Navratri and Satvik- A way to restore balance
It’s that time of the year again. As the Navratras approach, I hear a lot of people complaining about having to give up on non-vegetarian or vegetarian food – depending on if they are fasting or not. They talk about how boring simple food (and life) has become. Unfortunately most people also have a skewed understanding of Sattvik (which means pure essence) food – mostly because of the ‘special fasting thalis’ that being dished out as
Sattvik at most restaurants – are anything but. I will get to that later.Most of us know that the word ‘Navaratri” is a conjunction of two words ‘nava’ (meaning ‘nine’) and ‘ratri’ (meaning ‘night’). Spread over 9 nights and 10 days, it is one of the most sacred festivals in Hindu religion where we worship Goddess Durga or Shakti, which represents the energy of the universe, in her 9 beautiful forms with great reverence. This is one festival which truly celebrates the feminine.
Each state has its unique way of celebrating the festival with the common theme of bringing the community together with music, dance and lots of good food. Like all ancient traditions (apart from the religious aspect) there is a scientific reason for celebrating it twice a year, once around April and other around Oct-Nov. This is the time the seasons change, and our body & mind also undergo a lot of change at the same time.
Fasting and/or eating Sattvik food is done to get our body ready for the next season, to detoxify and restore our balance. And when I think of Sattvik, I think of fresh makhan, fresh vegetables and fruits, kuttu atta, dahi, and milk. Sattvik food is cooked with minimum oil and masalas, it is made with fresh unrefined ingredients – what we call organic farming today has existed in our culture for millenia. The food retains the nutritive value since it is cooked very simply.
All this makes Sattvik food not only powerful and delicious but one that also has tremendous benefit on the overall system. I strongly feel that to cook delicious food simply, is a great art, as the cook’s talent doesn’t have a place to hide behind the masalas or spices. How you bring out and retain the natural flavours of the limited ingredients is what matters the most.
We can look at these 9 days as an opportunity. An opportunity to restore balance in the body that has become so used to not just junk, but badly cooked food, so much so that in some cases it has become a physical dependence. Even if it’s for a short time, this festival forces us to stop and think about what we consume. It forces us to plan our meals carefully and that process naturally takes us back to our roots, it reminds us of our grandmothers who spent their precious time doing just that. And when so much attention is being paid to what we are eating, we end up not only eating the right food, but also consuming it in the right quantities.
Toffee Bananas with Kuttu Atta Crumble
Charnamrit shots with Banana Chips
