Ram Navami Recipes

Ram Navami is usually celebrated in the summer month of April, during which the traditional month of Chaitra falls. Ram Navami is a celebration of perfection; similarly the food should also have to be perfect to suit the occasion. The general consensus on Ram Navami recipes is in favour of sweet dishes.

The Prasad is an offering to the Lord by his devotees and it usually a sweet dish. The devotees distribute the prasad among themselves after the rituals of the puja are over. In South India, the humble offerings of the Lord’s devotees are known as Prasadam or Naivedyam. Food during Ram Navami, other than the prasad, is also special to suit the occasion.

Food During Ram Navami Fast

• Rice pudding or phirni
  Rice pudding is one sweet dish which comes in different variations depending on the palate and region of the people. The common ingredients are milk and rice. Variations come in the form of flavours. You may add saffron, rose water, mango or jaggery to suit your taste buds. You may also add different types of nuts and raisins as garnish.
• Neer Mor
  This is a cool drink of Tamil Nadu made especially for the celebration of Ram Navami during the summer. It is prepared by diluting buttermilk, and it cools the palate on a hot summer day.
• Kaju Barfi
  This is one sweet whose main ingredient is a nut. Cashew nuts are roasted before being powdered in a blender. This powdered cashew is added to sugar syrup and kneaded to form the right mix. Kaju barfi is a delectable sweet you can never have enough of.
• Coconut Laddoo
  Coconut is a commonly found tree throughout the coastal regions of India. It not only provides refreshing coconut water, but the sweet juicy pulp inside can also be eaten. Laddoo is a common, traditional Indian sweet which has many variations available – made from sugar or jaggery. Coconut laddoo is specifically made with the help of grated coconut pulp mixed with condensed milk and sugar.

Food Recipes for Ram Navami

Buying food during any celebration is so passé. Cooking food and serving them by yourself is much better because of the personal touch during special occasions. Serving such special dishes during Ram Navami gets simpler if you know the recipe.

• Potato curry
  Ram Navami is not only about sweet dishes. Potato curry helps to avoid that monotony. It is a widely eaten dish and is easy to cook, if you know the process.

Ingredients

• 3-4 potatoes
• 3 or 4 green chillies
• 1 ½ teaspoon oil/ghee
• Half cup finely chopped coriander (dhaniya) leaves
• Rock salt
• Water

Process

• Boil the potatoes
• Peel and slice them thick
• Heat a pan for a minute and add oil or ghee
• Add the green chillies
• Once the chillies start crackling, add the sliced potatoes and salt
• Stir fry and mix them all evenly
• Add water to form the gravy of the curry
• Garnish it with coriander leaves

• Mango Rasgulla
  Rasgulla is the most famous and common delicacy of West Bengal. It is found in a variety of flavours - white rasgulla dipped in sugar syrup or rasgulla dipped in jaggery. Mango rasgulla is another addition to the variety of rasgullas available.

Ingredients

• Maida flour 1 cup
• Cottage cheese (Chhena) 2 cups
• Milk ½ cup
• Mango pulp 1 cup
• Sugar 1 cup
• Mango essence ½ teaspoon
• Powdered cardamom ½ teaspoon
• 10 Finely chopped pistachios
• Water

Process

• Knead the cottage cheese and mango pulp evenly
• Make small round balls with the thick batter and keep them aside
• Make a syrup with sugar, cardamom powder and 2 cups of water strip boiled together
• Remove any layer that forms on the syrup
• Add the batter balls to the syrup on a light flame
• Simmer boil them for about 10 minutes or till the balls are soft
• Add mango essence
• Let them cool
• Serve with finely chopped pistachio garnishing

• Panakam
  This is a refreshingly cool drink which also serves as one of the most sought after naivedyam during Ram Navami in South India. Like most of the ready-to-mix fruit juices available, this natural alternative is also easy to prepare.

Ingredients for 1 serving

• Ginger powder
• Water 1 cup
• Crushed green cardamom 2
• Lemon juice 1 ½ teaspoon
• Jaggery powder ¼ cup

Process

• Mix the powdered jaggery with water and keep it idle for about twenty minutes
• Constantly stir it to let the jaggery mix with water evenly
• Strain out the impurities
• Add a pinch of ginger powder along with the lemon juice and green cardamom to the jaggery solution. Stir it well.
• You can add serve it at normal temperature or add ice to serve it cold.