What’s on your Navaratri platter?

One of my early memories of Gujarat is watching jalebis being made at a streetside stall. I watched in wonder as a cook stood in front of a large, deep handi of bubbling hot oil. Using a cone filled with batter, he drew concentric circles over the searing oil. The jalebis bobbed to the surface, going from white to pale yellow and finally, a glowing orange. The sweet would then be served to us with a side of crispy fafda.

My most cherished memory is watching my aunt serve up magically puffed up rotlis. The rotlis, dabbed with a tea spoon of ghee, was served with shaak (vegetable or a cooked vegetable dish/bhaji).

A recent trip to Vadodara rekindled many such food-related memories. Ahead of the festive season, the markets had begun to display multi-coloured, mirror-work bearing chaniya cholis and embroidery-laced dandiyas. Locals keenly plan their garba nights – after all, the city hosts a record-breaking garba festival, which has made it to the Limca Book of Records. But no festival, particularly when it comes to this state, can be complete without food.

A popular festive food is a sweet dish called lapsi. “Lapsi is offered as bhog (sacred offering) to the goddess to mark the beginning of Navaratri,” explains Chef Rajnish Kumar, Senior Chef de Partie, Sayaji Hotel, Vadodara. Chef Kumar explains that the dish is made of broken wheat (dalia), ghee and sugar (*see recipe).

Faraal-friendly versions

However, those who maintain a fast (vrat) during Navaratri traditionally avoid cereals and grains. Chef Kumar explains that lapsi is then substituted by singhada sheero. “We replace broken wheat with water chestnut (singhada). The water chestnut is dried and ground into a flour. To this, we add ghee and sugar, making for a faraal-friendly sweet,” he adds.

The word, faraal, comes from phal ahaar, a diet of fruits. In a broader sense, a faraal diet consists of ingredients that are naturally occurring and were once foraged, rather than consciously cultivated ones such as cereals, grains and lentils.

Fasting also means avoiding spices and table salt (replacing the latter with rock salt or sendha namak). Today, the typical list of ingredients for those who maintain a fast includes fruits, a variety of vegetables and tubers, as well as dairy and its products. “When grains were cut out, those who worked labour intensive jobs needed their carbs. That’s when pseudo grains such as amaranth (rajgira), buckwheat (kuttu) and barnyard millet (moriyo) became popular faraal ingredients,” says Kurush F Dalal, archaeologist and culinary anthropologist, based in Mumbai.

Some popular faraal dishes that make an appearance during Navaratri (and other fasts) include moriyo, named after its main ingredient – barnyard millet. Chef Mahtab Ansari, Executive Chef, Sayaji Hotel, Vadodara, explains that it is usually cooked as a thick khichdi, in a porridge-like consistency and is made with yoghurt and rock salt, and garnished with coriander. “Moriyo is available on the Sayaji menu all year round but is extremely popular during fasting seasons. It is rich in complex carbs, low in glycemic index, easily digestible and high in Vitamin B, making it a power-packed ingredient, particularly for those who are fasting. It can be made into khichdi or even a kheer by cooking it with milk, jaggery and dry fruits,” chef Ansari says. Amaranth (rajgira) is just as versatile and its flour can be used to make pooris, khandvi and sheera, adds chef Ansari.

Retaining family traditions

Priyancy Savani, who lives in Mumbai, and traces her roots to Banaskantha in Gujarat tries to keep some of her family’s food traditions alive. “Growing up, my mother (a Gujarati raised in South India) would make us puttu, delicate rice and coconut cakes steamed in a cylindrical vessel. The puttu could be enjoyed either with jaggery and ghee, or as a savoury item with a tempering of curry leaves and chilli. As children, these were much rejoiced meals. When I became a mother, I was determined to introduce my child to wholesome, complex carbs as soon as he started eating proper meals. I began experimenting with ingredients and dishes of my childhood. First I made savoury buckwheat crepes. Then I thought of recreating my mom’s puttu with buckwheat. It has now become a faraal-friendly dish in our home. To my delight, my little one loves it.”

Greens on the menu

Faraal menus also include greens such as luni (purslane), notes Mumbai-based culinary anthropologist Dalal. Luni, he says, is a popular choice for those who avoid table salt, because it has a naturally salty and sour flavour. Another green that makes for an apt faraal food is faang, a wild creeper that’s as easily available as luni. “Faangia na muthia (steamed cakes) is absolutely delicious,” says the Mumbai-based culinary anthropologist.

The popular yoghurt-based tangy Gujarati kadhi is also tweaked for fasts – gram flour gets replaced by water chestnut flour.

“Ber (Indian jujube) is grown in Gujarat. It is dried, powdered and used as an ingredient in kadhi for added flavour,” explains Dalal.

Taro leaves (colocasia) grow abundantly, particularly in the monsoon, around the time of Navaratri. The leaves are used in patra, a savoury snack that you can’t miss when in Gujarat. While traditional patra is made with a gram flour and spice mixed batter, the vrat version uses water chestnut flour. The coated leaves are rolled into circles. The preparation is then steamed and later pan-friend for extra crispiness.

Prachi Mehta, who grew up in Mumbai, often made trips to her aunt’s holiday home near Vapi. “I remember eating a bhaji made of taro leaves. I don’t know the recipe or the name of the dish. But I was fascinated as I watched it being prepared in an earthen pot, over a wood fire, outdoors. We all sat outside and enjoyed the dish and that’s one of my cherished memories from the family holiday,” she says.

Perhaps, all feasts and fasts are meant to be about slowing down and savouring every moment with your loved ones.