Krishna Janmashtami or Gokulashtami is celebrated all over India as the birth of Bhagwan Krishna. This year Janmashtami is on 18 and 19 August, 2022. Here I share 95 recipes that consist of sweets, snacks and fasting recipes that you can make for the Janmashtami festival. Most of these recipes are from the North Indian and Western Indian cuisine. I have also shared many South Indian recipes that are made during this Krishna Jayanthi festival.
Table of Contents
About Janmashtami
Janmanshtami is also known as Gokulashtami or Sri Krishna Jayanthi and is celebrated with great fervour all over India.
Though each region or state celebrates the festival differently. Example: In the state of Maharashtra dahi handi is played and is very popular. Whereas in some parts of North India, devotees show images of Krishna’s childhood which are placed in swings and cradles outside their homes.
Most of the temples are decorated and people visit the temples till late midnight as this is the time Krishna was supposed to be born. Places which are associated with Krishna’s childhood like Mathura, Gokul and Vrindavan are visited by many devotees.
Some families make a variety of sweets and offer to their Krishna in their home temples. Later these sweets are distributed as prasad with the family members and friends.
In North India many Hindus keep fast on this day and in this post, I have shared some fasting recipes for Janmashtami, in case you are also planning to do fast on this holy day. Fruits, dairy products and only some vegetables and herbs are eaten during the fasting period.
I list below only the grains and flour that we use during the Hindu religious fasting.
Flours and grains for Janmashtami fasting
- Water chestnut flour (singhare ka atta)
- Buckwheat flour (kuttu ka atta)
- Amaranth flour (rajgira ka atta) and amaranth seeds (rajgira or ramdana)
- Barnyard millet flour (sama ke chawal ka atta) and barnyard millet (sama chawal or vrat ke chawal)
- Arrowroot flour
- Tapioca pearls (sabudana) or tapioca flour
Note: We use edible rock salt (sendha namak) instead of normal salt. In some of the recipes listed below, replace edible rock salt with regular salt. Also feel free to omit or add the herbs, spices according to your family practices while making these fasting recipes.
All the rules which applies for Navratri Fasting applies to the recipes that you make for the Janmashtami fasting. Kindly follow your family’s rules on the ingredients like spices, herbs, oil etc you include in your fast.
Janmashtami Recipes For Fasting
In this section of Janmashtami recipes, you will find dishes that you can eat for a brunch or for a lunch or dinner. Usually some people eat only fruits and some just have one meal a day. Some of these dishes keep you full for some hours and this is the reason they are included as a part of the fasting diet.
Take into account your health, age and physical constitution when deciding to fast. Consider eating light meals and have plenty of fluids like water or juices.
Khichdi Variations
Sabudana Khichdi Recipe
Sabudana ki khichdi is a delicious dish of tapioca pearls (sago) made with potatoes, peanuts and usually had during Hindu fasting days like Navratri, Ekadashi, mahashivratri. It is also a gluten free recipe. In this recipe post, you will get many tips and suggestions to make the best non-sticky sabudana khichdi.
sama chawal khichdi
Samvat rice khichdi recipe – savory porridge made with barnyard millet and potatoes.
Kuttu ki Khichdi | Buckwheat Khichdi
Buckwheat Khichdi is easy to prepare khichdi with buckwheat groats (kuttu), potatoes and peanuts for Navratri fasting. Wholesome super food.
Easy Vegetarian Mains
vrat ke aloo
Vrat wale aloo or vrat ke aloo recipe – crumbled potato recipe for fasting without onion-garlic.
Kaddu ki Sabji (Easy Pumpkin Recipe)
Kaddu ki sabji is an easy and delicious vegan pumpkin recipe made with yellow pumpkin, whole spices and herbs. This is a satvik recipe made without onions and garlic.
vrat ki kadhi
Easy and quick to prepare rajgira kadhi for Navratri fasting or upwas.
vrat ke chawal ka pulao
Vrat ke chawal ka pulao or samvat pulao is a simple and easy pulao made for fasting days.
vrat ke jeera aloo
Simple and easy jeera aloo for fasting or Navratri vrat.
Peanut Amti
Shengdanyachi amti recipe – a simple and easy peanut curry for Navratri fasting from the Maharashtrian cuisine.
vrat ke dahi aloo
This Dahi aloo for Navratri fasting is a light curry made from potatoes and yogurt
aloo tamatar sabzi
Aloo tamatar ki sabzi recipe is easy lightly spiced curry made with potatoes and tomatoes.
vrat ke aloo palak recipe
Aloo palak recipe for fasting or vrat. This is a no onion no garlic spinach potato curry made for Navratri fasts.
