Krishna Janmashtami or Gokulashtami is celebrated all over India as the birth of Bhagwan Krishna. This year Janmashtami is on 26 August, 2024. Here I share 95 recipes that consist of sweets, snacks and fasting recipes that you can make for the Janmashtami festival. Most of these recipes are from the North Indian and Western Indian cuisine. I have also shared many South Indian recipes that are made during this Krishna Jayanthi festival.
About Janmashtami Festival
Janmanshtami is also known as Gokulashtami or Sri Krishna Jayanthi and is celebrated with great fervour all over India.
Though each region or state celebrates the festival differently. Example: In the state of Maharashtra dahi handi is played and is very popular.
Whereas in some parts of North India, devotees show images of Krishna’s childhood which are placed in swings and cradles outside their homes.
Most of the temples are decorated and people visit the temples till late midnight as this is the time Krishna was supposed to be born.
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Places which are associated with Krishna’s childhood like Mathura, Gokul and Vrindavan are visited by many devotees.
Some families make a variety of sweets and offer to their Krishna in their home temples. Later these sweets are distributed as prasad with the family members and friends.
In North India many Hindus keep fast on this day and in this post, I have shared some fasting recipes for Janmashtami, in case you are also planning to do fast on this holy day.
Fruits, dairy products and only some vegetables and herbs are eaten during the fasting period. I list below only the grains and flour that we use during the Hindu religious fasting.
Flours and Grains for Janmashtami Fasting
- Water chestnut flour (singhare ka atta)
- Buckwheat flour (kuttu ka atta)
- Amaranth flour (rajgira ka atta) and amaranth seeds (rajgira or ramdana)
- Barnyard millet flour (sama ke chawal ka atta) and barnyard millet (sama chawal or vrat ke chawal)
- Arrowroot flour
- Tapioca pearls (sabudana) or tapioca flour
Note: We use edible rock salt (sendha namak) instead of normal salt. In some of the recipes listed below, replace edible rock salt with regular salt. Also feel free to omit or add the herbs, spices according to your family practices while making these fasting recipes.
All the rules which applies for Navratri Fasting applies to the recipes that you make for the Janmashtami fasting. Kindly follow your family’s rules on the ingredients like spices, herbs, oil etc you include in your fast.
Janmashtami Recipes For Fasting
In this section of Janmashtami recipes, you will find dishes that you can eat for a brunch or for a lunch or dinner. Usually some people eat only fruits and some just have one meal a day. Some of these dishes keep you full for some hours and this is the reason they are included as a part of the fasting diet.
Take into account your health, age and physical constitution when deciding to fast. Consider eating light meals and have plenty of fluids like water or juices.
Khichdi Variations
Sabudana Khichdi Recipe
Sabudana Khichdi is a delicious preparation of tapioca pearls (sago) made with potatoes, peanuts, a few spices and usually had during Hindu fasting days like Navratri, Ekadashi, Mahashivratri. It is also a gluten-free recipe. Make the best non-sticky Sabudana ki Khichdi with my recipe.
sama chawal khichdi
Samvat rice khichdi recipe – savory porridge made with barnyard millet and potatoes.
Kuttu ki Khichdi | Buckwheat Khichdi
Buckwheat Khichdi is easy to prepare khichdi with buckwheat groats (kuttu), potatoes and peanuts for Navratri fasting. Wholesome super food.
Easy Vegetarian Mains
Vrat Wale Aloo | Vrat ke aloo
Vrat wale aloo is a fasting dish made with potatoes, tomatoes, spices and herbs.
Kaddu ki Sabji (Easy Pumpkin Recipe)
Kaddu ki sabji is an easy and delicious vegan pumpkin recipe made with yellow pumpkin, whole spices and herbs. This is a satvik recipe made without onions and garlic.
Vrat ki Kadhi | Rajgira Kadhi for Fasting | Farali Kadhi
Easy and quick to prepare rajgira kadhi for Navratri fasting or upwas.
Samak Rice Pulao (Barnyard Millet Recipe)
Samak Rice Pulao is a simple, healthy and tasty pulao made during Hindu fasting days like Navratri and Ekadashi. Also known as samak/sama/samvat/samo/bhagar and Barnyard Millet in English, this is a popular ingredient used in dishes that are made during the religious fasting days in India.
