Rama Navami is one of the most important Hindu Festival. It is celebrated as the birthday of Bhagwan Ram. This year Ram Navami is coming on 2nd April 2020.
It is a good day for keeping fast (vrat) and to remember Bhagwan Ram and sing his bhajans or do any other spiritual activity like doing online charities like PM Cares Fund or reading Ramcharitmanas or any other spiritual book or remembering Bhagwan Ram all the time while doing your daily mundane tasks.
At this time of lockdown when we are advised to follow social distancing, it is best to remember the Bhagwan and sing his songs at home. You can also watch the epic Ramayana Serial on Doordarshan or on the internet.
Here I am sharing collection of recipes that are usually made during Rama Navami festival. This list includes the recipe from North Indian cuisine as well as South Indian cuisine.
In south India, panakam, kosambari (vada pappu) and neer mor is offered to Bhagwan Ram. Some varieties of payasams or kheer are also made.
In north India we break Navratri fasts during navami and so Kala chana, Poori and sooji ka halwa is made.
Collection of 21 Ram Navami recipes
1. Panakam recipe – It is a cooling drink from the South Indian cuisine and is especially made during Ram Navami. preparing panakam is super easy and you can always alter the amount of water, lemon juice and the few spice powders that go into it, as per your requirements.
2. Kosambari recipe – a simple and easy to assemble South Indian salad. Its also called as koshambari. kosambari made from moong lentils is served to lord rama on the occasion of Ram Navami.
3. Neer mor recipe – neer majjige or neer moru is a delicious spiced buttermilk from the South Indian cuisine. during Ram Navami, neer mor is offered to lord rama.
4. Sabudana kheer recipe – a popular Indian pudding that is made with tapioca pearls and milk for religious fasting days. this is a creamy smooth kheer. Just remember to cook the sabudana pearls very well. Once cooked, they should not give you any resistance when you bite into these pearls.
5. Kala chana sundal recipe – South Indian recipe of a no onion no garlic stir fried black chickpeas with spices and coconut. Sundals are South Indian based dishes made with a variety of legumes and is prepared during Ganesh Chaturthi or Navratri festival. Few more sundal recipes you can check are:
Sweets recipes for Shri Rama Navami
6. Sooji halwa recipe – classic Indian semolina pudding made with ghee and dry fruits. sooji halwa is a quick, easy and delicious halwa which is often made for festive or auspicious occasions. Few more popular variations of this halwa you can try are:
7. Coconut barfi recipe – an easy recipe of coconut barfi made with condensed milk. the coconut barfi had a melt in the mouth soft texture. You can also make coconut ladoos with the same mixture. Few more Barfi recipes you can make for festive time are Coconut barfi with khoya, Kaju katli and Quick khoya barfi recipe.
8. Kalakand recipe – kalakand is a rich milk cake. This is a moist, granular two ingredient kalakand recipe which gets done in 15 minutes. Made with paneer and sweetened condensed milk.
9. Rice payasam recipe – sweet, creamy South Indian kheer or pudding made with milk and rice. this is the simplest payasam recipe. Only four ingredients go in the payasam – rice, milk, sugar and ghee. For more kheer recipes, you can check this post – Collection of 24 kheer recipes.
10. Coconut ladoo recipe – three ingredient coconut ladoos made with fresh coconut, condensed milk and cardamom powder. you can also make Coconut ladoo with khoya or this variation of Coconut ladoo recipe made with desiccated coconut and sugar syrup. For more ladoo varieties, you can check this Collection of 22 ladoo recipes.
11. Badam halwa – South Indian style delicious badam halwa recipe. The recipe gives a really good badam halwa, which has the right sweetness and a lovely texture which is not soft and firm. But kind of between. One which gives a heavenly feeling when you savor the halwa. This is a heavy dessert and just a few spoons of it is enough. For more halwa varieties, you can check this Collection of 28 halwa recipes.
12. Puran poli recipe – flat bread stuffed with a sweet lentil filling made from chana dal (skinned spilt bengal gram) and jaggery.
13. Pasi paruppu payasam recipe – creamy and a delicious payasam made with yellow mung lentils, jaggery and coconut milk.
