An eating plan for Navratri -

Meal one (on waking up) - Fresh fruit/ Handful of nuts/ Overnight soaked raisins with kesar

Meal two (breakfast) - Singhare ke pakode/ Sabudana khichdi/ Sweet potato with dahi/ Alu ki kheer/ Chana poori and halwa (on last day)

Meal three (lunch) - Rajgira or kuttu or singhare atta ki roti with Alu or arbi sabzi/ Makhane ki sabzi or Kuttu ki kadhi with samo chaawal / upasacha thalipeeth

Meal four (dinner) - Samo chawal with dahi / Jhangora kheer / Paneer ki sabzi with kuttu or singhare or rajgira or banana flour ki roti

Mid-meals - Fresh fruit/ Milkshake/ Chaas/ Shikanji/ kheer/ Shakarkandi ki chaat / Sabudana wada with dahi

It’s the time of the year when the end of Pitru paksha leads to the beginning of Navratri. Both, in their own way, are a means that use food or anna as a learning tool. Pitru Paksha is about charity and offering food to the ancestors who no longer live in their bodies and in the realm of our world. And Navratri, amongst many other things, is about staying disciplined with food to help nurture the creative and the feminine principle in our physical bodies.

Navratri is of special significance to women as they are live expressions of the Divine mother. I believe it is our cultural way of “feminism”, both fearless and joyful, in harmony with the dance of life. In a way, it teaches us that as women we must celebrate our lives every moment, and in every role we take up. Whether we choose to express ourselves as forms of Annapurna, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Durga, Kali, we are all beautiful.

The food is “restricted” as a method of disciplining the senses. Nutritionally, it empowers the women with nutrients that make them not just physically stronger but helps bring about a balance at the hormonal level too. This is because of the diversity of foods that are traditionally eaten during this time. It’s a “religious” method of teaching families that good physical health of the women and girls is of paramount importance to the wellbeing of communities and societies.

This is a rough food plan but please make alterations to it based on the region you come from and according to what your grandmom approves :-)

#navratri