rama navami is one of the most important hindu festival. it is celebrated as the birthday of lord rama. this year rama navami is falling on 25th march, 2018. as per drikpanchang website, rama navami pooja muhurta is 11:20 to 13:45.
navami tithi begins = 08:02 on 25th march 2018
navami tithi ends = 05:54 on 26th march 2018
its a good day for keeping fast (vrat) and to remember lord rama and sing his bhajans or do any other spiritual activity like visiting temples, doing charities or reading ramcharitmanas or any other spiritual book or remembering lord rama all the time while doing your daily mundane tasks.
here i am sharing collection of recipes which are usually made during rama navami festival. this list includes recipe from north indian cuisine as well as south indian cuisine. in south india, panakam, kosambari (vada pappu) and neer mor is offered to lord rama. 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 – panakam 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 sweet corn sundal, rajma sundal, chana sundal and green peas sundal.
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 rava kesari, milk kesari and saffron sooji halwa.
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, badam pista barfi and quick khoya barfi recipe.
8. kalakand – 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 sabudana vada, sabudana thalipeeth, sabudana ladoo, sabudana pakora, sabudana tikki and sabudana bhel.
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 sama ke chawal ki kheer, sama ke chawal ka pulao and sama ke chawal ki idli.
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 dahi aloo, aloo chaat, farali batata vada, jeera aloo.
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 paneer kheer, vrat ka halwa, dry fruits ladoo, sabudana ladoo and shrikhand.
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.