• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

PepperOnPizza

  • RECIPE INDEX
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Index
  • Hello There!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Indian Festivals

    Easy Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes

    Published: Sep 20, 2017 Modified: Sep 26, 2022 By Sujata Shukla This blog generates income via ads. This post may contain affiliate links. PepperOnPizza may earn a commission for purchases made after clicking these links. View our disclosure policy for details

    Sharing is caring!

    117 shares
    • Facebook105
    • Twitter
    • Yummly
    Easy Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes for Navaratri Pooja and for Navaratri Kolu for busy Moms. No Onion No Garlic Recipes

    It is customary to offer Navaratri Naivedyam to the Mother Goddess on each of the 9 days of Navaratri, and for the Pooja to be carried out twice a day, i.e. in the morning and evening. This post brings you Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes that you can easily make.  The rice based dishes or variety rice can do double duty as both naiveydam and as lunch or for tiffin boxes, after you have first lit the lamp and offered it to the Goddess. For the South Indian festival of Kolu, Sundal Naivedyam is usually prepared in the evenings and is the prasadam for visitors for the kolu.

    Six rectangles showing six different dishes for Navaratri naivedyam, some on leaves, some in bowls with coloured napkins in the background.
    A round up of easy recipes for Navaratri Naivedyam including savoury rice items, payasam/ kheer and sundals

    With our busy schedules and with many of us coping with  the morning rush to pack lunch boxes and school tiffin boxes, it can be a hassle to prepare different varieties of Naivedyam for Navaratri Pooja each day. At the same time, this is a festival that we enjoy and would like to make tasty offerings, and naivedyam is even more important if Bomma Kolu or Golu has been kept at home.

    This is the second post in my series on Navaratri: Fasting and Feasting and Everything In-between, and is focussed on Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes for Golu and Navaratri Pooja in South India. I will be writing about Naivedyam and also on Fasting in North India, in another post.

    Link to Part 1 of the Series, on how the Kolu steps should be arranged, what is the order of keeping the Golu Bommai or Dolls, How and when to keep the Kalasam, etc: Navaratri Golu and How To Keep It 

    In this post there are some Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes from my food blogger friends and from my blog, and I will keep adding to this in the next few days. I must say a big Thank you to Sundari Giri (Ladles And Spoons), Paluk Khanna (Kitchen Fables) and Sujitha T Nair (Suji's Cooking) who readily offered their well written and easy to make recipes for this post. The link to each recipe is given along with the respective image below. We have included some interesting Payasams, do have a look!

    The Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes for Navaratri Pooja differs from region to region and as per community and family customs. I am not immediately able to give you an authentic list of what is to be offered on each day for the deity worshipped on that day, and will do that at the earliest from reliable sources. Onion and garlic are traditionally not added to the naivedyam preparations. One or two of the recipes below may include onion or garlic, please omit the same while making for naivedyam.

    What are the Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes that can be made for Pooja?

    In South India, specially in Tamil Nadu, these are some of the traditional Navaratri Naivedyam:

    Sweet Pongal or Sakkarai Pongal / Chakkara Pongal
    Tamarind Rice or Puliyodharai/ Puliyogare made from Pulikachal
    Venn Pongal - Savoury Rice with Moong dal Lentils
    Curd Rice or Daddojanam/ Tayir Sadam
    Coconut Rice or Thengai Sadam
    Lemon Rice or Elumicham Rice
    Arisi Vellam Puttu or Rice Jagery Puttu
    Milk Rice or Paal Sadam or Ksheerannam
    Sweet Rice: Rice and Jaggery or Vella Sadam
    Payasam/ Kheer
    Medu Vadai or Vadai made from Lentils
    Sweet Boondhi
    Ravaa Kesari or Halwa
    Panakkam or Panagam - jaggery drink
    Appam - sweet fried fritters from rice flour and jaggery

    The Sundal Naivedyam for Navaratri Pooja:

    This is usually offered as prasadam in the evenings when visitors come to see the Golu, but can of course be made for the morning pooja instead. Sundal or Guggillu is high in protein and a nutritious item on the menu, as the lentils are boiled and then either stir fried or else just has tadka or tempering added to it. Most of them need to be soaked overnight, so look up the recipe well ahead of time!