Easy Aloo ki Sabji | Satvik Aloo Tamatar Ki Sabji
Aloo ki Sabji or Aloo Tamatar Ki Sabji is an easy to make lightly spiced gravy featuring potatoes, tomatoes, a few spices and herbs. A satvik recipe made without onion and garlic.
Fasting Breads
Rajgira Roti | Amaranth Paratha
Rajgira roti or rajgira paratha is a healthy gluten-free flatbread made with rajgira atta or amaranth flour for Hindu fasting days.
Singhare Ki Puri
Singhare ki poori is a delicious Indian fry made with water chestnut flour, mashed potatoes, edible rock salt and a few spices.
Rajgira Puri | Amaranth Puri
Rajgira Poori or Amaranth Poori are deep fried puffy breads made from amaranth flour, boiled mashed potatoes and edible rock salt. It also happens to be naturally gluten-free and vegan. Amaranth flour or seeds are usually eaten during the Hindu fasting or vrat season in India.
Kuttu ki Poori
Kuttu ke atte ki puri are crisp and tasty Indian fry bread made with buckwheat flour for religious fasting or vrat.
Sabudana Thalipeeth
Sabudana thalipeeth are crisp and soft pancakes made with tapioca pearls, mashed potatoes, ground peanuts and spices. They are also called as Upvasache Thalipeeth in Marathi language and can also be referred to as Sabudana roti.
Fasting Snacks
Here you will find snacks that are made without onion and garlic. Some of these snacks are easy to make. Some are deep fried or shallow fried, but you can choose to bake or air-fry these snacks.
Sabudana Vada Recipe (Maharashtrian Fasting Snack)
Sabudana Vada is a popular savory deep fried snack made during Hindu fasting days, featuring tapioca pearls (sago), potatoes, peanuts and herbs. They are naturally gluten-free and vegan. This fool proof sabudana vada recipe gives you a super delicious crispy vada with a soft and light interior.
Sama Chawal Idli | Vrat Ki Idli | Vari Rice Idli
Sama Chawal Idli or Vrat Ki Idli is a unique variation to the South Indian Idli. These are made without the regular rice and lentils, but with Sama also known as Barnyard Millet in English. Thus, a perfect choice of dish for your vrats or fasts and even on regular days. A vegan, gluten free and quite a nutritious recipe.
Farali Pattice
Farali pattice is an easy snack of crispy and tasty patties made with potatoes and stuffed with a sweet filling of coconut, nuts and raisins. This dish is from the Gujarati cuisine that is made during fast or upvas.
Sabudana Tikki | Sabudana Cutlet
Sabudana tikki also known as sabudana cutlet are pan-fried thin patties made with tapioca pearls, mashed potatoes and spices. These crispy patties make for a delicious snack that will get over in no time.
Sabudana Pakoda | Sabudana Pakora
These Sabudana pakora made for fasting or vrat are crisp, golden fritters made from tapioca pearls, mashed potatoes and roasted crushed peanuts.
Roasted Makhana Recipe
Roasted Makhana is a healthy snack that is made with slow roasting/toasting phool makhana or foxnuts with spices and seasonings.
Kele ka Kofta | Banana Kofta
Kele ka Kofta are crispy, spiced pan fried patties made with raw green unripe bananas or plantains, spices, herbs and a binding flour. A special snack that you can make during the Navratri fasting period or on any other regular day.
Arbi Sabji | Arbi Recipe | Ghuiya Ki Sabji
Crispy, perfectly spiced and tasty Arbi Recipe made with Taro Roots (also called Arbi and Ghuiya in Hindi), a few spices and herbs. This Arbi Sabji is an easy way you can have a variation in your everyday meals.
Fruit Chaat Recipe (Delhi Street Style)
This Delhi style tasty fruit chaat is spiced, savory, sweet and tangy. Fruit chaat is made of a mix of fresh seasonal fruits and tubers like potatoes and sweet potatoes tossed with chaat masala, cumin powder, chilli powder and black salt.
