Why Jowar?
Jowar can definitely be called as the apt alternative. It has high-quality fiber that will help in easy digestion and other health benefits like weight loss, control sugar levels in the blood. It can also reduce high blood pressure and prevent heart strokes. Jowar is rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals and other nutrients. With so many beneficial factors, it is important to add this in our daily diet.
How to add Jowar in daily diet?
Jowar is not as popular as wheat flour, except in some regions of South India. At the outset, it will be little difficult to replace wheat with jowar. But one can bring about the change slowly. Here we introduce you to 6 simple jowar recipes which is easy to cook and makes a delicious dish. These easy to cook recipes will not only introduce you to jowar, but also makes you addictive. The habit can become long lasting and will impart many benefits. You just need to take the first leap in trying out jowar recipes.
Tips for fasting during Navratri:
From day 1 to 3: You can go for a fruit diet and eat any sweet fruit, such as apple, watermelon, papaya, banana, grapes and drink coconut water.
From day 4 to 6: You can eat a specific day meal from Navratri, the rest of the day fruits, buttermilk (you can find the recipe on how to do it) and milk.
From day 7 to 9: You can follow the traditional meals of Navratri. A traditional meal from Navratri may contain rice, tapioca, sweet potatoes, ghee, milk and buttermilk. These last three have a refreshing effect on the body. To fulfil the liquid intake you can go for pumpkin, coconut water, fruit juices (better not combine sweet and acid fruits), and vegetable soups. These liquids apart from giving you energy helps in the detoxification process of the body. You can also have fruit salad of papaya, pear and apple.
Instead of rice or oats you can use barley, rye or millet. With millet, you can prepare sama chawal or samvat rice khichdi, a kind of millet porridge and spicy potato. Very similar but looser, like a pilaf, is the sama ki khichdi or moraiyo or mordhan khichdi, similar to bariis iyo bataato.
With the tapioca pearls women also make sabudana khichdi, a pilaf of tapioca pearls, sabudana thalipeeth, which are like potato rotis and tapioca pearls, sabudana pakora, a variant of the pakoras but without the dough that covers them. Very similar to the recipe of sabudana vada, sabudana tikki is also very similar but flatter and with different spices. Well, there are many more if we also add the sweets and the rest of the ingredients.
Embrace the joy of the Navratri festival with the best of our fasting recipes. From old favorites to newer ones, indulge in a lot more than the usual stuff.
1. Sabudana Khichdi
Sabudana is full of starch or carbohydrates which gives you the energy boost needed during the fast. Sabudana khichdi is made with sabudana, peanuts and sweet spices. Sometimes the peanut is added to add beauty to its taste. Rich in its nutritious content, Sabudana Khichdi serves as a sumptuous meal during fasting.
2. Singhare ke Atte ka Samosa
Feast while you fast! Your favorite tea snack with fasting ingredients like water chestnut flour, Sendha Namak and a Chironji spice filling.
3. Jeera Aloo
Jeera aloo is a fasting dish that is easy and quick to prepare. It does not take much of your time and works brilliantly during fasting. When you're hungry and want something really fast, boil a few potatoes and then sauté. It is really very abundant. Jeera (cumin) is one of those spices that is an integral part of various Indian dishes. Taste the relaxing flavors of this light and delicious curry made with potatoes.
Kadi may be the favorite dish of all time. Kadhi can be a substitute for the simple and can be added with the pakoda to add it to the taste. Rajgira kadhi is good for fasting because it is easy to digest. Dahi (curd) is incredible to eat and lends itself to being a great appetizer and helps in digestion thanks to the good bacteria of Dahi.
4. Makhana Kheer
Desserts inspire applause, here is a low-fat kheer recipe made with Makhana and walnuts. Indulge without worrying about the scale!
5. Banana Milk
Take lukewarm milk in a bowl. Add sliced ripe banana and 1/2 teaspoon sugar to it. Charge with this nutritious lassi made with the goodness of yogurt, bananas, honey and walnuts. You can also add a pinch of cardamom powder and toasted and crushed almonds.
6. Arbi Kofta
Tired of eating potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner when you fast? Try the delicious Arbi Kofta which is a perfect snack for you. Fried Arbi is made with fried taro roots, very famous during the Navratri festival. Minimum in spices and rich in nutrients, Arbi serves as good food to rejuvenate your body with energy. The taro root contains a very significant amount of dietary fiber and carbohydrates, as well as high levels of vitamin.