    The most popular order (I have yet to find the authentic sampradayam or convention) of making the sundal naivedyam is:

    Navaratri Day 1: Pasi Paruppu/ Moong dal / Green Gram Sundal
    Navaratri Day 2: Sweet Pacha Payaru Sundal or Sweet Red bean/ Rajma Sundal or  Puttu or savoury version of any of these
    Navaratri Day 3: Verkadalai Sundal/ Peanut Sundal
    Navaratri Day 4: Chickpeas Sundal/ Kabuli Chana Sundal
    Navaratri Day 5: Split Chana dal/ Bengal Gram/ kadala paruppu
    Navaratri Day 6: Karamani Sundal/ Black Eyed Beans/ Lobia Beans Sundal
    Navaratri Day 7: Pattani /Green Peas Sundal
    Navaratri Day 8: Mocchai Kotta/ Mocchai Payaru Sundal
    Navaratri Day 9: Kadala Sundal/ Kala Channa Sundal (the small black skinned channa)

    Other Sundal varieties:
    Whole Black Urad Sundal/ Ulundu Sundal
    Kollu Sundal/ Horse Gram Sundal
    Corn Sundal

    I. Traditional Naivedyam Recipes:

    1. Puliyodharai

    Puliyodharai/ Tamarind Rice from spicy Pulikachal Tamarind Paste
    An easy recipe for Tamarind Rice/ Puliyodharai with tamarind extract, red dry chilies and basic spices such as fenugreek/ methi seeds and coriander/dhania seeds along with urad and channa dal. Peanuts add to texture and flavour.
    Check out this recipe
    Brown hued Puliyodharai Tamarind Rice with peanuts on a white bowl with a thin beige edge, on a dark wooden background

    2. Ven Pongal

    Savoury Ven Pongal - Rice cooked with Moong Dal/ Split Green gram lentils
    Ven Pongal, a delicious, traditional South Indian festival food offering popular for breakfast too. Made of rice and moong dhal (split, skinless green gram lentils), cooked till very soft and tempered with cumin and pepper and curry leaves in ghee, garnished with fried cashew nuts. Served hot with chutney and sambar.
    Check out this recipe
    Bowl of well cooked rice and lentils. Hot savoury ven pongal tempered in ghee with cumin and pepper and garnished with cashew.

    3. Curd Rice or Daddojanam or Tayir Sadam

    An easy and refreshing favourite, can be made with just curd mixed with rice, seasoned with mustard seeds, chilies and curry leaves, or can be enhanced with grated carrots and cucumber.

    For the Link to the Recipe on Suji's Cooking: Click Here

    Easy Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes for Navaratri Pooja for busy Moms. No Onion Garlic. Simple Sundal prasadam recipes for kolu

     

     

     

     

     

    Curd Rice from PepperOnPizza (this blog):

    Curd Rice/ Thalicha Thayir Sadam
    Easy Curd rice or Thayir Sadam made by mixing cooked rice with fresh curd/plain un-sweetened yogurt and tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chilies. Other items like grated carrot, cucumber may be added.
    Check out this recipe
    Clay bowl with a green banana leaf filled with white curd and rice, with garnish of green cilantro leaves and tempering of chilies and mustard seeds in oil, with a mango pickle seen on one side. A pale green napkin to the left

    4. Coconut Rice or Thengai Sadam

    An evergreen naivedyam item with seasoned grated coconut mixed with rice.

    (omit the Onion in the recipe please, if using for Navaratri naivedyam)

    For the Link to the Recipe on Suji's Cooking: Click Here

    Easy Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes for Navaratri Pooja for busy Moms. No Onion Garlic. Simple Sundal prasadam recipes for kolu

     

     

     

     

     

     

    5. Lemon Rice or Ellumicham Rice

    Refreshing, easy, flavourful- ticks all the boxes. While this recipe recommends Gondhoroj Lebu, the amazing tangy King Lime from West Bengal, the regular Lemon is very tasty too.

    Lemon Rice with Gondhoraj Lebu Juice
    Tangy tasty lemon rice: rice cooked and mixed with lemon juice and tempered with mustard seeds, chilies, turmeric powder and curry leaves, garnished with fried peanuts. Serve with a simple potato curry and pappad.
    Check out this recipe
    Brown clay bowl filled with pale yellow lemon rice garnsihed with brown peanuts and green cilantro leaves. A green and white checked napkin to the left and pieces of cilantro to the right. All on a pale grey background tinged with yellow

    6. Mangai Sadam or Mango Rice

    As tangy and full of flavour as lemon rice, this mango rice is easy to put together with raw mango and basic spices.

