10+ Healthy & Easy Navratri Fast Recipes

The first day of Navratri always feels exciting in my home. There is music, flowers, and a new sense of energy. But once the morning puja is done, the real question comes up in almost every kitchen: What are we going to eat today? 

I still remember last year, one of my clients sent me a picture of plain boiled potatoes on day two and wrote, “This cannot go on for seven more days.” That is when I realized again how important it is to plan Navratri fast recipes that are simple yet interesting.

I often remind people that fasting is not meant to make you weak. The right fasting food for Navratri keeps your body active enough for long prayers, for garba nights, and for daily work. It is also not just about cutting things out. It is about focusing on satvik food for Navratri.

Over the years, I have put together collections of healthy fasting recipes for Navratri that balance tradition with health. 

In this article, I will share what I usually recommend: a list of common food items you can use, ideas for breakfast and snacks, main course dishes, and even sweets that work well during the fast. 

What Makes Navratri Fasting Special? 

My grandmother used to say it’s because no onion, no garlic recipes are “tamasic.” These recipes can heat the body, which goes against the calm, pure (satvik) state you are aiming for during prayer. Honestly, I just think it’s a brilliant way to force you out of your cooking rut. You can’t rely on your usual flavor crutches.

You have to get to know a whole new crew of ingredients—the real rockstars of fasting food for Navratri. I am talking about kuttu (buckwheat) with its nutty flavor, or singhare ka atta (water chestnut flour), which makes the most amazing pancakes. 

Satvik food for Navratri is not about deprivation. It’s about discovery. The problem starts when we take these amazing food items for Navratri and drown them in oil and sugar. The goal is to make healthy dishes for Navratri fast that honor the tradition without sacrificing your well-being. It’s totally possible, I promise.

List of Food Items Allowed During Navratri Fast

Before we get to the good stuff (the recipes!), let us talk ingredients. You gotta have the right players on the field. Here is what’s always in my kitchen during these nine days – the foundation for all those healthy fasting recipes for Navratri:

• Grains & Flours: Ditch the regular stuff. I live on kuttu ki roti and singhare ke pakore, they are game-changers.
• Fruits & Veggies: My trick? Load up on sweet potato and lauki. They’re the secret behind my low-calorie fasting recipes that actually fill you up.
• The Power Boosters: I toss peanuts into everything for crunch and always have paneer on hand. It’s a lifesaver for quick, filling meals.
• The Flavor Makers: Forget onion and garlic. My tempering is all about jeera, hari mirch, and a generous pinch of sendha namak, can’t cook without it.

Getting these food items for Navratri right is the first step to moving beyond just “allowed” food to making actually incredible, easy Navratri recipes.

Easy & Healthy Navratri Fast Recipes

I recommend this list of healthy Navratri snacks, main dishes, and desserts.

Breakfast & Light Bites

1. Sabudana Khichdi

Ingredients

• 1 cup sabudana, soaked overnight (the soaking makes or breaks it)
• 1 boiled potato, cut into small pieces
• A handful of roasted peanuts, crushed a bit
• 1 green chili
• A spoon of ghee
• Sendha namak, to taste
• Lemon wedge for squeezing at the end

Recipe

1. Heat the ghee, drop in the chili and potato. I let the potato sit a bit so the edges go brown.
2. Add sabudana next, but don’t keep poking it too much or it clumps. I learned that the hard way.
3. Peanuts go in for crunch. Sometimes I crush half, sometimes I leave them whole.
4. Salt to taste, low flame, and just watch until the pearls look glossy.
5. Add lemon juice as per your taste.

2. Fruit Chaat

Ingredients

• 2 cups of mixed fruits
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ½ tsp roasted jeera powder
• Sendha namak

Recipe

1. Chop fruits into small pieces. I don’t measure, I just grab what’s in the basket.
2. Sprinkle jeera and salt, squeeze lemon.
3. Toss with a spoon or just mix with your hands.
4. I usually taste one piece and adjust—it’s never the same twice.

3. Roasted Makhana

Ingredients

• 2 cups makhana
• 1 tsp ghee
• Sendha namak
• Black pepper 

Recipe

1. Drop the makhana into ghee once it warms up; the smell changes fast.
2. Keep the flame low and stir now and then—I’ve burned a batch before by getting distracted, and trust me, it’s not fun.
3. Makhanas would pop when they are ready to eat.
4. Add salt and pepper.

4. Sweet Potato Chaat

Ingredients

• 2 boiled sweet potatoes
• 1 green chili
• Coriander leaves
• Juice of half a lemon
• ½ tsp chaat masala

Recipe

1. Cut the sweet potato into cubes.
2. Add chili and coriander.
3. Squeeze lemon.
4. Add masala to the mixture.
5. Mix everything with a spoon. I usually eat it warm because it feels more filling.

5. Banana Walnut Lassi

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup yogurt
• Walnuts
• 1 tsp honey

Recipe

1. Yogurt goes in first, then banana, and if I see walnuts lying around, I just toss them too. No set rule, really.
2. Blend until it looks smooth and creamy. Sometimes I stop midway and check the texture.
3. If you like it sweeter, add honey. My kids never ask for it, so I mostly skip.

