The Navratri fast: rules, food list and when to break it
About 10 minutes
The Navratri fast is kept in one of three common ways: all nine days, the first and last day only, or eating only fruit and milk (phalahar). Grains, lentils, onion, garlic and ordinary salt are set aside; sabudana, varai, rajgira, potato, peanuts, fruit, milk and curd are eaten, with rock salt instead of table salt. In 2026 Navratri runs from Sunday 11 October to Monday 19 October, and families break the fast either on Navami, Monday 19 October, or on Dussehra morning, Tuesday 20 October. Practice differs by household, and your family’s is the right one.
Steps
- 1
Decide which fast you are keeping
All nine days; only the first and the last day (Pratipada and Navami or Ashtami); or phalahar — fruit, milk and nuts only. A nirjala fast without water is rare and not something to attempt for nine days. Decide before the first morning, because the sankalp names it.
- 2
Set aside what is not eaten
Wheat, rice and other grains, dal and lentils, onion and garlic, and ordinary table salt are the common exclusions. Many households also avoid non-vegetarian food and alcohol in the whole house for the nine days, whether or not everyone is fasting.
- 3
Stock the upvas kitchen
Sabudana, varai (bhagar, samak rice), rajgira, singhara or kuttu flour, potatoes and sweet potatoes, peanuts, ghee, milk and curd, fruit, and sendha namak — rock salt — which replaces table salt in everything cooked for the fast.
- 4
Eat once properly, not never
Most people who fast all nine days eat one proper upvas meal and fruit or milk at other times. Sabudana is filling but heavy; varai and curd, or fruit and milk, are easier on the stomach across nine days.
- 5
Break the fast the way your family does
Many households break it on Navami after the havan and kanya pujan — Monday 19 October in 2026. Many others keep it until Dussehra morning, Tuesday 20 October. The first meal is usually simple and made with ordinary salt again.
Navratri fasting food list — Maharashtra
Sabudana khichdi and sabudana vada; varai (bhagar) with shengdana amti; rajgira puri, ladoo and chikki; upvasachi batata bhaji; ratalyacha kees (sweet potato); thalipeeth made with upvas bhajani; curd, buttermilk, and fruit.
Groundnut and ghee carry most of these dishes, and rock salt replaces table salt throughout.
Navratri fasting food list — North India
Kuttu (buckwheat) and singhara (water chestnut) puri and pakode; samak rice khichdi or kheer; aloo jeera with sendha namak; makhana kheer and roasted makhana; sabudana khichdi; fruit chaat, lassi and paneer.
The principle is the same as in a Maharashtrian kitchen — no grain, no lentils, no onion or garlic — with different flours.
If you have diabetes, are pregnant, or take regular medicine
Ask your doctor before a nine-day fast. Fruit and milk, or one upvas meal a day, is a fast too, and families do not expect anyone to keep a fast that is not safe for them.
Sabudana and potato are almost entirely starch. Someone watching their sugar is usually better served by curd, paneer, peanuts and vegetables cooked in the upvas way.
Common questions
- When should the Navratri fast be broken in 2026?
- By family custom: on Navami after the havan and kanya pujan, Monday 19 October 2026, or on the morning of Dussehra, Tuesday 20 October. Both are common, and neither is more correct.
- Can I keep the fast only on the first and last day?
- Yes, and many people do. The first day is Ghatasthapana, Sunday 11 October 2026; the last is Navami (or Ashtami, by custom), which this year both fall on Monday 19 October.
- Is tea or coffee allowed in the Navratri fast?
- In most households, yes — tea with milk and sugar is commonly taken. Some stricter households avoid it. Follow your family’s practice.
- Why rock salt instead of normal salt?
- Ordinary table salt is processed and is traditionally set aside during the fast; sendha namak, rock salt, is treated as pure and is what upvas food is cooked with.
- Can children and elderly people fast?
- Families usually do not expect children, the elderly or anyone unwell to keep a full fast. A lighter version — one upvas meal, or fruit and milk — is common and fully accepted.