    Mango Rice - How to make Raw Mango Rice or Mangai Sadam
    Tangy and tasty raw mango rice or mangai sadam, from Tamil cuisine. Grate the mango with the peel and add peanuts and coconut for greater flavour. Quick Lunchbox item.
    Check out this recipe
    Yellow Raw mango rice or mangai sadam from grated seasonal raw green mango, seasoned with mustard, peanuts, dry chili and curryleaves, in a green bowl wiht an arrow shaped brass spoon on one side, a green mango and white and green checked napkin above

    6. Panakam/ Panagam - Jaggery drink

    Fit for the Gods, this simple jaggery and water is flavoured with dried ginger, cardomom and tulsi leaves.

    Panakam -Traditional Indian Jaggery Ginger Water
    Panakam or Panagam: Traditional chilled drink of Jaggery water with dry ginger -specially made for Sri Rama Navami festival - easy, refreshing and healthy
    Check out this recipe
    Panakam or Panagam: Traditional chilled drink of Jaggery water with dry ginger -specially made for Sri Rama Navami festival - easy, refreshing and healthy

    7. Rava Kesari or Kesari Bhaat

    The favourite sweet naivedyam of suji/ rava with sugar and ghee, topped with fried raisins and cashewnuts.

    For the Link to the Recipe on Kitchen Fables: Click Here

    Easy Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes for Navaratri Pooja for busy Moms. No Onion Garlic. Simple Sundal prasadam recipes for kolu

     

     

     

     

     

    8. Kalkandu Sakkarai Pongal

    Made from a recipe for naivedyam at the Chidambaram Natarajar Temple at Tamil Nadu, this is a delectable sweet pongal made from rice and moong dal cooked with kalkandu/ crystal/rock sugar, flavoured with aromatic saffron.

    Kalkandu Sakkarai Pongal with Rock Sugar and Saffron
    Kalkandu Sakkarai Pongal is a popular festival offering to deities in Tamilnadu homes and at Chidambaram's Nataraja temple. Made of rice and moong dal lentils cooked together till very soft, slow cooked with rock candy sugar / mishri and saffron. Garnished with ghee and fried raisins.
    Check out this recipe
    Creamy yellow servings of Kalkandu Sakkarai Pongal studded with fried raisins, on pieces of banana leaf; one serving in a silver bowl, the other directly on the leaf. A pale pink hibiscuis flower behind them with the edge of a pink and green taselled green silk fabric seen in the background. All on a brown wooden background

    II. Payasam Recipes for Naivedyam:

    9. Elaneer Payasam / Tender Coconut Payasam:

    A perfect offering for Navaratri or any other festival, try this recipe for payasam made of tender coconut.

    For the Link to the Recipe on Kitchen Fables: Click Here

    Easy Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes for Navaratri Pooja for busy Moms. No Onion Garlic. Simple Sundal prasadam recipes for kolu

     

     

     

     

     

    10. Black Rice Payasam. 

    A special offering to the Mother Goddess, this kheer is made from Black Rice cooked in milk and with apricots and a dash of vanilla.

    Healthy Black Rice Payasam / Kheer with Vanilla and Apricots
    Exotic Healthy Payasam /Kheer /Pudding of Black Rice, Vanilla, Apricots and Pistachio. The Black 'Forbidden Rice' is nutritious and disease fighting, fragrant and with a pleasant nutty taste. No ghee is used in this kheer.
    Check out this recipe
    Vanilla Apricot Black Rice Kheer Payasam. The rice is soft and chewy with a nutty taste and a heady aroma. Flavoursome, delicious and nutritious!

    11. Oats Carrot Payasam:

    You just have to try this kheer made with oats and carrots! Truly delectable.

    For the Link to the Recipe on Suji's Cooking: Click Here

    Easy Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes for Navaratri Pooja for busy Moms. No Onion Garlic. Simple Sundal prasadam recipes for kolu

     

     

     

     

     

     

    III. Sundal Naivedyam:

    And now for the Navaratri Sundals, for what is Golu without Sundal?

