It doesn’t matter which part of India you may be in right now, but if you are a foodie and your app algorithms have read your habits right, then your smartphone is lighting up with alerts about food festivals, great thali deals, restaurant offers and more. Welcome to the nine-day festival of Navratri—10 days if you count Vijaya Dashami or Dussehra! There might be a Chaitra Navratri people celebrate right before spring comes in, but it is the Sharadiya Navratri that matters the most in popular culture, whether it’s thanks to Durga Puja in the East or Raas Garba and Dandiya nights in the West.
Of course, like with most festivals, the focus of these 10 days is on food—but the mode and purpose of celebrations varies immensely. In North and West India, Navratri is a time to observe a ritual sattvik fast for nine days. In the South and East, the same time period is dedicated to feasting through both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes depending on your cultural background. Yes, everyone worships avatars of Goddess Durga and the victory of good over evil, but the part food plays in it differs from region to region.
If you are wondering exactly how, here’s what you should know.
Navratri In North India: How Rigorous Is Your Fast?
In states like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the tradition among Hindu households is to fast for nine days. This fast can vary in degrees of rigour: from the very rigorous Nirjala Upwaas, where the person fasting (usually women) does not consume a single drop of water, let alone food, to the comparatively easier “one big sattvik vegetarian meal per day” fast. Those who fast usually start very early in the morning with a glass of milk and dry fruits, nuts, etc. Then starts a day-long fast that continues till sunset, after which a vegetarian meal without onion, garlic, rice, wheat and heavy spices is consumed by the entire family.
But while this pattern or ritual is considered to be the basic norm for Navratri fasting in North India, things have changed over the years. No, this does not mean families will cook or consume non-vegetarian food at home or even workplaces and restaurants—that is still a huge taboo. Instead, as more and more women have joined the workforce, it has become difficult to fast for nine consecutive days while managing office work and travel. This is why you will now find most working women from North India fasting rigorously only on the first and last days of Navratri—Ekam and Navami—rather than for the entire period.
Fasting Yet Feasting? The Irony Of Fasting In North India Today
The two biggest changes in food practices, however, have happened thanks to the commercialisation of sattvik Navratri meals and snacks in recent years. Phalahari and sattvik snacks are so easily available now that despite supposedly being on a fast, you will likely find people indulging in salt-free potato chips, sabudana vadas and phalahari chaats all day—and watch memes of mothers complaining about this trend on social media reels too. With more homegrown brands focusing on millets and healthy snacking options, the range of snacks available during Navratri has truly increased. And then there are the Navratri Thalis offered by restaurants.
From Haldiram’s to Bikanervala, from Cafe Delhi Heights to Punjab Grill, restaurant and food chains across North India now offer Navratri Thalis which are pocket-friendly and adhere to religious cooking norms. Hotel chains even offer unlimited Navratri Thalis, buffets and phalahari meals, all of which have collectively moved food preparation during those nine days of Navratri away from the home kitchens, where women slogged despite fasting, to commercial ones. So popular and high in demand are these Navratri meals that even brands like Domino’s have attempted vrat-friendly pizzas made with buckwheat and tapioca flour!
So, clearly the idea of fasting during Navratri in North India has given way to a new tradition of feasting on sattvik food.
Gujarat, Maharashtra: Navratri Food/Fuel For Raas Garba
Travel westwards to the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, and you will find that while the North Indian idea of fasting during Navratri is also followed by Gujarati communities in both states, Maharashtrians tend to skip the rigorous fasting practices—after all, Marathis anyways fast during the 10 days of Ganesh festival and month of Shrawan. And when it comes to the Gujarati community, the focus of that one meal of the day (which is obviously pure vegetarian) during the nine days of Navratri is not on feasting.
The meal, instead, is packed with sattvik foods and that too in large amounts because after that one sundowner meal, the Gujaratis leave home for a night of dancing as a form of worship. This is the only region of India where the ritual Navratri worship involves dancing—no matter what your gender or age, you must dance a few rounds around the statue of Ambe Maa every night. Doing Raas Garba till midnight and then shifting to Dandiya after that means 5-6 hours of physical activity, which is why it is also a norm to consume sattvik meals during breaks—or finishing your night of dancing with a small meal (before sunrise) before proceeding to the next day’s fasting.
South Indian Navratri Food: Feasting On Vegetarian Food
While Navratri isn’t a festival to fast during in most homes in Karnataka, the nine days are traditionally reserved for sattvik or vegetarian meals and the worship of not only of Maa Durga, but also her daughters, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Naivedyam like Pongal are offered to the gods, and in many homes, sweets and snacks are prepared to serve to guests. Though a now-dying tradition, dolls are decorated and stories from the Puranas are showcased during Navratri in Karnataka, and people often exchange hampers of coconuts, sweets and snacks while visiting homes to see these displays.
In Tamil Nadu as well as Kerala, the focus is once again on the trio of goddesses during the nine days and homemade Naivedyam consist of sweets and snacks. In Kerala, Thattukada-style snacks are consumed along with traditional sweets. One outstanding aspect of Tamil Navratri celebrations, however, is the preparation of different types of Sundal on each day of the nine-day festival. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the focus shifts to the worship of Mahagauri and simple vegetarian meals, sweets and snacks are enjoyed throughout. While rigorous fasting is not the norm in any of the South Indian states, feasting on vegetarian food certainly is.
The Exceptional Case Of Bengal, Assam, Odisha: Non-Veg During Pujo
But while the rest of the nation focuses on fasting and feasting on vegetarian food during Navratri, the food rituals in the East Indian states of West Bengal, Assam and Odisha are quite different. In these states, the occasion to celebrate is Durga Puja, which lasts for five days from Sashthi to Vijaya Dashami. Since Maa Durga is seen as a daughter, the focus of food traditions is entirely on feasting, that too on the best foods available—yes, including fish and meat. Think what you would feed a beloved daughter visiting her maternal home after a year, and all of those rich foods are usually on offer, without holding back on anything.
While it is normal to fast for a few hours before offering pushpanjali to the goddess in the morning, the rest of the day is dedicated to preparing and consuming a whole spate of vegetables and fish. In some parts of Bengal and Odisha, fish is a must in the bhog platters. In some, the tradition of sacrificing goats on Navami and serving up the cooked meat as a bhog prasad is also the norm. This divergence in food practices is primarily owed to the fact that the prevalence of Shakta traditions (the worship of goddess Shakti and all her forms) is highest in Bengal, Odisha and Assam as compared to Vaishnavism and Shaivism in other parts of India.
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So, what you would find in a festive Durga Puja thali in Bengal, Odisha and Assam aren’t just dishes like Khichudi, Labra, Dal, etc but also special fish preparations and mutton especially on Navami and Vijaya Dashami. While this might seem quite strange to people in North India or even West India—as people from these three states living in these regions can testify—the consumption of non-vegetarian food during Navratri is not considered to be a taboo. In fact, it is a crucial part of traditions.
This Navratri, as you click on great thali deals and venture out to visit pandals, make it a point to explore how different parts of the nation celebrate these nine days. And whether you personally fast rigorously, feast while fasting or fast a while before feasting, if you are a foodie, this is the perfect season to indulge in the diversity of food this country offers you.