Ram Navami is an auspicious festival that’s celebrated by Hindus all across the world. Every year in the month of Chaitra, as per the Hindu calendar, Ram Navamai is commemorated. The day marks the birth of Lord Ram and is thus a mark for a grand celebration where friends and families get together to pray, reflect, and, of course, indulge in delectable desserts.
This year, Ram Navami falls on Wednesday, 17th April 2024, concluding the nine-day festival, Chaitra Navratri. If you want to celebrate the festival and end Navratri on a sweet note, there’s nothing better than making traditional desserts at home and enjoying them with your loved ones. Here are some traditional desserts that can easily made and will add to the festive spirit.
Sooji Halwa
Sooji halwa is a Ram Navami special dessert that has its own special place during the festival and many other cultural Hindu events. If you want to make an authentic plate of this dessert, you can take some sooji (semolina) and roast it in ghee. After you get its aroma, add some sugar and water till you get your desired consistency. Once the halwa is thoroughly cooked, add some chopped dry fruits and nuts like almonds, cashew nuts, and resins. Lastly, garnish with saffron and cardamom and enjoy!
Coconut Barfi
Coconut barfi is no longer just a South Indian dessert. It is widely appreciated across the country and even in many other parts of the world. To make the mouth-melting coconut barfi at home, all you need to do is take some grated coconut and cook it with sugar and ghee. You can keep stirring the mixture till you get a thick consistency. Add some cardamom and natural food colour of your choice to further elevate the taste and colour. Once the mixture is ready, spread it on an even surface and cut into squares. After letting it cool, you can relish the homemade barfi.
Payasam
Paysam, a traditional South Indian dessert, also known as kheer in the Northern parts of the country, is another authentic dessert you can make for Ram Navami. You can make payasam with rice, milk, sugar, and cardamom. All you need to do is cook the rice in milk till it is soft, then add sugar and let it simmer. Once the kheer has reached your desired consistency, add some chopped dry fruits and nuts and some saffron to make your bowl of dessert indulgent.
Sabudana Kheer
If you are someone who is looking for desserts that you can eat while fasting, sabudana kheer is just the right option for you. Just like you would make kheer with rice, you have to follow a similar process for sabudana kheer. But first, you need to soak sabudana (tapioca pearls) till they swell up. Then, you can add them to a mixture of milk and sugar and let it simmer. After you get the desired consistency, you can add chopped dry fruits and nuts to give a little crunch and make the kheer even more indulgent.
Phirni
Phirni is a classic Indian dessert that can be made with ingredients like ground rice, milk, sugar, and some dry fruits. You can start by turning rice into fine powder. Then, take a pan and add some milk, sugar and powdered rice and let it cook till you get a thick mixture. Once you get a custard-like consistency, add some chopped dry fruits and nuts like cashew nuts and raisins and garnish cardamom and saffron. You can then serve it hot or cold as per the time of the meal.
Puran Poli
Puran Poli is also a South Indian dessert that resembles the Punjabi paratha. It is a sweet flatbread that can be made by kneading wheat flour with ghee. Then, take small portions of the dough and roll them into circles. After filling them with a rich filling of lentils, sugar, cardamom, and nutmeg, you can cook them just like a roti. Once you get the puran poli, which is a brown colour, you can enjoy the taste while it's hot.