Vrat-friendly desserts for Navratri 2024: 5 satvik dishes to make while fasting

Navratri 2024: Do you want to try something new this year? Or perhaps you are looking forward to your favourite laddus or kheers. Luckily, you don’t have to sacrifice flavour this festive season, while keeping your Navratri fasts. To get you started, we’ve rounded up five delicious vrat-friendly treats to choose from. Also read | Sattvic food: Here’s all you need to know about what it is and the dos and don’ts
The best part? Some of these Navratri desserts are deceivingly simple and can be prepared in no time. Who’s ready to cook?
 
(Recipe by chef Kunal Kapur)
Peanuts (skinless) 1 cup
Ghee ¾ cup
Singhara atta (water chestnut flour) 1cup
Coconut desiccated (dried)  ½ cup
Breakfast sugar  1cup
Cardamom powder ½ tsp
Dry fruits chopped handful
Melon seeds handful
In a pan dry roast peanuts till light brown. You can do the same in a microwave or an oven as well.
Take them out and cool it lightly. Now grind them to a coarse powder and keep aside.
Heat heat in a pan and add singhara atta and cook till it is brown. Once browned it will release back all the ghee.
At this stage add powdered peanuts and mix them. Remove and let it cool completely. Now add desisted coconut, breakfast sugar, chopped dried fruits and melon seeds.
Mix them and shape them into ladoos. Just in case the mixture is too dry add some melted ghee and then shape them sound into ladoos. Once shaped roll them in dried desiccated coconut and serve.
 
(Recipe by Food Love)
1 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp desi ghee
1/2 cup water chestnut flour
1 tbsp finely chopped cashew nuts, almonds
1 tsp cardamom powder
First, make sugar syrup. Boil 1 cup water along with 1/2 cup brown sugar.
In a pan, heat 2 tbsp desi ghee. Add 1/2 cup water chestnut flour and roast.
Add 1 tbsp finely chopped cashew nuts, almonds and sugar syrup.
Mix well till the mixture stops sticking to the pan.
Now, add 1 tsp cardamom powder.
Singhare ka halwa is now ready.
Garnish with fried nuts and enjoy this delicious dish.
 
(Recipe by Sanjeev Kapoor Khazana)
1 cup puffed lotus seeds (makhana)
1 litre milk
2 tablespoons ghee
½ teaspoon green cardamom powder
6-7 saffron strands
½ cup powdered sugar
Add milk in a deep non-stick pan. Boil it on medium heat till it reduces to half of its quantity, stirring occasionally.
In a blender, add makhana and crush it slightly in a blender to a coarse mixture.
Heat a non-stick deep pan, add ghee and heat it. Add crushed makhana and sauté or roast on medium heat till it turns nice and crisp.
Add roasted makhana in milk and mix well. Cook for 5-10 minutes on medium heat so that chunky makhana pieces get mixed, stirring continuously. Add green cardamom powder and strands of saffron. Mix well, Stir continuously.
When kheer turns thick, add sugar. Mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat, stirring continuously. Switch off heat.
Transfer kheer in serving bowls and set aside to cool down.
Serve chilled garnished with remaining roasted makhanas.
(Recipe by chef Kunal Kapur)
Desi ghee 2 tbsp
Almonds chopped 2 tbsp
Pista chopped 2 tbsp
Cashew nut chopped 2 tbsp
Walnut chopped 2 tbsp
Desi ghee 4 tbsp
Potato 750 gms
Milk 500 ml/ 2 cups
Cardamom powder ¾ tsp
Nutmeg powder ¼ tsp
Jaggery, grated 1 Cup/200 gms
Wash and clean the potatoes and place them in a pressure cooker with adequate water to cover them. Place the lid and pressure cook them till they are soft. Once cooked, drain the water and remove them onto a plate.
While they are still warm, peel and mash them. You can mash them by passing them through a sieve to avoid any lumps. Keep the mashed potato aside.
Heat a pan and pour 2 tbsp of ghee and add the chopped nuts. Cook them on low heat till they just start to change colour. Remove the pan and strain the nuts to remove excess ghee.
In the same pan add 4 tbsp of ghee (you can use the leftover ghee from frying nuts as well) and once it heats up add the mashed potatoes. Spread the potato across the pan to cook it evenly.
Keep tossing the potatoes in between so they get an even brown colour. This could take some time but is an important step.
Once the potatoes turn a light shade of brown they will start oozing out the ghee at this stage, add milk and keep stirring till it gets a boil. Mash with the back of a spoon if you find any lumps.
While the milk boils add cardamom and nutmeg powder. Once the milk had visibly dried up add grafted jaggery and mix it. Cook till the halwa leaves the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the dry fruits and toss them.
Remove and serve hot.
 
(Recipe by Sanjeev Kapoor Khazana)
¼ cup finely chopped almonds
Finely chopped walnuts as required
½ cup finely chopped fig as required
1 cup unsweetened mawa or khoya
5 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon green cardamom powder
Few saffron strands + for garnishing
Ghee for greasing
Almond powder for coating
Heat mawa in a non-stick pan. Add sugar, mix and cook till it melts.
Add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder and saffron and mix well. Remove from heat and cool. Divide the mixture into equal portions.
Grind fig and transfer in a bowl. Add almonds, walnuts and remaining cardamom powder and mix well. Divide the dry fruit mixture into equal portions and shape them into balls.
Grease palms with ghee, take each portion of mawa mixture, create a cavity and fill in a portion of dry fruit mixture and shape them into laddoos. Coat the prepared laddoos with some almond powder.
Serve garnished with chopped almonds and saffron strands.