Healthy Navratri Fasting Recipe – Aloo Paneer Curry

Navratri, a 9-day Hindu festival is not only the time for prayers but also for fasting and feasting. In this blog post, we’ll share a delicious Navratri special recipe – Aloo Paneer Curry. It is a comforting and flavourful dish that goes well with Kuttu Ki Roti (Buckwheat Flour Tortilla). It is very easy and quick to make. You can enjoy it for lunch and dinner.

Let’s quickly dive into the recipe and feast on this curry while fasting.

What is the Navratri Festival?

Navratri (also known as Navaratri or Navrate), is a joyous Hindu festival. It is celebrated over 9 to 10 days. “Navratri” is a word from the Sanskrit language – Nav means nine and Ratri means night. This festival is celebrated two times a year, once in the spring (Chaitra Navratri) and once in the autumn (Sharad Navratri). Sharad Navratri falls during September or October and is widely celebrated all across India.

One of the main aspects of Navratri is fasting (known as Vrat or Upvas). During fasting, devotees avoid eating some foods, like grains, pulses, onions, garlic, alcohol, and non-vegetarian items. But they eat fasting food items like fruits, nuts, dairy products, etc.

What food items are allowed in Navratri?

Food items that are allowed during the Navratri season are as follows:

1. Vegetables like potato, tomato, arbi, cucumber, carrot, bottle gourd, eggplant, pumpkin, etc.
2. Fruits
3. Dairy Products
4. Coconut
5. Nuts and Seeds
6. Quinoa, Buckwheat, Little Millet (Samai or Samak), Water Chestnut Flour (Singhade Ka Aata).
7. Spices like cumin seeds, red chili powder, turmeric powder, cardamom, carom seeds (ajwain), cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, etc.
8. Rock Salt

What food items are not allowed in Navratri?

Food items that are not allowed during the Navratri season are as follows:

1. Onion and Garlic: They are Tamsik in nature and hence not consumed.
2. Lentils and Pulses like moong dal, chana dal, kidney beans, chickpeas, etc.
3. Grains and their flours like wheat flour, gram flour (besan), etc.
4. Eggs, Non-Vegetarian Food Items like chicken.
5. Alcohol (some people avoid smoking too).
6. Salt
7. Canned Food Items

Everybody has their own beliefs and follows their own rules during the fasting period. That is why, I suggest you adjust the recipes based on how you follow your fasting and celebrate Navratri.

Is this recipe vegan-friendly?

No. This recipe of Potato and Paneer Curry is not vegan-friendly. It contains paneer which is a dairy product.

Ingredients List – for quick reference

Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions

More Navratri Fasting Recipes

1. Makhana Curry
2. Zucchini Sabzi
3. Quinoa Pulao
4. Makhana Kheer
5. Sabudana Thalipeeth

Conclusion

Aloo Paneer Curry is a delightful and wholesome dish that’s perfect for celebrating Navratri or any festive occasion. This curry recipe has a perfect combination of Potato and Paneer flavoured with aromatic spices. You can enjoy this recipe for lunch and dinner too. I am sure that you will love it.

If you try this recipe, please share your reviews in the comment section below. Do share a photo on Instagram and tag us @thefearlesscooking. We love seeing your recreation of our recipes.

Happy Cooking. 🙂

Love from us.

Richa