    12. Konda Kadalai / Black Chickpea Sundal:

    Easy and quick to make, this sundal uses black chickpeas.

    Link to the Recipe on Kitchen Fables: Click Here

    Easy Navaratri Naivedyam and Sundal Recipes for Navaratri Pooja for busy Moms. No Onion Garlic. Simple Sundal prasadam recipes for kolu

     

     

     

     

     

     

    13. Mochai Sundal/Double Beans - 3 Flavours

    Yes, you read it right. This double beans/ mochai sundal recipe gives you the option to make sundal in 3 different flavours!

    Mochai Sundal For Navaratri In Three Flavours
    Three types of Mochai (Double Beans) Sundal: Traditional Plain Sundal with Coconut, Lemon and Ginger Mochai Sundal, and Spiced Mochai Sundal. For Navaratri Naivedyam or for a tasty Tiffin or Snack or a simple salad
    Check out this recipe
    Three bowls each with a different flavour of cooked mochai double beans, one brown spiced, one with curry leaves, one with green coriander leaves. A beige spice mix jar in the back, a bowl with yellow lemon, red chili and green cilantro and a beige and white napkin to the left

    14. Thenga Manga Pattani Sundal

    Chennai's popular Marina Beach Sundal can be easily made at home for naivedyam too!

    Thenga Manga Pattani Sundal/ Marina Beach style Sundal with Mango and Coconut
    Soaked and cooked dry peas tempered with mustard and chili and flavoured with raw mango and fresh coconut. Popular for Navaratri Naivedyam as well as a snack or tiffin box item
    Check out this recipe
    Cooked dry green peas with coconut raw mango and peanuts wrapped in a roll of newspaper resting on a sand and pink coloured mat on a yellow background

    15. Black eyed Peas Sundal / Karamani Sundal 

    A traditional recipe for Navaratri sundal from karamani or black eyed peas, garnished with grated coconut.

    Black Eyed Peas Sundal - Traditional Karamani Sundal
    Black Eyed Peas Sundal or Karamani Sundal. Easy to make and tasty, this is a traditional Navaratri sundal for naivedyam and to serve to guests for Navaratri Kolu. Serves as a nutritious snack or a tiffin box item too. Remember to soak the beans overnight. Use fresh coconut for garnish or squeeze lemon juice for a variation.
    Check out this recipe
    Black eyed Peas Sundal for Navaratri

    SaveSave

    SaveSavAre there any other specific Navaratri Naivedyam recipes you are interested in? Let us know in comments and we will try and get them up for you here!

    SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSaveSaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    More Indian Festivals Food recipes and customs

    • Mango Ginger Peppercorn Pickle in a tall glass jar with round slices of the mango ginger showing along with dark hued peppercorns. Pale green and white napkin to the left of the image, and all on a beige background
      Mango Ginger Green Peppercorn Pickle
    • Creamy yellow servings of Kalkandu Sakkarai Pongal studded with fried raisins, on pieces of banana leaf; one serving in a silver bowl, the other directly on the leaf. A pale pink hibiscuis flower behind them with the edge of a pink and green taselled green silk fabric seen in the background. All on a brown wooden background
      Kalkandu Sakkarai Pongal with Rock Sugar, Saffron
    • Bowl of well cooked rice and lentils. Hot savoury ven pongal tempered in ghee with cumin and pepper and garnished with cashew.
      Traditional Savoury Ven Pongal of Rice with Lentils
    • Large white plate with orange pink rose khova paneer modaks, shaped like small cones with pointed tops. Plate on a pink and gold zari silk fabric
      Rose Khova Paneer Modak for Ganesh Chaturthi

    Sharing is caring!

    117 shares
    • Facebook105
    • Twitter
    • Yummly

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Have something to Ask or Share? Let's Talk! Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Rate This Recipe!




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Paluk says

      September 21, 2017 at 10:51 am

      This a complete guide to the Naivedyam !! lovely write up !!

      Reply
      • Sujata Shukla says

        September 21, 2017 at 6:27 pm

        Thank you Paluk! Glad you liked it!