Fasting recipes for Ram Navami
Many people keep fast during Chaitra Navratri and then break it on ashrami or navami. When they break fast on astami or navami then usually Poori, Kala chana and Sooji halwa is prepared for Navratri kanjak pooja.
However some people continue the fast during Rama Navami Also or many devotees of lord rama keep fast specially for Rama Navami. Its a very auspicious and holy day and it is believed that keeping fast on Rama Navami and remembering lord rama with total devotion can wipe out many of your negative karma.
The fasting food prepared does not use onion, garlic, rice, wheat flour, turmeric etc. I have shared a detailed post on Navratri fasting rules which covers much info about food and ingredients which is generally followed during Navratri fasting. so if you plan to keep fast during Rama Navami then you can refer these below fasting recipes:
1. Sabudana khichdi recipe – sabudana khichdi Is usually made during fasting days. sabudana khichdi is an easy snack and is a good recipe to be made during fasting days. Few more sabudana recipes which you can make for fasting are:
2. Rajgira paratha recipe – healthy gluten free flat breads made with amaranth flour or rajgira flour. Usually rajgira parathas are made during fasting or vrat days. Rajgira is one of commonly used ingredient for religious fasting. Apart from these parathas you can also make Rajgira ki poori and Rajgira kheer recipe.
3. Sama rice khichdi – simple, easy and healthy khichdi made with sama ke chawal also known as barnyard millet. sama ke chawal are regularly used during fasting and are very healthy. You can make variety of recipes with them like:
4. Aloo tamatar curry – potato tomato curry made without onion-garlic and heavy ingredients or spices. This is a very easy and simple aloo tamatar sabzi which you can make for fasting days. you can serve the aloo tamatar sabzi with Vrat ki roti or Rajgira paratha or Rajgire ki poori.
5. Kuttu ki khichdi – easy to prepare khichdi with buckwheat groats (sabut kuttu), potatoes and peanuts for Navratri fasting. Wholesome super food. You can serve buckwheat khichdi with a bowl of Yogurt or with Vrat ki kadhi.
6. Vrat wale aloo – crumbled potato recipe for fasting without onion-garlic. this aloo recipe is light and not heavily spiced. you can make many Vrat recipes with aloo like:
7. Singhare ki poori – pooris made from water chestnut flour and potatoes. you can serve these singhare ki pooris with Vrat ka kadhi or Arbi masala or Khatta meetha kaddu or Aloo palak sabzi or Pumpkin sabzi.
8. Makhane ki kheer – North Indian dessert made from healthy foxnuts or phool makhana. This is also called as phool makhane ki kheer. there are many Sweets recipes which you can make for fasting days like:
Panakam Recipe for Ram Navami
Ingredients
- 2 cups water or add as required
- ½ cup chopped jaggery
- ¼ teaspoon dry ginger powder (saunth)
- ⅓ to ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or juice of 1 lemon
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of edible camphor, - optional
- few tulsi or holy basil leaves - optional
Instructions
- In a bowl, take 2 cups water and ½ cup chopped jaggery. You can add water as required.
- Mix very well and let the jaggery soak in water for 30 to 40 minutes till all of it is dissolved. If there are impurities in the jaggery syrup, then filter the solution.
- Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice or juice of 1 medium sized lemon.
- Next add ⅓ to ½ teaspoon cardamom powder, ¼ teaspoon ginger powder, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper powder and a pinch of salt.
- Yo can also add a pinch of edible camphor. If offering panakam to deities then you can add edible camphor. Edible camphor is optional and can be skipped.
- Mix very well.
- Offer panakam to the deities. If offering to the deities, then you can add a few holy basil leaves (tulsi leaves) in the drink.
Hi dassana,
I had a query regarding a type of prasad that we get at temples in north India. Here’s what it looks like
http://www.mmmithaiwala.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/a/sakaria.jpg
Do you have any idea how these are made?
ruchi, yes i know this sweet. these are made from sugar, but i have no clue how they are made. even i have had these many times in temples.
I loved reading about your festival and all the different and special foods that are prepared for the occasion.
Analida, good to know that you liked the article.