Fasting Breads
Rajgira Roti | Amaranth Paratha
Rajgira roti or rajgira paratha is a healthy gluten-free flatbread made with rajgira atta or amaranth flour for Hindu fasting days.
Singhare ke atte ki puri
Singhare ki poori is a delicious Indian fry made with water chestnut flour, mashed potatoes, edible rock salt and a few spices.
Rajgira ki Poori
Rajgira poori or amaranth poori is fried puffed breads made from amaranth flour & boiled mashed potatoes.
Kuttu ki Poori
Kuttu ke atte ki puri are crisp and tasty Indian fry bread made with buckwheat flour for religious fasting or vrat.
Sabudana Thalipeeth
Sabudana thalipeeth are crisp and soft pancakes made with tapioca pearls, mashed potatoes, ground peanuts and spices. They are also called as Upvasache Thalipeeth in Marathi language and can also be referred to as Sabudana roti.
Easy Janmashtami Snacks
Here you will find snacks that are made without onion and garlic. Some of these snacks are easy to make. Some are deep fried or shallow fried, but you can choose to bake or air-fry these snacks.
Sabudana Vada (Authentic Traditional Recipe)
Sabudana Vada is a popular savory deep fried snack made during Hindu fasting days, featuring tapioca pearls (sago), potatoes, peanuts and herbs. They are naturally gluten-free and vegan. This fool proof sabudana vada recipe gives you a super delicious crispy vada with a soft and light interior.
sama ke chawal ki idli
Vrat ki idli recipe – idli made without rice which you can make for fasting or for regular days too.
Farali Pattice
Farali pattice is an easy snack of crispy and tasty patties made with potatoes and stuffed with a sweet filling of coconut, nuts and raisins. This dish is from the Gujarati cuisine that is made during fast or upvas.
vrat ki aloo chaat
Aloo chaat recipe – little spicy, tangy and crispy potato chaat.
Sabudana Tikki | Sabudana Cutlet
Sabudana tikki also known as sabudana cutlet are pan-fried thin patties made with tapioca pearls, mashed potatoes and spices. These crispy patties make for a delicious snack that will get over in no time.
Sabudana Bhel
This sabudana bhel is an easy and quick recipe for religious fasting days. All you need are boiled potatoes, roasted peanuts and cashews.
Sabudana Pakoda | Sabudana Pakora
These Sabudana pakora made for fasting or vrat are crisp, golden fritters made from tapioca pearls, mashed potatoes and roasted crushed peanuts.
Roasted Makhana Recipe
Healthy snack made with roasted makhana, phool makhana or foxnuts
banana kofta
Crisp, spiced pan fried patties made with raw unripe bananas. Navratri fasting recipe.
arbi tikki
Arbi patties recipe is a simple fasting recipe made with colocasia roots.
sukhi arbi recipe
Crisp, fried and tasty spiced arbi recipe.
Fruit Chaat
This Delhi style tasty fruit chaat is spiced, savory, sweet and tangy. Fruit chaat is made of a mix of fresh seasonal fruits and tubers like potatoes and sweet potatoes.
French Fries | Finger Chips (Crispy & Perfect)
Perfectly salted French Fries that are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Make these homemade french fries or finger chips recipe easily with a few techniques and customize it with your favorite herbs and spices or toppings.
vrat ka palak pakora
Vrat ke palak pakore recipe – spinach fritters made during fasting with buckwheat flour and spinach.
kaddu pakora
Kaddu pakora or pumpkin fritters made for fasting or religious vrat.
sabudana chivda
Nylon sabudana chivda recipe – crispy and tasty fasting snack made from nylon sabudana & dry fruits for the Navratri fasts.
Sweet Potato Cutlet | Indian Sweet Potato Patties
Sweet Potato Tikki is a delish snack that can be made during the period of Hindu fasting or vrat. These are basically sweet potato patties spiced with the usual Indian spices and herbs.
Sides for the Snacks
phalahari chutney
Phalahari chutney recipe is a green chutney made for fasting or vrat with coriander leaves.
Cucumber Raita
Cucumber raita is a popular savory raita dip made with cucumber and curd (yogurt). This simple, refreshing, cooling cucumber raita recipe comes together in 5 minutes.
vrat ki coconut chutney
A no onion no garlic coconut chutney made simple and easy with just three ingredients.
Chaas Recipe (Pudina and Masala Chaas)
The classic Chaas (Chaach/Mattha) also known as the Indian version of buttermilk is a refreshingly cooling summer drink made with creamy yogurt and seasonings. It is an excellent body cooler, digestive and appetizer. Find two easy chaas recipes – Masala Chaas and Pudina Chaas.
