Millets for Navratri (Navratri Special)

Once again, it's Navratri time, and a large number of people will observe the traditional fast. Navratri isn't just a festival of joy and festivity; it's also a time of year when people indulge in spirituality and pledge to themselves for a brighter future. Observing Navratri fast is an effective way to improve our immunity and prepare the body for seasonal changes.

In contrast to other fasts in India, the Navratri fast is only restricted to certain foods. However, foods like sabudana, rajgira, wari, buckwheat, pumpkin, sanwa millet, makhana, raw banana, etc., are permitted.

Among many traditional foods, millet is another safe food appropriate for Navratri fast recipes, which doesn't hurt any spiritual belief or energy or even hinder devotion. So, let's get straight into the Navratri special recipes made of millets. 

Little Millet/Samai parantha

Samai is one of the old and gold cereals cultivated in India for ages that offers immense health benefits to leverage. It belongs to minor millets like Kodo, Proso, Finger millet and Barnyard millet that do not demand much from the soil. 

However, you can prepare roti or parantha from samai flour by dry roasting it to light-brown colour and grounding it into a flour-like consistency. Like any parantha recipe, you just need to mix the samai flour with hot water, knead well, give it the shape of roti, and cook it in the pan or Tawa. It's a perfect fast-breaking recipe during Navratri, which is gluten-free and provides instant energy. 

Barnyard Millet Khichdi

Another incredible vegan, gluten-free option as Navratri's special recipe is Barnyard Millet Khichdi or Sama Khichdi, which is highly appetising, flavoursome, and finger-licking if prepared well. 

You'd need a cup of Barnyard millet, Bay leaves, veggies of your choice, green chilies, fresh coriander, Tomato and lemon juice. The process is the same as any other khichdi or porridge; just a tiny millet replacement makes the dish fun and flavourful. It's a wholesome dish, perfect for a fasting day like Navratri. 

Samai upma

Little millet has a vast range of usage in preparing various recipes. Besides parantha, you can make a nice, healthy, energetic upma from this millet that also provides positivity to your spirit. To make upma, you can add little millet and mix it up with veggies, spices and other ingredients and cook with twice the amount of water as compared to the quantity of the millet. 

Alternatively, you can prepare samai upma in the pressure cooker by adding samai, and water and mixing it with roasted spices/ potatoes, etc.

Roasted masala millet

Millet is not only the best choice for lunch or dinner; it can offer incredible deliciousness as your favourite munching option. Don't trust us? Well, try roasting millet (preferably little millets or finger millets) by adding some Indian spices. It'll beat your love for makhana for sure! 

Ending

Millet is a great ingredient to go for to make your Navratri special food items. It's a powerhouse of critical nutrients, protein, fiber, and essential minerals. In fact, it's completely gluten-free and an alkaline-forming food that supplies energy after a tiring day of Navratri fast. It's undoubtedly a great source to achieve optimal health that eventually helps maintain a healthy pH balance in the body and is vital to avert ailments.