French Fries Recipe (Crispy & Perfect)
Perfectly salted French Fries that are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Make these homemade french fries or finger chips recipe easily with a few techniques and customize it with your favorite herbs and spices or toppings.
Sabudana Chivda | Sabudana Namkeen
This Nylon sabudana chivda is a crispy and tasty fasting snack made from nylon sabudana and dry fruits for the Navratri fasts.
Sweet Potato Cutlet | Indian Sweet Potato Patties
Sweet Potato Tikki is a delish snack that can be made during the period of Hindu fasting or vrat. These are basically sweet potato patties spiced with the usual Indian spices and herbs.
Sides for the Snacks
Cucumber Raita (Indian Raita)
Cucumber raita is a popular savory Indian raita dip made with cucumber, spices, herbs and curd (yogurt). This simple, refreshing, cooling cucumber raita recipe comes together in 5 minutes.
Chaas Recipe (Mattha Recipe)
The classic Chaas (Chaach/Mattha) also known as the Indian version of buttermilk is a refreshingly cooling summer drink made with creamy yogurt and seasonings. It is an excellent body cooler, digestive and appetizer. Find two easy chaas recipes – Masala Chaas and Pudina Chaas.
Gokulashtami Sweets
Sweets especially milk based ones are Bhagwan’s Krishna’s favorites. You can make a variety of sweets and offer to Bhagwan Krishna and later serve this prasad to your family and friends.
I share below, Indian sweets which I have updated on the blog and do not contain cereals or grains that are not consumed during the Hindu fasting.
Shrikhand Recipe (Traditional & Instant)
Shrikhand is a delicious and simple dessert recipe made with thick yogurt flavored with sugar, saffron and cardamom. Get two ways of making shrikhand recipe with hung curd as well as a quick and instant version with greek yogurt.
Coconut Ladoo Recipe | Nariyal ke Laddu Made In 3 Unique Ways
Make coconut ladoo with three recipes. The first one is a quick 3 ingredient recipe made with fresh coconut, milkmaid and cardamom powder. The second recipe has 2 ingredients – desiccated coconut and condensed milk. The third recipe is made with desiccated coconut and sugar.
Makhane ki Kheer
Makhane ki kheer is a sweet dessert pudding made with Makhana (foxnuts), milk, ghee, sugar and dry fruits. This is an easy and popular sweet that is often made during Hindu fasting days.
Sabudana Kheer | How to make Sabudana Kheer
Sabudana Kheer is a sweet, creamy pudding made with tapioca pearls or sago pearls (called sabudana in Hindi), milk, sugar, nuts and flavored with cardamom & saffron. Sabudana Kheer is also a popular pick as fasting food during the Hindu Navratri festival. It is simple and easy to make, and tastes absolutely delicious.
Rajgira Kheer
Rajgira kheer is a simple easy dessert pudding made with amaranth grains. Navratri recipe.
Paneer Kheer
Paneer kheer recipe is a quick and easy Indian cottage cheese kheer for the festive season. Ready in less than 25 minutes.
lauki ki kheer
Delicious kheer made with bottle gourd or opo squash.
Javvarisi Payasam | Saggubiyyam Payasam | Sago Payasam
Javvarisi Payasam also referred to as Saggubiyyam Payasam or Sago Payasam is a sweet creamy pudding made with sago(tapioca pearls), milk, ghee, sugar, raisins and cashews. The recipe is super easy and a great way of using tapioca pearls in a dessert form. It is also gluten-free.
Sweet Potato Halwa (Shakarkandi ka Halwa)
Sweet Potato Halwa also called Shakarkandi ka Halwa in Hindi is a delicious Indian sweet made with boiled and mashed sweet potatoes and scented with cardamom, saffron.
Papaya Halwa (Papaya Sweet)
Papaya Halwa is a Indian sweet or dessert made with papaya. This Papaya Sweet is prepared by slow-cooking semi-ripe papaya, sugar and almond powder in oil. With hints of lovely cardamom, it makes for tasty dessert to end your meals with.
Basundi Recipe | Basundi Sweet
Basundi is a flavored, thickened and sweetened milk made with whole milk, sugar, fragrant spices and nuts. It is a popular sweet made in the western parts of India. This basundi recipe is a quicker version made with sweetened condensed milk and comes together under 25 minutes.