Janmashtami Sweets
Sweets especially milk based ones are Bhagwan’s Krishna’s favorites. You can make a variety of sweets and offer to Bhagwan Krishna and later serve this prasad to your family and friends.
I share below, Indian sweets which I have updated on the blog and do not contain cereals or grains that are not consumed during the Hindu fasting.
Shrikhand Recipe (2 Ways)
Shrikhand is a delicious and simple dessert recipe made with thick yogurt flavored with sugar, saffron and cardamom. Get two ways of making shrikhand recipe with hung curd as well as greek yogurt.
Coconut Ladoo | Nariyal ke Laddu (3 Variations)
Make coconut ladoo with three recipes. The first one is a quick 3 ingredient recipe made with fresh coconut, milkmaid and cardamom powder. The second recipe has 2 ingredients – desiccated coconut and condensed milk. The third recipe is made with desiccated coconut and sugar.
Makhane ki Kheer
Makhane ki kheer is a sweet dessert pudding made with Makhana (foxnuts), milk, ghee, sugar and dry fruits. This is an easy and popular sweet that is often made during Hindu fasting days.
Sabudana Kheer
Sabudana kheer is a sweet pudding made with tapioca pearls or sabudana, milk and sugar.
Rajgira Kheer
Rajgira kheer is a simple easy dessert pudding made with amaranth grains. Navratri recipe.
vrat ke chawal ki kheer
vrat ke chawal ka kheer – a creamy kheer made with samvat rice or barnyard millet.
Paneer Kheer
Paneer kheer recipe is a quick and easy Indian cottage cheese kheer for the festive season. Ready in less than 25 minutes.
lauki ki kheer
Delicious kheer made with bottle gourd or opo squash.
Javvarisi Payasam | Saggubiyyam Payasam
Javvarisi payasam or Saggubiyyam Payasam is a sweet creamy pudding made with sago(tapioca pearls), milk, ghee, sugar, raisins and cashews.
Sweet Potato Halwa (Shakarkandi ka Halwa)
Sweet Potato Halwa also called Shakarkandi ka Halwa in Hindi is a delicious Indian sweet made with boiled and mashed sweet potatoes and scented with cardamom, saffron.
Papaya Halwa (Papaya Sweet)
Papaya Halwa is a Indian sweet or dessert made with papaya. This Papaya Sweet is prepared by slow-cooking semi-ripe papaya, sugar and almond powder in oil. With hints of lovely cardamom, it makes for tasty dessert to end your meals with.
Basundi Recipe
Basundi is a thickened, sweetened milk flavored with cardamoms, spices and nuts. This basundi recipe is a quicker version made with sweetened condensed milk and comes together under 25 minutes.
Apple Halwa
Apple halwa recipe made with apples, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Apple halwa is a delicious halwa that is easy to make. This apple halwa does not use sooji (rava), milk, khoya or milk powder. Just apples, sugar (optional) and ghee. Flavorings and nuts of your choice can be added to the halwa.
Lauki ka Halwa | Dudhi Halwa
Lauki halwa is also called as dudhi halwa. It is a rich Indian sweet made with bottle gourd (opo squash), milk, sugar and ghee. The method of making lauki halwa is similar to making gajar halwa. Making lauki halwa is easy but takes some time. This is a slow cooked halwa and what you get after minutes of slow cooking is super deliciousness.
Dry fruits Laddu
Easy Dry fruits laddu recipe without any added sugar or fats like ghee or oil. Packed with nutrients, good fats and fibre, these energy balls are made with dates, figs and various nuts. Dry fruit laddu recipe gets done quickly and comes together under 20 minutes.
Amaranth Yogurt Parfait
Healthy and nutritious parfait made with popped amaranth, yogurt, honey, fruits & dry fruits.
Coconut Burfi | Nariyal ki Barfi
This Coconut Burfi is a delish, melt in the mouth fudge made with sweetened condensed milk, milk, and desiccated coconut.
Krishna Jayanthi Recipes
In the Southern Indian states also Krishna Jayanthi is celebrated with a lot of joy and fervor. The South Indian snacks and sweets that are made are different from the North Indian ones.
I have below listed some basic ingredients that you can make at home to make these snacks and sweets. I have also shared some special dishes that are made on the occasion of Krishna Jayanthi.
Do It Yourself Homemade Recipes
How to Make Butter (White Butter)
Make pure, fresh, homemade butter – called makhan in Hindi, without any additives, coloring agents or preservatives. I’ll also share the method of making homemade cultured butter.
