Navratri Thali

Navratri is a time of fasting and worship but it also allows everyone to enjoy the amazing 'fasting food'. May people like me are more interested in the food rather than the fast :D :D. Simple dishes prepared with few ingredients tastes better than normal food!!

I tried to recreate the veg thali that I used to wait for at home. Not very tough to prepare and uses very few ingredients but can be made richer if you like to. I tried to keep it as close to the actual with singara(water chestnut) puri, sabudana(sago) vadas, alloo tamatar sabji and saffron dates makhana kheer. So let's start cooking!!!

Aloo Tamatar Sabji ( Potato Curry - tomato based): It is an all time favorite and is prepared in almost all homes during any fast but somehow tastes better during navratri!! Uses a lot of ginger and green chillies but you can mellow it down a bit.

Ingredients: Potato ( boiled, peeled and roughly mashed) - 4 medium; Coriander leaves ( finely chopped; you can also use the stem for extra flavour) - 1 bunch; Tomatoes ( roughly chopped) - 2 large; Hing - 1 pinch; Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp roasted and crushed+ 1 tsp; Green chillies ( finely chopped) - 4 large; Ginger (finely chopped) - 2 inch; Mustard oil for frying - 2 tsp; Salt to taste; Water - 400 ml

Steps:

i. Boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles. Let the cooker de-pressurize naturally.

ii. While the potatoes are cooling , heat mustard oil in a pan .

iii. Once smoking hot add the whole cumin seeds, chopped green chillies and chopped ginger and saute well for 3 minutes.

iv. Once the rawness of the ginger is gone and they are well sauteed add the tomatoes and mix well for 4 minutes.

v. Add salt and the roasted and crushed cumin seeds and mix well.

vi. Once the tomatoes have dissolved add water and potatoes and mix gently.

vii. Simmer the mixture on low heat for 10 minutes. Ensure that it's not getting burned at the bottom so mix every couple of minutes.

vii. After 5 minutes of simmering add the chopped coriander for more flavour.

Serve hot with some singara puri and sabudana vada and enjoy!!!

Singara Puri: Singara is one of the staple ingredient during fasting days. Halwa prepared from singara flour is loved by all but I made puris out of it. They taste great and goes well with almost anything.

Ingredients: Singara flour - 2 cups; Potatoes ( boiled and peeled) - 5 small; Coriander leaves ( finely chopped) - 2 tbsp; Salt to taste; Oil for frying

Steps:

i. Make a dough with the singara flour and boiled potatoes. Try not to use water but do use if required.

ii. Make small dumplings and roll them with a roller. Sometimes singara flour gets brittle so use your hands to make puris if that's convenient.

iii. Fry the puris in oil ( medium heated and on a medium flame). This will help the puris to cook from inside as well. If the oil is too hot then you will get a golden crust quickly but it will be raw from inside.

Eat them with your favourite curry or just like that!!

Sabudana Vada: These are made from tapioca and came to India around 300-400 yrs back. History has it that it was introduced in one of Indian states during famine but now is widely used during fasting days.

Ingredients: Sabudana (large ones and soaked overnight) - 1 cup; Potatoes ( boiled and mashed) - 4 medium; Coriander leaves ( finely chopped) - 3 tbsp; Black pepper ( coarsely crushed) - 15; Green chillies ( finely chopped) - 4 large; Oil for frying; Salt to taste

Steps:

i. Mix all the ingredients together well. Make small patties with hand for frying.

ii. Heat the oil on medium flame.

iii. Fry the patties until they develop a golden crust. If the oil is too hot the vadas will not cook properly from inside.

Serve hot and enjoy!!

Makhana Kheer: Makhana or lotus seeds can be used in a variety of ways. One can roast them with a bit of ghee and enjoy or prepare kheer which I did. My preparation was a bit heavy and elaborate but it can be tweaked in any way one likes.

Ingredients: Makhana - 1 cup; Milk - 1 litre ( use full fat or toned whatever you prefer); Raisins + Chopped pistachios+ Chopped almonds - 1/2 cup ( you can roast the dry fruits in ghee for extra flavour) ; Saffron - 6 strands grounded and mixed with 1/2 tsp of milk; Dates ( seedless) - 6; Sugar - 1/4 cup; Cardamom ( crushed) - 1/2 tsp

Steps:

i. Simmer the milk on low flame until it has reduced to half. Might take around 20-25 minutes. Keep stirring every couple of minutes so that it doesn't get burned.

ii. Add the sugar , cardamom powder and dates to the milk after it has been simmered for 15 minutes. Keep stirring every couple of minutes.

iii. Once the milk has become half or close to that add the dry fruits , makhana and saffron milk.

iv. Keep on simmering for 10 more minutes until the milk thickens a bit more.

Refrigerate the kheer for couple of hours and serve chilled!!