Apple Halwa
Apple halwa recipe made with apples, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Apple halwa is a delicious halwa that is easy to make. This apple halwa does not use sooji (rava), milk, khoya or milk powder. Just apples, sugar (optional) and ghee. Flavorings and nuts of your choice can be added to the halwa.
Lauki Halwa Recipe (Dudhi Halwa)
Lauki Halwa is also called Dudhi Halwa. It is a rich Indian sweet made with bottle gourd (opo squash), milk, sugar and ghee. The method of making lauki halwa is similar to making gajar halwa. Making lauki halwa is easy but takes some time. This is a slow cooked halwa and what you get after minutes of slow cooking is super deliciousness.
Dry Fruit Laddu Recipe (Naturally Sweetened)
Easy Dry Fruit Laddu Recipe without any added sugar or fats like ghee or oil. Packed with nutrients, good fats and fibre, these energy balls are made with dates, figs and various nuts. This Dry Fruit Ladoo recipe gets done quickly and comes together under 20 minutes.
Coconut Burfi | Nariyal ki Barfi
This Coconut Burfi is a delish, melt in the mouth fudge made with sweetened condensed milk, milk, and desiccated coconut.
Krishna Jayanthi Recipes
In the Southern Indian states also Krishna Jayanthi is celebrated with a lot of joy and fervor. The South Indian snacks and sweets that are made are different from the North Indian ones.
I have below listed some basic ingredients that you can make at home to make these snacks and sweets. I have also shared some special dishes that are made on the occasion of Krishna Jayanthi.
Do It Yourself Homemade Recipes
How to Make Butter (White Butter)
Make pure, fresh, homemade butter – called makhan in Hindi, without any additives, coloring agents or preservatives. I’ll also share the method of making homemade cultured butter.
How to Make Ghee | Homemade Ghee Recipe
This nutty flavored and high smoke point fat has been used for thousands of years, with deep roots in Ayurvedic practices. Making ghee at home is simple, easy and cost effective and will render much better flavor than commercially available varieties. Follow along with me as I show you how to make homemade ghee recipe in the traditional Indian way!
How To Make Rice Flour | Rice Flour Recipe
Prepare rice flour at home any time you need it to make various snacks or sweets. Making homemade rice flour is not difficult and all you need is a good mixer-grinder or blender or a grain mill to grind the rice grains.
Khoya Recipe | Mawa Recipe
Homemade Khoya Recipe or Mawa Recipe made with the traditional method of slow cooking and simmering milk in a kadai (wok) until it thickens, reduces and becomes slightly granular. Khoya is also known as Mawa or Khoa and is a key ingredient for making many Indian sweets.
How to make Paneer at home from scratch
Make fresh paneer at home with only a few simple ingredients. This easy homemade paneer recipe creates the softest, most tender paneer cheese from scratch.
Krishna Jayanthi Sweets
Kesari Recipe | Rava Kesari
Rava Kesari is a popular South Indian pudding like sweet that is made with rava or suji (semolina), ghee, cashews, raisins, sugar, water and saffron. This Kesari recipe gives you a really delicious melt in the mouth sweet that can be made in less time.
Paal Payasam | Rice Payasam
Paal Payasam is a simple South Indian variant of a slow cooked rice pudding made with only 4 ingredients. This recipe is of a typical Tamil style Rice Payasam that is creamy and delicious.
Aval Payasam
Delicious poha kheer or payasam made with flattened rice, ghee and milk.
Paruppu Payasam | Moong Dal Payasam
Paruppu Payasam is simply a Moong Dal Payasam. It is a creamy, decadent pudding of yellow moong lentils, jaggery, coconut milk and flavored with cardamom. This South Indian sweet treat is also called Pasi Paruppu Payasam.
Semiya Payasam (South Indian Vermicelli Payasam)
Semiya payasam is a creamy, sweet vermicelli pudding from the South Indian cuisine. This cardamom scented vermicelli payasam recipe comes together in 20 minutes and can be made by beginners too.
