Fasting during Navratri? Two home chefs share delicious, healthy and unique food options

Kutti no daro locha. Pics/Shadab Khan

Innovate, indulge
Madhavi Modha, Annapurna Bakery and Cookery Class

Rajgira [amaranth] is one of the most common ingredients when it comes to fasting foods. While rajgira is used to make chikki and puri, you can also try roti and paratha. These are better options, considering that puri is deep fried, and hence, unhealthy. Enjoy rajgira roti or paratha with a sabzi made of sakarya [sweet potato] or kandh mool [purple yam]. Kutti no daro locha [a dhokla-like dish made from buckwheat] is a delicious dish to try. Prepare it with either grated bottle gourd, potato, sweet potato or purple yam; with some dahi. Apart from its high fibre content, it is also quite filling. If time is short to prepare locha, buckwheat can also be consumed by boiling it and perhaps adding a bit of sindhav salt [rock salt] to it. Farali chilla is a lesser explored option, but quite easy to make. Simply make a thick batter of rajgira, grated purple yam, sweet potato and ginger, curd, green chillies and pepper powder. The good old superfood, makhana is an interesting ingredient to consume during fasting. It can also be given a bit of spin as an ingredient for kheer or cookies.Rajgira flour can be used as the binding agent. If you are feeling too experimental, try making a smoothie of finely powdered makhana, khus khus [poppy seeds], fennel seeds, banana and milk.

Makhana kheer

Ingredients
. 1 cup makhana
. 750 ml milk
. ½ cup sugar
. ½ tsp jaifal (nutmeg) powder
. A few saffron strands
. 2 to 3 tbsp grated almonds and pistachio
. 1 tsp ghee

Method
In a deep pan, add ghee and once it is hot, sauté makhana in it till they are crispy. Set aside for some time. Once they cool, grind the makhana till they are semi-crushed. Make sure they are not finely powdered. Keep this aside. In the same deep pan, add milk, and heat it till it reaches boiling point. Add sugar, jaifal powder and saffron and boil it for four to five more minutes. Now, add the semi-crushed makhana to the milk and stir constantly, keeping in mind that the makhana should not settle at the bottom of the deep pan. After stirring for a few minutes, the milk will start getting slightly thicker. That's when you need to turn off the gas and pour the kheer in a bowl. Garnish the makhana kheer with grated almonds and pistachios.

Tip: To beat the October heat, refrigerate the dish before serving it.

Recipe courtesy: Madhavi Modha

Videshi tadka
Inderpreet Nagpal, @rummyskitchen

The best way to make farali delicacies is to twist the commonly available Navratri fasting ingredients like kuttu flour, sweet potatoes, fruits, singada [water chestnut] flour, pumpkin and potatoes to create unusual and healthy dishes. Instead of the regular puri and paratha, I suggest making healthy tacos, puris or parathas using kuttu [buckwheat] or singada flour. Make singada paratha with some sindhav salt and pepper; and boiled and mashed potatoes to bind it well. If you want a bit more flavour, perhaps try adding some spices. This can be relished with dahi wale aloo sabzi. Kuttu puri goes really well with pumpkin launji. This launji [sweet and spicy chutney] can be made in Punjabi-style by adding methi [fenugreek] seeds, tamarind and jaggery. All in all, it is a burst of flavours. Give a global twist to desi ingredients by making arbi masala on taco or sweet potato kebab on taco, both with pineapple or apple salsa.

Dahi wale aloo with kuttu atta puri; Pumpkin launji; Arbi masala on taco. Pics courtesy/Inderpreet Nagpal