Navratri 2025: Feasting With Faith Across India

Autumn in India is dominated by celebrations of the divine feminine. From West Bengal’s grandeur of Durga Puja to Gujarat’s vibrant Navratri garbas, and Maharashtra’s more intimate Bhondla gatherings, each festival celebrates the goddess in distinctive ways.

In Bengal, Durga Puja is as much about gastronomy as it is about grandeur. For five days, sprawling pandals welcome visitors with intricate artistry and stalls serving beloved street foods. The bhog at the pandal may be the focal point, but evenings are incomplete without egg rolls, kosha mangsho, fish fries, and mutton ghugni—dishes that carry the comfort of home and the joy of indulgence.

For many Bengalis living outside their home state, it is a month of contradictions. In Maharashtra, both Bhondla and Navratri unfold with vibrant garba nights, goddess worship, and food—plates free of onion, garlic, and certainly meat. Communities celebrating the puja together find new meanings in these differences.

Tanni Mandal, who has lived in Mumbai for 17 years, cherishes the gatherings at big pandals. “It never feels very away from home because you adapt,” she says. “From food to authentic products to shop to band performances, one can really find all sorts of entertainment, and meet friends!”

Morning rituals in Bengal revolve around ‘bhog’ - khichuri with labra (a melangé of vegetables), bhaja (assorted fried vegetables), chutney, and payesh (rice pudding) served to all. Once offerings are complete, non-vegetarian food takes center stage—mutton curry, fish preparations, and biryani at restaurants. Eating out becomes an inevitable evening affair.

But this abundance is what many Bengalis miss away from home. Ananya Bhattacharya, a professional in Ahmedabad, explains, “It’s hard to find restaurants serving non-veg in Gujarat. You cannot compare the quality and taste with Bengal’s street food, especially during this time. I crave for phuchka, but nowhere I find it here and I definitely feel sad we’re far from the actual scene.”

Fasting & feasting

Navratri emphasizes abstinence. The nine nights are marked by fasting where grains, onion, garlic, and even salt are avoided. Devotees rely on satvik ingredients such as sabudana, rajgira, singhara, and potatoes.

This year, Le Méridien Ahmedabad is hosting Flavours of Faith at Bayleaf, serving fasting-friendly delicacies alongside mains like langar wali dal and rajgira rotis. Desserts such as saffron-laced kheer and shrikhand complete the temple-inspired menu.

Evenings of dandiya are replenished with vrat foods and fruits. Unlike Bengal, meat and alcohol are strictly avoided, underlining the festival’s devotional austerity. Following this tradition, Khandani Rajdhani will also offer a curated vrat thali across its outlets across the country, with dishes rotating daily and available both in restaurants and in travel-friendly boxes.

Ananya observes, “I feel the grandeur and vibe of Navratri in Gujarat without the kind of food I am used to but it is no less of a festive time.”

Maharashtra’s Bhondla

In Maharashtra, Navratri takes on its own flavor through Bhondla—community gatherings hosted in rotation, where families and neighbors share meals. These emphasize simplicity, vegetarian offerings, and inclusivity.

Dishes such as puran poli, usal, batata bhaji, koshimbir, and rice are common, often served on banana leaves. The meals are homely rather than commercial, with food as the heart of social exchange.

Women play a central role, preparing the food, leading songs, and rituals. Unlike Bengal’s mass bhog or Gujarat’s vrat menus, Maharashtra’s approach is more intimate and grounded in the flavors of local kitchens.

Shared spirit

Despite their differences, all three traditions place food at the center of celebration. “In Bengal, food amplifies the joy and homecoming of a goddess who is considered a daughter, much like how I am treated when I go home,” says Sahana Chakraborty Chaturvedi, a resident of Nagpur.

Also, one cannot ignore the similarity between the garba and bhondla. Both involve dance movements around the godess or the image of elephant in the a circular format. Women sing traditional songs in the native language during garba and bhondla.

Hospitality spaces are also curating festive menus across cities. TAT, a coastal specialty restaurant in Mumbai, will offer a thali blending Bengali flavors with coastal influences, while ITC Grand Central will present its Thali of the Goddess, a satvik spread set against the elegance of its colonial-style Millsquare.

Together, these practices remind us that festivals are not just rituals of faith but also of flavor. As Sahana notes, “I believe India’s diverse regions interpret devotion through the dining table, whether it is the generosity of fish fries, the simplicity of sabudana khichdi, or the delightfulness of puran poli served hot—albeit different in approach, but with the same intent.”

From east to west, festive food is inextricably linked with memory, identity, and devotion. Each bite carries nostalgic stories, the fragrance of tradition, and the flavors of togetherness—reminding us that to taste is also to belong.