Paneer Kheer
Paneer kheer recipe is a quick and easy Indian cottage cheese kheer for the festive season. Ready in less than 25 minutes.
Badam Kheer
Badam kheer or almond payasam is a delicious creamy kheer made with blanched almond paste, milk and saffron.
Rava Laddu Recipe (Suji Ke Laddu)
An easy peasy method to make Rava Laddu for Diwali or any festival. This Rava Ladoo also known as Suji ke Laddu are sweet balls made with rava (sooji or semolina), coconut, powdered sugar, dry fruits, nuts and ghee.
Aval Laddu | Poha Laddu
Aval laddu also called Poha Laddu are delicious ladoo or sweet balls made with thick poha or aval (flattened rice or parched rice), jaggery, cashews, raisins, milk and ghee. They make for an easy festive sweet.
Easy Besan ke Laddu Recipe
Besan Ladoo or Besan ke Laddu is a popular Indian sweet made during festivals. These are round sweet balls made with gram flour a.k.a besan, powdered sugar and clarified butter (ghee).
Sunnundalu Recipe | Urad Dal Laddu
Sunnundalu is a special and unique Andhra festive sweet made with urad dal (black gram), ghee and sugar or jaggery. These protein rich treats are tasty and keeps well for a few days at room temperature.
Maladu Recipe | Maa Laddu | Roasted Gram Ladoo
Maladu or Maa Laddu (Pottukadalai Ladoo) is quick South Indian recipe of ladoo made from roasted gram or roasted chana dal flour. Maladu is made with just 3 main ingredients – roasted gram flour, ghee and sugar.
Moong Dal Laddu
Moong Dal Laddu are nutty sweet balls made with moong lentils, ghee, sugar and flavored with green cardamoms. These Moong Dal Ladoo are quite addictive too.
Til Ke Laddu | Sesame Laddu
Til ke laddu is a healthy, delicious, and nutty ladoo prepared with sesame seeds, jaggery, peanuts, and desiccated coconut. A vegan recipe and also a Makar Sankranti festival special sweet.
Motichur Laddu Recipe (Motichoor Ladoo)
Motichur Laddu are soft, delish melt in the mouth ladoo made mainly with gram flour, sugar, and spices. One of the most popular Indian sweet.
Boondi Laddu (Boondi ke Ladoo)
Boondi laddu is a popular Indian sweet made by combining lovely little bits of fried and sugar-soaked batter (made with gram flour) with seeds and fragrant spices. Each bite is a delightful blend of smooth, soft, and melt-in-the mouth texture.
Ragi Ladoo
This is a quick, easy and tasty ragi laddu made with three ingredients – ragi, jaggery and ghee.
Kalakand Recipe | Kalakand Sweet
This two-ingredient, super fast recipe for Kalakand (a.k.a. Indian Milk Cake) comes together in just 15 minutes thanks to the help of a can of sweetened condensed milk.
7 Cups Sweet Recipe | Easy 7 Cup Burfi | 7 Cup Cake
7 cup burfi is a easy and delicious South Indian sweet made with gram flour, ghee, fresh coconut, milk and sugar. It is also known as 7 cup cake or 7 cups sweet as it is made with 7 measures of ingredients.
Mysore Pak Recipe
Mysore pak is a popular and super delicious Indian sweet from the city of Mysore in the Karnataka state in South India. Mysore pak is made with only three ingredients – gram flour, ghee and sugar. It is rich, luxurious and melt in the mouth sweet.
Kaju Katli Recipe | How to make Kaju Barfi
These Kaju Katli are the way they are actually meant to be – thin, smooth, melt in the mouth slices of cashew goodness. A popular Indian sweet made with cashews, sugar and water.
Barfi Recipe | Khoya Barfi
This easy, delicious Indian sweet is a quick Barfi Recipe. This Mawa Barfi is made with khoya/mawa (evaporated milk solids), sugar, nuts and some flavorings. It comes together in 20 minutes, right from the preparation to the cooking.
Peda Recipe | Doodh Peda | Milk Peda
This rich peda recipe is a delightfully sweet fudge-like confection made with khoya (dried milk solids), sugar, nuts and fragrant spices. Make this simple and quick doodh peda recipe (milk peda) for any festival or celebrations.
