Many Indians embrace fasting as a means of purifying their bodies and spirits as the holy month of Shravan and Janmashtami draw near. Food acquires a deeper significance during this spiritually charged period, becoming a manifestation of discipline and devotion. With an emphasis on foods like fresh fruits, milk, rajgira, singhara, sabudana, and sama rice, meals are kept satvik- pure, clean, and devoid of onions and garlic. However, who says traditional food is the only option for vrat? You can respect Satvik principles while adding a healthy, contemporary touch to your fasting meals. How? with avocado's wholesome, creamy power.
Fasting Recipes with Avocado
Can I eat avocado while fasting? This is one of most googled question and the answer is YES.
Try these 3 vrat-friendly avocado recipes shared by World Avocado Organisation that blend tradition with nutrition—perfect for Shravan and Janmashtami.
Avocado Sabudana Tikki
Crispy on the outside and creamy inside, these tikkis are made with soaked sabudana, mashed avocado, and boiled potatoes. For a vrat-friendly treat, they are shallow-fried in ghee and lightly spiced with cumin and green chilli.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup soaked sabudana (soak for 4-5 hours)
- 2 medium boiled potatoes
- 1 ripe avocado (mashed)
- 2 green chilies (finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander
- ½ tsp jeera (cumin)
- Sendha namak to taste
- Ghee for shallow frying
Steps:
- Mash the boiled potatoes in a big bowl.
- Add the soaked sabudana, making sure it's not sticky and soft.
- Add mashed avocado, green chilies, coriander, jeera, and sendha namak.
- Thoroughly combine all ingredients to create a dough-like consistency.
- Form the mixture into tiny, flattened patties called tikkis.
- In a pan over medium heat, warm the ghee.
- Deep-fry the tikkis until both sides are golden brown.
- Serve hot with a mint-coconut chutney that is suitable for vrat.
Samak Rice & Avocado Nourish Bowl
Think of this as a sattvic Buddha bowl that is a great recipe for fasting. The base is cooked sama rice, with roasted peanuts, cucumber, carrot, and avocado on top. It's all tied together with a simple dressing of rock salt, cumin, and lemon.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked samak rice (barnyard millet)
- 1 ripe avocado (mashed or sliced)
- 1/2 cucumber (chopped)
- 1 small carrot (grated)
- 2 tbsp roasted peanuts (crushed slightly)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ½ tsp jeera powder
- Sendha namak to taste
Steps:
- Cook the sama rice until it is tender by adding twice as much water and a pinch of sendha namak. Allow it to cool.
- Put a bowl of sama rice on the bottom.
- Top with avocado, grated carrot, and cucumber.
- Add roasted peanuts on top.
- To make the dressing, combine the sendha namak, jeera powder, and lemon juice in a small bowl.
- Cover the bowl with the dressing.
- Gently stir before serving.
Avocado Makhana Paratha
A smooth, pliable dough is created by combining ground roasted makhana with avocado and either rajgira or singhara flour. Roasted in ghee, these tender parathas go well with curd or vrat chutney.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup roasted makhana (foxnuts), ground into fine flour
- ½ cup rajgira or singhara flour (for binding)
- 1 ripe avocado (mashed)
- 1 green chili (finely chopped)
- 1 tsp jeera
- 1 tbsp coriander (optional)
- Sendha namak to taste
- Ghee for cooking
Steps:
- Grind makhana to a fine flour after roasting it for three to four minutes in a dry pan.
- Put the mashed avocado, green chilli, jeera, coriander, makhana flour, rajgira/singhara flour, and salt in a bowl.
- To create a soft dough, gradually add water.
- Roll into balls after dividing into equal portions.
- Roll into small parathas with a rolling pin after dusting with rajgira flour.
- Heat a tawa and cook each paratha in ghee until both sides are golden.
- Serve hot with chutney that is suitable for vrat or curd.
These are some of the healthy and tasty fasting recipes that you must try!