Shivaratri Recipes

Check out this collection of traditional and delicious Shivaratri Recipes! Since many people observe fast on Mahashivratri, general recipes have been avoided in this section. In case you too have a special recipe for Shivratri do share it with us and help us enhance this site.

List of Shivratri Recipes

» Thandai
» Cashew Nut Barfi (Kaju Katli)
» Saboodana Kheer
» Potato Pumpkin Pancakes
» Shivratri Raita
» Aloo Khichdi
» Aloo Tikki
» Green Gram Fry
» Sweet Yam (Chakravelli)
» Pachi Pulusu (Raw Rasam)
» SagoSaboodana Khichdi


Thandai
Ingredients(makes 8 glasses):

1 cup: Milk
1½ cups: Sugar
1/4 cup: Dried or fresh Rose petals (gulkand variety)
1½ litres: Water
1 tbsp: Almonds
1 tbsp: Kharbooj/Tarbooj seeds skinned (commercially available)
(these are skinned dried seeds of watermelon and cantaloupes)
1 tsp: Peppercorns (whole)
½ tbsp: Khuskhus (poppy seeds)
½ tbsp: Saunf (aniseed)
½ tsp: Cardamom powder or 15 whole pods
½ tsp: Rose Water (optional)

Method:
-Soak sugar in ½ litre of the water used. Keep aside.
-Wash clean all other dry ingredients, except cardamom if using powder.
-Soak in 2 cups of remaining water. Keep aside.
-Allow each soaked item to stand for at least 2 hours.
-Grind all soaked ingredient (not sugar) to a very fine paste.
-Use a stone grinder (manual or electric) if possible.
-When the paste is very fine, mix remaining water.
-Place a strong muslin strainer over a large deep vessel. Or tie a strong muslin cloth over rim of vessel and use to strain.
-Press through muslin with back of palms, extracting the liquid into vessel.
-Add remaining water, a little at a time to extract more.
-Pour - back some of the extract and press, repress.
-Repeat this process till the residue becomes dry and husk-like.
-Add milk, sugar and rosewater to the extracted liquid.
-If using cardamom powder mix it in with the milk.
-Mix well. Chill for an hour or two before serving.


Cashew Nut Barfi (Kaju Katli)
Ingredients: (makes 20 pieces)

200 ml: Milk
250 gms: Cashew nuts
250 gms: Sugar
Silver foil for decoration (optional)

Method:
-Blend together cashews and milk very finely, in a blender.
-Put the paste in a kadhai, add sugar and cook over low flame. Stir till the sugar dissolves and then bring to a boil.
-Continue stirring over medium flame, till mixture collects together and becomes dough-like.
-Remove from flame, cool enough a hit, roll on to a greased surface with a greased rolling pin to ¼ cm/1/8" thickness.
-Cover with silver foil and cool.
-Cut into diamond shaped pieces and transfer onto a serving dish.

Tip: Those not allowed to eat fats may use singhara flour to dust pin, surface and dough while rolling.


Saboodana Kheer
Ingredients:

4 cups: Milk
1 tbsp: Sago granules
3/4 cup: Sugar
1/4 tsp: Cardamom powder
1 cup: Water

Method:
-Wash and drain sago, keep aside for 10 minutes.
-When moisture is absorbed, loosen grains.
-Heat water. Add sago, bring to a boil while stirring.
-Reduce heat, simmer for 5-6 minutes, and add a tbsp. more water if required.
-Add milk; bring back to a boil.
-Simmer for 5 minutes. Add sugar, cardamom.
-Stir occasionally, simmer till sago granule is cooked, but not mushy.
-Check by pressing it between thumb and finger. It should flatten on pressing.
-Serve hot, with nuts if desired.



Potato Pumpkin Pancakes
Ingredients (makes 8-10 pancakes):

1 no: Large potato
1 big chunk Pumpkin
1 cup: Kootu flour
1/2 cup: Singhara flour
1/4 cup: Curd
2 no: Green chilies
1" piece: Ginger
1/2 cup: Coriander finely chopped
Oil to shallow fry
Salt to taste

Method
-Run ginger and chilies in a mixer to crush finely.
-Grate potato and pumpkin into a bowl of cold salted water.
-Take flours in a deep bowl.
-Make a well in the centre. Put coriander.
-Press out water from grated veggies completely. Add in centre, with chilli-ginger.
-Add salt, mix everything into an even batter.
-Add some water if required.
-Batter must be thick enough to spread on nonstick pan.
-Keep aside for 30 minutes.
-Heat 1 tbsp. Oil. Add to batter and mix well.
-Heat nonstick tava or flat pan.
-Pour one ladle-full batter in centre.
-Spread to form a pancake, thin as possible.
-Allow cooking. Drizzle with some oil.
-Roast further till crisp.
-Serve hot with pumpkin chutney or coconut chutney.

Variations: Pancakes can be varied widely, by adding toasted rajgiri, soaked granules of sago (sabudana), grated coconut etc.