Malpua Recipe (Classic Homemade Sweet)
Malpua is a traditional and popular Indian sweet of pan fried or shallow fried flour pancakes dipped in sugar syrup and served with rabdi or sweetened thickened milk. These crispy and fluffy pancakes are made with all-purpose flour, curd (yogurt), spices, khoya (dried milk solids) and topped with nuts.
Unniyappam Recipe | Unni Appam
Unniyappam are sweet fritters from the Kerala cuisine and are made with rice, banana, a few spices and coconut.
Krishna Jayanthi Snacks
Murukku Recipe | Murukulu Recipe
Murukku is a popular South Indian crunchy and crispy snack made with rice flour and lentil flour. It is also known as murukulu, chakralu and jantikalu in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Butter Murukku | Butter Chakli
Butter Murukku is a South Indian fried snack made with butter and rice flour. It can also be called Butter Chakli. This recipe is surely for the win as it is scrumptious and tasty.
Ribbon Pakoda | Ribbon Murukku
Ribbon Pakoda or Ribbon Murukku are fried crisp ribbon shaped savory snack from South India. They are easy to prepare and tastes good too. They are also known as ola pakoda or nada thenkuzhal.
Thattai Recipe | Thattu Vadai
Thattai or Thattu Vadai are deep-fried crispy rice crackers served as a snack and made during festivals like Krishna Jayanthi (Gokulashtmi) or Diwali. Thattai are made with rice flour, spices and herbs having a spiced, crunchy and crispy taste.
Sev Recipe | Karasev | Besan Sev
This spicy Sev Recipe is made from gram flour (besan) and hence also known as Besan Sev or Karasev. These sev have a crispy texture and are a quick, savory snack prepared during the Diwali Festival.
Kara Boondi | Masala Boondi Mixture
Kara boondi is a spiced version of boondi and a mixture consisting of boondi, peanuts, cashews, curry leaves and a few spices.
Mixture Recipe | Madras Mixture
One of the popular South Indian snacks made during Diwali is this Madras Mixture Recipe which is basically a mix of various edible ingredients, nuts and dry fruits. It is also called as Omapodi Mixture.
This Krishna Jayanthi Recipes post from the archives was first published in August 2013. It has been updated and republished on August 2023.
Hi dassana,
I was looking for a granola bar recipe.
Most recipes i looked up online were from western bloggers and guess what, many of them add honey & then bake it. Now as per ayurveda honey gets toxic on heating.
Other recipes contain maple syrup. My Indian kitchen doesn’t have any!
As substitute i thought of sugar syrup.. But to keep it healthy i wanted to avoid sugar or any artificial sweetner????
Then there are the no-bake recipes but they require added effort of roasting the dry ingredients first which i feel lazy to do… Also i feel that baking would ensure ‘more even roasting’ and crispy golden texture which i’d like..
So you see i am in such a huge dilemma ????
Can you suggest some way out?
Sorry i ended up rambling in the comment. If it feels too long, just edit it short as suitable
hi ruchi, no problem. you can write long comments. i can understand. you can choose from the following option:
1. dates – blend dates in a mixie and add. you won’t need to add any sweetener. you can even use dried figs along with dates. but soak dried figs in hot water for an hour before blending.
2. dates syrup – a thick dates syrup will also help in binding.
3. a jaggery block – since it has some stickiness and will help to bind. do not use jaggery powder, as they are dry and powdery.
4. kakvi (jaggery molasses) – it has a lovely taste. in maharashtra we get it and known as kakvi in marathi. i don’t know what it is called in hindi. i checked on amazon and kakvi is available, so you can use this. you can read about kakvi in the eggless gingerbread cookies recipes which i have already posted on the blog.
i searched on google and got a recipe for you from anushruti who i know and is a friend. so you can check her recipe here – https://www.divinetaste.com/homemade-granola-bars-without-honey/
hope this helps and let me know how the granola turns for you.
Wow! You have a wonderful collection of fasting foods…very informative and helpful indeed. I had been contemplating of posting them during the navratras.
Hey dassana..what a wonderful recipe list u hv provided..will be making a few of them tomorrow
Lovely and great collection