How to Make Ghee | Homemade Ghee Recipe
This nutty flavored and high smoke point fat has been used for thousands of years, with deep roots in Ayurvedic practices. Making ghee at home is simple, easy and cost effective and will render much better flavor than commercially available varieties. Follow along with me as I show you how to make homemade ghee recipe in the traditional Indian way!
How To Make Rice Flour | Rice Flour Recipe
Prepare rice flour at home any time you need it to make various snacks or sweets. Making homemade rice flour is not difficult and all you need is a good mixer-grinder or blender or a grain mill to grind the rice grains.
Khoya Recipe | Mawa Recipe
Homemade mawa or khoya recipe – a traditional method of preparing khoa or khoya at home.
How to make Paneer
Make fresh paneer at home with only a few simple ingredients. This easy homemade paneer recipe creates the softest, most tender paneer cheese from scratch.
Krishna Jayanthi Sweets
Kesari Recipe
Rava kesari is a delicious melt in the mouth sweet made with rava or suji (semolina), ghee, dry fruits and saffron. It is a popular South Indian sweet and can be easily made in less time.
Rava Kesari With Milk
This Milk Rava Kesari is an easy to prepare delicious kesari variety made with milk, semolina (rava), sugar and dry fruits.
Paal Payasam | Rice Payasam
Paal Payasam is a simple South Indian variant of a slow cooked rice pudding made with only 4 ingredients. This recipe is of a typical Tamil style Rice Payasam that is creamy and delicious.
Aval Payasam
Delicious poha kheer or payasam made with flattened rice, ghee and milk.
pasi paruppu payasam
Delicious creamy moong dal payasam made with yellow moong lentils, jaggery and coconut milk.
Semiya Payasam Recipe
Semiya payasam is a creamy, sweet vermicelli pudding from the South Indian cuisine. This cardamom scented vermicelli payasam recipe comes together in 20 minutes and can be made by beginners too.
Paneer Kheer
Paneer kheer recipe is a quick and easy Indian cottage cheese kheer for the festive season. Ready in less than 25 minutes.
Badam Kheer
Badam kheer or almond payasam is a delicious creamy kheer made with blanched almond paste, milk and saffron.
sweet aval
Sweet poha is a sweet snack made with poha (flattened rice), jaggery, milk, coconut and banana.
Rava Laddu | Suji Ke Laddu
An easy method to make rava laddu for Diwali or any festival. This rava ladoo also known as suji ke laddu is made with rava (sooji or semolina), coconut, powdered sugar, dry fruits and ghee.
aval laddu
Aval laddu are delicious ladoo made with thick poha (flattened rice or parched rice), jaggery and ghee.
Besan Ladoo (Besan ke Laddu)
Besan Ladoo or Besan ke Laddu is a popular Indian sweet made during festivals. These are round sweet balls made with gram flour a.k.a besan, powdered sugar and clarified butter (ghee).
Sunnundalu Recipe | Urad Dal Laddu
Sunnundalu is a special and unique Andhra festive sweet made with urad dal (black gram), ghee and sugar or jaggery. These protein rich treats are tasty and keeps well for a few days at room temperature.
Maladu Recipe
Maladu or maa laddu (pottukadalai ladoo) is quick South Indian recipe of ladoo made from roasted gram or roasted chana dal. Maladu is made with just 3 main ingredients – roasted gram flour, ghee and sugar.
Moong Dal Laddu
Moong Dal Laddu are nutty sweet balls made with moong lentils, ghee, sugar and flavored with green cardamoms. These Moong Dal Ladoo are quite addictive too.
Til ke Laddu
Til ke laddu is a healthy, delicious, and nutty ladoo prepared with sesame seeds, jaggery, peanuts, and desiccated coconut. A vegan recipe and also a Makar Sankranti festival special sweet.
Motichur Laddu (Motichoor ke Ladoo)
Motichur laddu are soft, delish melt in the mouth ladoo made mainly with gram flour, sugar, and spices.. One of the most popular Indian sweet.
Boondi Laddu (Boondi ke Ladoo)
Boondi laddu is a popular Indian sweet made by combining lovely little bits of fried and sugar-soaked batter (made with gram flour) with seeds and fragrant spices. Each bite is a delightful blend of smooth, soft, and melt-in-the mouth texture.
Ragi Ladoo
This is a quick, easy and tasty ragi ladoo made with three ingredients – ragi, jaggery and ghee.
Kalakand Recipe | Kalakand Sweet
This two-ingredient, super fast recipe for Kalakand (a.k.a. Indian Milk Cake) comes together in just 15 minutes thanks to the help of a can of sweetened condensed milk.
