate and serve them with any curry or gravy dishes of your choice.
 
Masala Arbi:

•    7-8 medium-sized taro root (boiled, arbi)
•    3 Tbsp oil
•    1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
•    1/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
•    1/8 tsp asafetida (hing)
•    1 Tbsp coriander powder (dhania)
•    1/4 tsp turmeric (haldi)
•    1/2 tsp red chilli powder
•    2 green chillies (sliced)
•    1 tsp salt
•    1/2 tsp mango powder (amchoor)

Method
•    Wash arbi before boiling. Make sure to not over boil it as they become very slimy. I prefer to boil arbi in a pot so that it is easy to check if they are cooked. The ideally boiled arbi should be firm, and the knife should go through it effortlessly.
•    Peel the skin and slice them into about 1/8” thick rounds. Set aside.
•    In a small bowl mix turmeric, coriander powder, and red chilli powder with 1/4 cup of water to make a paste. Set aside.
•    Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat, oil should be moderately hot, (when you add the cumin seed to oil it should crack right away).
•     Add cardamom and cumin seeds, as soon as they start crackling add asafoetida,
•    Stir and add spice paste stir for about 30 seconds till oil start separating from oil.
•     Add green chilli and stir for a few seconds.
•    Place arbi in the pan, spreading it out. Sprinkle the salt and mango powder while gently folding the arbi with spice mix to make sure it is coated well with spices. 
•    Sautée them over medium heat till they are lightly brown both sides. Turning them occasionally gently. This should take about 8-10 minutes.

Saboodana Pakoda

•    Sago (sabudana) 2 cups
•     Yoghurt 1 cup
•    Green chillies 3-4
•    Cumin seeds 2 teaspoons
•    Salt to taste
•    Oil to deep fry

Method
•    Soak sabudana in yoghurt for an hour.
•    Remove stems, wash and finely chop green chillies.
•    Add chopped green chillies, cumin seeds and salt to taste to the sabudana.
•    Make small roundels and flatten them slightly.
•    Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep fry the sabudana roundels till golden.
•    Drain onto an absorbent paper. Serve hot with a chutney. 

Saboodana Kheer

•    1/2 cup Sabudana (Sago Pearls)
•    4 cups Milk
•    4 tbsp Sugar
•    1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
•    1/2 cup Water

Method

•    Wash sabudana in water and drain. Soak sabudana in water for 2 hours.
•    It will absorb almost all the water and the size will increase.
•    Heat the milk in a heavy bottomed pan over medium flame.
•    When milk comes to boil add soaked sabudana. Cook them until they turn transparent and soft for around 10-15 minutes, make sure to stir continuously.
•    Add sugar to it & let it dissolve. Lower the heat and add cardamom powder.
•    Stir continuously and cook until the milk turns thick. It will take approx. 5-7 minutes.
•    Turn off the flame and transfer prepared sabudana kheer into a serving bowl.
•    Garnish it with sliced almonds and serve warm or chilled.

(Recipes courtesy Nukkad On Wheels, Kalkaji, South Delhi)

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