        Reply
    2. kruthika manoharan says

      September 21, 2017 at 3:47 am

      This sums up all the to-dos and don'ts of navararthri! Would skip the google search for navararthri doubts and directly refer your link ma'am. Thank you for this write up, helps amateurs like us to know things.

      Reply
      • Sujata Shukla says

        September 21, 2017 at 3:49 am

        Thank you Kruthika for the appreciation. Would love your feedback on anything more I could add to the post or to the rest of the Navaratri series

        Reply
    3. Sujitha says

      September 20, 2017 at 10:21 am

      Great post Sujata.Thank you verymuch for adding my recipe.

      Reply
      • Sujata Shukla says

        September 20, 2017 at 10:28 am

        Thank you for sharing them, Sujitha! The Oats Carrot Payasam is my all time favourite

        Reply
    4. Ramya Ramamurthy says

      September 20, 2017 at 6:09 am

      Very informative and comprehensive. Great for someone like me to refer to for festivals.

      Reply
      • Sujata Shukla says

        September 20, 2017 at 8:06 am

        Thank you Ramya, I'm glad you like it. I'm planning to do this in a detailed way, the research is pretty interesting!

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hello There!

    Meet the Author, Owner, Content Creator and Recipe Developer at PepperOnPizza.com. The recipes I share with you are from fresh produce, vegetarian except for the occasional egg, usually made from scratch. Traditional Indian, specially Tamil recipes are my forte, along with Salads, Soups and Mediterranean food. There are recipes for delicious Jams, thin crust Pizza, Pestos and Pickles too! I'm also the newly minted author of a book on sacred foods, 'BHOG NAIVEDYA: Food Offerings To The Gods' published by Rupa Publications India. Do Check out my Author Page to read all about me and this Blog!

    More about me →

    Trending Posts

    • A colourful array of dry fruits, kiwi, pineapple, berries, citrus, papaya ready to be cut to soak fruits for Christmas cake
      How to Soak Fruits for Christmas Fruit Cake
    • Cooking for the New Mom -Small portions of different dishes including greens and fried berries set on a plate for serving to the new momBaked squash crusted with herbs and parmesan
      Cooking for the New Mom - Pathiya Samayal My Way!
    • Yellow Broccoli Cheddar Soup flecked with green bits of herbs and broccoli,in a white bowl with a baguette in the background and pieces of green broccoli on the side
      Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Herbs and delicately Spiced
    • Assamese Aloo Pitika - a brass bowl with mashed potatoes, cilantro, mustard oil, green chillies and onion on a mat, with green chillies and cilantro alongside
      Assamese Aloo Pitika - Mashed Potato in Mustard Oil

    Season's Favourites

    • 3 little jars of reddish brown Homemade fig jam with mint and no pectin on a white rectangular marble slab, with fig halves on one side and a napkin with blue, yellow, red and green stripes on the left
      Homemade Fig Jam No Added Pectin -Easy Step by Step Guide
    • A glass bowl with a greenish Purple Basil Pesto with some Purple basil leaves alongside
      Easy Purple Basil Pesto with Pine nuts and Parmesan
    • Curried Roasted Pumpkin Soup with apples and Indian spices including turmeric, in a white bowl and a garnish of ruby red pomegranate arils and crushed pista nuts
      Curried Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Indian Spices
    • Penne pasta in a yellow pumpkin sauce with green basil leaves and red chili flakes, on a white pasta plate edged with green, on a yellow background. A white napkin with thin green stripes on the right
      Pasta in Roasted Pumpkin Sauce and Parmesan

    Get My Book:

    Bhog Naivedya -Food Offerings To The Gods

    Get it at your nearest book store, or use the link below:

    https://amzn.to/3D5xfeU
    Bright Green covered book with titles in white and yellow. Bhog Naivedya Food Offerings to the Gods
    • Recipe Index
    • Hello There!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy & Disclosures
    • Medical Disclaimer

    Hello There!

    About Us

    Contact

    • Contact Us

    Copyright Notice:

    Copyright © 2022 Sujata Shukla and PepperOnPizza.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material or any part of the content, including but not limited to Recipes, Posts and Images, without the express and written permission from this site’s author and owner is strictly prohibited. Full recipe is not to be posted - Small Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sujata Shukla and to PepperOnPizza.com with appropriate and specific links directing to the original content.

    117 shares
    • 105