Main Courses

6. Samak Rice Pulao

Ingredients

• 1 cup samak rice
• 1 cup mixed vegetables
• 1 tsp ghee
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Sendha namak
• Lemon wedge

Recipe

1. Warm some ghee in the pan and throw in cumin seeds. Wait till they pop, that smell is the best part.
2. Vegetables go next. I don’t cook them for too long, just until they soften slightly.
3. Wash the rice, then add it to about twice the amount of water. I don’t measure exactly, eyeball it.
4. Cover and let it cook. You will see the grains turn fluffy when they are ready.

7. Kuttu ki Puri with Aloo Dum

Ingredients for puri

• 1 cup kuttu atta
• 1 boiled potato
• Sendha namak
• Water for kneading
• Ghee for frying

Ingredients for aloo dum

• 3 boiled potatoes
• 1 tomato (optional, some people skip during fasts)
• 1 green chili
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• Sendha namak

Recipe

1. Mash potatoes into flour, add salt, and knead with a little water.
2. Roll into small puris and fry in ghee until puffed.
3. Heat the ghee, add cumin and chili.
4. Add boiled potatoes, salt, and water.
5. Cook till it looks like gravy.

8. Lauki Ki Sabzi

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced lauki
• 1 tsp ghee
• 1 green chili
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• Pinch of sugar
• Sendha namak
• Coriander leaves

Recipe

1. Heat the ghee
2. Add cumin and chili.
3. Add lauki pieces, cover, and cook.
4. Once soft, add salt and just a little sugar.
5. Garnish with coriander. I used to dislike this sabzi until my mom showed me the sugar trick.

9. Arbi Masala

Ingredients

• 250 g arbi (colocasia)
• 1 tsp ghee
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 green chili
• Sendha namak
• ½ tsp coriander powder

Recipe

1. Boil arbi and then peel.
2. Cut the Arbi into medium pieces.
3. Put it in a separate bowl.
4. Heat the ghee
5. Add cumin and chili.
6. Put arbi in the ghee and add salt and coriander powder.
7. Let it brown slightly.

10. Rajgira Paratha

Ingredients

• 1 cup rajgira atta
• 1 boiled potato
• Sendha namak
• Water for kneading
• Ghee for roasting

Recipe

1. Mash the potatoes into a flour, then knead into a soft dough.
2. Roll into parathas.
3. Cook on a tawa with ghee. Turn occasionally until you see brown spots on the paratha. Puffing is optional.

Sweets 

11. Sabudana Kheer

Ingredients

• ½ cup soaked sabudana
• 3 cups milk
• 2 tbsp jaggery (my dadi always said jaggery makes it richer than sugar)
• 1 green cardamom pod
• A small handful of chopped dry fruits

Recipe

1. Boil milk and add soaked sabudana.
2. Stir slowly until pearls turn soft.
3. Once the sabudana softens, I add the jaggery.
4. Let it melt on its own before stirring.
5. Cardamom goes in right at the end. I crush it roughly with a mortar; the fragrance hits you the second it touches the hot milk.
6. Top with nuts.

12. Makhana Kheer

Ingredients

• 1 cup makhana
• 3 cups milk
• 6–7 dates, blended into a paste
• 1 tsp ghee
• Chopped almonds 

Recipe

1. Roast makhana in ghee till they smell nutty.
2. Crush lightly.
3. Boil milk and add makhana.
4. Mix in date paste for natural sweetness.
5. Cook until thick.
6. Garnish with almonds. 

13. Singhare Ka Halwa

Ingredients

• ½ cup singhara atta
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 2 tbsp sugar or jaggery
• 1 cup water
• Cashews

Recipe

1. Heat the ghee and roast the flour.
2. Add water slowly while stirring.
3. Mix in sugar or jaggery and stir until it thickens like halwa.
4. Serve hot with cashews on top. A small bowl is usually enough; it is rich.

Healthy Cooking Tips for Navratri

• Try not to deep-fry everything. I know pakoras are tempting, but after a couple of days, you’ll feel dull. Roasting or pan-frying works fine, and honestly, the air fryer saves me.
• One spoon of ghee is plenty. Sometimes I add a drop more if I’m making rotis, but heavy oil just slows you down.
• Fresh is always better. A plate with fruits, some nuts & seeds, maybe jaggery instead of sugar, it feels lighter and looks more colourful too.
• Keep sipping through the day. Water, coconut water, buttermilk (or other dairy products) – whatever you like. Most people who tell me they feel weak are just dehydrated.

Tips for a Healthy Fast

• Keep meals light but nutritious: I make a simple samak rice bowl with whatever veggies I have – it’s filling but never makes me feel sluggish.
• Hydrate well with lemon water, coconut water: My family always starts mornings with warm lemon water during fasts – it’s our little ritual that keeps us going.
• Choose low-calorie fasting recipes over fried foods: When I want something crunchy, I reach for roasted makhanas with rock salt – they’re my favorite alternative to fried snacks.
• Carbs with protein: I add peanuts to my fruit bowl or include paneer in my vegetables – it keeps me from feeling hungry too quickly.

Closing Thoughts

Try these healthy fasting recipes for Navratri this year. My children actually look forward to helping prepare the roasted makhanas and shape the kuttu ki rotis. These easy Navratri recipes have taught us that satvik food for Navratri isn’t about restriction – it is about discovering delicious new flavors together as a family. However your family chooses to observe this time, may your kitchen be filled with connection and your home with peace.