7 Cup Burfi | 7 Cups Sweet
7 cup burfi is a easy and delicious South Indian sweet made with gram flour, ghee, fresh coconut, milk and sugar. It is also known as 7 cup cake or 7 cups sweet as it is made with 7 measures of ingredients.
Mysore Pak
Mysore pak is a popular and super delicious Indian sweet from the city of mysore. Mysore pak is made with gram flour, ghee and sugar.
Kaju Katli | Kaju Barfi
These kaju katli are the way they are actually meant to be – thin, smooth, melt in the mouth slices of cashew goodness.
Barfi Recipe
Easy and delicious recipe of quick barfi made with khoya or mawa.
Peda Recipe | Doodh Peda
This rich peda recipe is a delightfully sweet fudge-like confection made with khoya (dried milk solids), sugar, nuts and fragrant spices. Make this simple and quick doodh peda recipe (milk peda) for any festival or celebrations.
Malpua Recipe
Malpua is a popular Indian sweet of fried fluffy pancakes dipped in sugar syrup and served with rabdi or sweetened thickened milk.
Unniyappam Recipe
Unniyappam are sweet fritters made with rice, banana, a few spices and coconut.
Wheat Appam
These are instant appams made with whole wheat flour, jaggery and bananas.
Krishna Jayanthi Snacks
Murukku Recipe | Murukulu Recipe
Murukku is a popular South Indian crunchy and crispy snack made with rice flour and lentil flour. It is also known as murukulu, chakralu and jantikalu in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Butter Murukku
Butter murukku is a South Indian style murukku made with butter & rice flour.
Ribbon Pakoda
Ribbon pakoda are fried crisp ribbon shaped savory snack. They are easy to prepare and tastes good too. they are also known as ribbon murukku or ola pakoda or nada thenkuzhal.
Thattai Recipe
Thattai are deep-fried crispy rice crackers served as a snack and made during festivals like krishna jayanthi (gokulashtmi) or Diwali. Thattai are made with rice flour, spices and herbs having a spiced, crunchy and crisp taste.
sev recipe
This sev recipe is made from besan (gram flour) and hence also known as besan sev. These are crisp sev made from besan and spices. This is a quick, savory snack prepared during Diwali.
Kara Boondi
Kara boondi is a spiced version of boondi and a mixture consisting of boondi, peanuts, cashews, curry leaves and a few spices.
Mixture Recipe
Madras mixture recipe – one of the popular South Indian snacks made during Diwali is this South Indian mixture, which is basically a mix of various edible ingredients, nuts and dry fruits. It is also called as omapodi mixture.
This Krishna Jayanthi Recipes post from the archives first published in August 2013 has been updated and republished on 18 August 2022.
Hi dassana,
I was looking for a granola bar recipe.
Most recipes i looked up online were from western bloggers and guess what, many of them add honey & then bake it. Now as per ayurveda honey gets toxic on heating.
Other recipes contain maple syrup. My Indian kitchen doesn’t have any!
As substitute i thought of sugar syrup.. But to keep it healthy i wanted to avoid sugar or any artificial sweetner????
Then there are the no-bake recipes but they require added effort of roasting the dry ingredients first which i feel lazy to do… Also i feel that baking would ensure ‘more even roasting’ and crispy golden texture which i’d like..
So you see i am in such a huge dilemma ????
Can you suggest some way out?
Sorry i ended up rambling in the comment. If it feels too long, just edit it short as suitable
hi ruchi, no problem. you can write long comments. i can understand. you can choose from the following option:
1. dates – blend dates in a mixie and add. you won’t need to add any sweetener. you can even use dried figs along with dates. but soak dried figs in hot water for an hour before blending.
2. dates syrup – a thick dates syrup will also help in binding.
3. a jaggery block – since it has some stickiness and will help to bind. do not use jaggery powder, as they are dry and powdery.
4. kakvi (jaggery molasses) – it has a lovely taste. in maharashtra we get it and known as kakvi in marathi. i don’t know what it is called in hindi. i checked on amazon and kakvi is available, so you can use this. you can read about kakvi in the eggless gingerbread cookies recipes which i have already posted on the blog.
i searched on google and got a recipe for you from anushruti who i know and is a friend. so you can check her recipe here – https://www.divinetaste.com/homemade-granola-bars-without-honey/
hope this helps and let me know how the granola turns for you.
Wow! You have a wonderful collection of fasting foods…very informative and helpful indeed. I had been contemplating of posting them during the navratras.
Hey dassana..what a wonderful recipe list u hv provided..will be making a few of them tomorrow
Lovely and great collection