Shivratri Raita
Ingredients

1 cup: Fresh thick curd
1 no: Sweet potato, boiled, chopped
1 no: Potato, boiled, chopped
1 no: Cucumber, chopped
4-5 no: Waterchestnuts (singhara), boiled, peeled & chopped
1 tbsp: Coriander finely chopped
1 no: small Green Chili, finely chopped
1 tbsp: Roasted peanuts, whole
1/2 tsp: Cumin seed, powder
1/2 tsp: Cumin seeds, whole
1 tsp: Oil
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste

Method:
-Beat curd in a deep salad bowl.
-Add cumin powder, salt, sugar, chili and mix well.
-Add all prepared vegetables, peanuts and mix to blend well.
-Chill well till required.
-Before Serving:
-Heat oil in a small crucible, or tempering spoon.
-Add cumin seeds; allow spluttering.
-Pour sizzling tempering over raitha.
-Garnish with chopped coriander.

Note: To save time in chilling raitas, chilled prepared ingredients well ahead of time.


Aloo Khichdi
Ingredients:

1 cup: Samwat /Parsai ke chaawal (washed)
1 no: large Potato, diced small
1 tsp: Zeera
1 tiny piece: Cinnamon
2 no: Chhoti elaichi
2 no: Green Chilies, chopped finely
3 cups: Green coriander for garnishing
2 tbsp: Ghee/oil
2 tsp: Sendha namak (rock salt)
3 cups: Water


Method:

-Heat ghee. Add zeera, elaichi and daalchini.
-When slightly colored, add potato and rice.
-Stir-fry till they look a bit fried.
-Add chopped green chilies.
-Add salt and water. Bring to a boil.
-Lower the flame and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes or till cooked through and the water is absorbed.
-Serve hot garnished with hara dhania.

Aloo Tikki
Ingredients: (makes - 7 to 8 tikkis)

3 no: Large Potatoes, boiled, peeled, mashed coarsely
1/2 cup: Singhare ka atta (waterchestnut flour)
1 tbsp: Fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
5 no: Green chilies, finely chopped
1/4 tsp: Black pepper powder
1/4 tsp: Kala namak (black salt)
Oil to shallow fry
Salt to taste

Method:

-Mix all ingredients (except oil) till smooth.
-Knead into pliable dough.
-Shape into 2" round thick flat patties (grease hands if it sticks).
-Grease griddle with a little oil, heat.
-Place patties; allow cooking on low flame till golden.
-Flip and cook other side, drizzle more oil if required.
-Serve hot with green chutney or peanut curd chutney.
Tip: If you are on low cal diet, roast tikkis on nonstick tava, without using oil.


Green Gram Fry
Ingredients (one cup):

1 cup: Green gram
3 cups: Water
1 chopped: Onion
5-6 tbsp: Oil
1 tbsp: Mustard seeds
Red chilly: according to the requirement
Salt: according to taste

Method:

-Boil green gram till its properly cooked.
-After boiling, keep it aside.
-Take a pan.
-Heat it and add oil.
-When oil heats up, add mustard sees followed by onion and red chilly.
-When its properly fried add the cooked gram.
-Add salt for taste. Mix well with a little lime squeezed over it.
-Contributed by: Ramanibalu


Sweet Yam (Chakravelli)
Ingredients:

2: Sweet yam
1/4 cup: Jaggery
1/2 cup: Water
3-4: Elaichi/cardamom powder/seeds
2 tsp: Ghee


Method:

-Wash, peel and pressure cook sweet yam for 15 minutes or till it tenders. Then cut in cubes.
-Take water in a kadai/pan and put jaggery in it. Keep stirring till jaggery melts down.
-Now add yam in it and sprinkle the cardamom powder or the seeds.
-Pour ghee and mix well. Remove from fire and after naivedya, eat and distribute.



Pachi Pulusu (Raw Rasam)
Ingredients:

50 gms: Tamarind
2 small: Onion
25 gms: Sesame seeds
5: Green chillies
1/2 bunch small: Coriander
Salt: according to taste


Method:

-Soak tamarind in water for about an hour.
-Roast sesame seeds on a plain frying pan until light brown (no oil).
-Grind roasted sesame seeds into powder in a mixer (little water can be added if it doesn't get ground properly)
-Chop onion and chillies finely and mix thoroughly in a bowl with powdered sesame and set it aside.
-Extract juice from soaked tamarind. Throw away the tamarind pulp.
-Mix extracted tamarind juice with the powder you have set aside in step 4.
-Add chopped coriander.
-Add salt according to taste.
-Ready to serve with rice.


SagoSaboodana Khichdi
Ingredients:

2cup: Sago granules
1/2 cup: Groundnut roasted
6: Green chillies
1/4 cup: Oil
Coriander finely chopped
Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Method:

-Wash and drain sago/saboodana. Keep aside for one hour.
-Grind roasted ground nuts, chillies with some salt. Donot add water and keep the powder aside. -Heat oil in a pan.
-Mix groundnut and chilly powder with drained out sago.
-Add this mixture in the heated pan.
-Cook it at low fire for half an hour. Keep stirring.
-Add chopped tomatoes and grated potatoes.
-Add coriander leaves and serve hot with curd.