7. Vrat Wale Chawal Ka Dhokla
A fresh recipe that gives you a break from the usual fried pakoras and puris. Steamed dhoklas made with samwat ke chawal. A healthy way to fast.
8. Kebab-e-Kela
Fasting should not be more boring! Spicy banana skewers that melt perfectly in your mouth and satisfy your soul.
9. Sonth ki Chutney
A perfect accompaniment to your regular pakodas or bhajis and also with your vrat-friendly snacks.
10. Kaddu ki sabzi
Pumpkin is a widely used vegetable during the Navratri fasting season. While people fast, light food becomes easy to digest and therefore, pumpkin is preferred among other vegetables. Pumpkin, which is a rich source of vitamin A, is a very nutritious, extremely nutritious food, full of vitamins and minerals but low in calories.
11. Sweet Potato Tikki
For an ideal food for the cold climate and rich in nutritional value, sweet potato tikki serves the purpose. Sweet potatoes give you a powerful nutritional punch.
12. Modak
Coming to sweets, this food which resembles momos contains stuffings of jaggery mixed with shredded coconut (called as gul-chun in Marathi). A famous Indian dessert prepared during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Steamed modaks are known as the favorite cuisine of Ganesha. It is a combination of desiccated coconut and jaggery which is mould together in rice flour, sago, nutmeg and saffron. Steamed to perfection.
So, you’ll find it cooked every Tuesday (staunch devotees) or every month or worst case, 5 days every year during Ganesh Chaturthi festival!
13. Veg Pakora
Take 1 potato, 1 onion, 1 cauliflower and chop it. Another side, take a bowl, put 1 cup gram flour (besan) into it with half cup water. Mix it well and make a batter. Wash the vegetables and put them in the batter. Then, take a pan with refined in it and heat it on a high flame. Now, fry the pakora on medium flame to make it more crispy. Put some chat masala over it and serve.
14. Bread Bhel Puri
Cut 4 slices of whole wheat bread into small pieces. Slightly toast them in a pan or microwave. Chop an onion, cucumber, tomato, green chilli, coriander. Toast fist full of peanuts. Mix all ingredients and add a pinch of salt and chat masala to it. Sprinkle little bhujia on it. Healthy bhel is ready.
15. Thalipeeth
This is another common food found to be cooked by Marathi people. It is made up of flour of several grains like wheat, jowar, bajri, etc. with some vegetables and spices. It is enjoyed with ghee or chutney.
16. Panjiri
This is a nutrition snack savored in Punjab and Haryana. Panjiri contains rich ingredients like whole wheat flour, dry fruits, ghee and sugar. It is very tasty and prevent us from cold and cough.
17. Pathrode
The Pathrode refers to Colocasia leaves that are rolled and steamed or occasionally deep fried, using a batter made of basan and ground dal.
18. Chaman Kaliya
This is a cream based cottage cheese (paneer), cooked in a different ways to lend a finer quality to it's exquisitivness.
19. Aamras ki kadhi
Should I try the rasmalai or the aamras? So you end up eating 4–5 of those dessert cups. As you roll out of there, you vow never to go back. But you do. If you want give your regular kadhi a new taste, try Aamras ki Kadhi, which blend mango pulp with gram flour and is cooked in buttermilk gravy.
20. Biranji
Biranji rice with mulgai yengai (brinjal curry) is very famous in Ranebennur, Haveri and Hubli. Rice, cinnamon, garlic, dry red chillies, dried coconut, butter are used in making this. It’s best with brinjal/capsicum curry.
21. Bhatt Ki Dal
It is a daal prepared by black beans in the gravy of tomato, garlic, chili, bean, and other spices.
22. Dubuk
It is either prepared by grinding black beans or Gahat Ki Dal (a very special lentil) by tempering cumin seeds, asafoetida, chili, garlic cloves, and salt.
23. Bal Mithai
A very famous sweet made from caramelized sugar and milk.
24. Chhena Poda
We can call it Indian Cheesecake. Chhena Poda is dish from Odisha. Chhena poda literally means Roasted Cheese in Odia. It uses homemade cottage cheese that is kneaded with dry fruits and sugar and finally baked in oven until it turn golden brown. Chhena poda is the only well known Indian dessert whose flavor is predominantly derived from the caramelization of sugar.
Challenge your creativity and come up with more great dishes. So what are you waiting for? Get into your kitchen, wear the chef's hat and apron and try one of the above dishes or invent something new to tingle your taste buds and still keep you fit and healthy.
