Vrat and Fasting GuideVrat food ideas
Easy fasting recipes and meal ideas: sabudana khichdi, kuttu puri, singhara pancakes, makhana kheer, samak rice and fruit chaat, with notes on safe and balanced fasting meals.
- Sabudana khichdi: soak tapioca pearls for a few hours until they are soft, fry cumin and green chillies in ghee, add boiled potato cubes, crushed peanuts, the sabudana, rock salt and lemon. Do not use too much water or the pearls become sticky.
- Kuttu puri or roti: knead buckwheat flour with boiled mashed potato and rock salt, roll and fry or cook. Check that the flour is fresh: old buckwheat flour has been the cause of food poisoning at fasting times.
- Singhara flour pakoras or pancakes: water chestnut flour with potato, rock salt and green coriander.
- Samak rice (barnyard millet): cooked like rice, served with curd or a vrat curry.
- Makhana kheer: roasted fox nuts simmered in milk with sugar and cardamom.
- Fruit chaat: chopped fruit with rock salt, lemon and a pinch of pepper.
- Curd, lassi, coconut water and buttermilk keep you hydrated.
Balance matters: include some protein (milk, curd, paneer, nuts), eat slowly, and avoid breaking a fast with a very heavy, fried or sugary meal.
Read next
This page describes common practice. Families differ, and the tradition itself says that illness and age are good reasons to reduce a fast. It is not medical advice: please talk to a doctor if you have a health condition. Times for fasts depend on the panchang for your city.