FOOD NEWS
Beyond Gujarat: A Culinary Tour of India’s Regional Navratri Traditions
As Navratri 2026 approaches, we explore the diverse festive food traditions across India, from the communal feasts of West Bengal to the austere, inventive fasting menus of the North and the vibrant legume snacks of the South.
As the country prepares for Sharad Navratri 2026, running from October 11 to October 19, the festival is often culturally associated with the vibrant dance circles of Gujarat. However, a broader look at the Indian culinary landscape reveals that the nine nights are marked by a vast, diverse array of regional food traditions that extend far beyond the western states. Across India, food serves as a central pillar of the celebration, reflecting local agricultural cycles, religious observances, and communal customs.
In the eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha, the focus shifts toward grand communal feasting during Durga Puja. The heart of the daytime celebration is the temple bhog, featuring niramish khichuri—a golden porridge of roasted yellow lentils and Govindobhog rice, tempered with cumin, ginger, and ghee. This is typically paired with labra, a vegetable medley stewed in mustard oil. As evening falls, the culinary narrative turns to celebratory non-vegetarian dishes, such as the slow-cooked, spiced mutton curry known as kosha mangsho, often served with deep-fried luchi bread.
Regional Variations in Fasting and Feasting
In contrast, North India—including Delhi, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh—observes the period through rigorous fasting, or vrat. This tradition has fostered an inventive approach to ingredients, as wheat, rice, and standard salt are replaced by alternatives like buckwheat (kuttu) and water chestnut (singhara) flour. Dishes such as makhana kheer, made from fox nuts simmered in milk, and simple potato curries seasoned with rock salt, define this period of internal cleansing. The fast is often concluded with Kanya Pujan, featuring dry black chickpeas and semolina halwa.Moving to Maharashtra and the Konkan coast, the fasting menu adopts a bolder, nuttier profile. The region is known for sabudana thalipeeth, a savoury pancake made from tapioca pearls, mashed potatoes, and crushed peanuts, cooked in ghee until crisp. This is frequently served with shengdana amti, a sweet and sour peanut soup. Meanwhile, in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the festival is celebrated as Golu. The culinary highlight here is sundal, a nutritious snack made from various legumes—such as chickpeas or green gram—tempered with mustard seeds, dried red chillies, and fresh coconut.
In Karnataka, the Mysuru Dasara celebrations are marked by royal feasts served on banana leaves. A traditional spread includes kosambari, a refreshing salad of soaked split yellow lentils and cucumber, and chitranna, a lemon-flavoured rice dish. The standout dessert is the obbattu, a golden flatbread stuffed with a sweet paste of Bengal gram and jaggery. Further north, in the Himalayan regions of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, the menu adapts to the high-altitude climate. Kashmiri households utilise lotus stems (nadru) in yoghurt-based gravies, while Himachali kitchens prepare buckwheat crepes known as chilka, paired with sweet and sour pumpkin curries.
