Prasad and festival recipes
Traditional offerings for pujas and festivals — panchamrit, modak, kheer, thekua, pongal and more — with quantities, steps and which days they are offered on.
Recipes22
Without grains7Often made on vrats
Fasting and offering customs differ between families, regions and sampradayas — some avoid all salt, milk, sugar or certain vegetables. Follow your own tradition and your elders’ guidance.
- Panchamrit The five nectars — milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar — used for abhishek and then shared as prasad. No grainsNo saltNo onion or garlic
- Charnamrit A light, fragrant offering of milk or curd with tulsi, given in a spoon after aarti. No grainsNo saltNo onion or garlic
- Fried modak (talniche modak) Crisp wheat-flour dumplings with a sweet coconut and jaggery filling — Ganesha’s favourite sweet. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Ukadiche modak (steamed rice modak) Soft steamed dumplings of rice flour with coconut-jaggery filling, served with a spoon of ghee. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Sooji sheera (semolina halwa) Semolina roasted in ghee and cooked with milk and sugar — the classic Satyanarayan prasad. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Kada prasad (wheat flour halwa) Whole-wheat flour, ghee and sugar in equal parts — the sacred offering of the gurdwara, also made at home for Guru Nanak Jayanti and ardas. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Chawal ki kheer (rice pudding) Rice slow-cooked in milk until creamy — offered on Sharad Purnima, in Shraddha and on many festivals. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Sabudana khichdi Soaked sago pearls tossed with peanuts, potato and cumin — a filling fasting meal. No grainsRock salt onlyNo onion or garlic
- Kuttu puri (buckwheat puri) Soft puris of buckwheat flour bound with potato — the favourite Navratri fasting bread. No grainsRock salt onlyNo onion or garlic
- Singhare ka halwa (water chestnut flour halwa) A quick, rich halwa of water chestnut flour for fasting days. No grainsNo saltNo onion or garlic
- Til laddoo (sesame and jaggery laddoo) Warming laddoos of roasted sesame and jaggery, shared on Makar Sankranti. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Puran poli Soft flatbread stuffed with sweet chana dal and jaggery — the festive naivedya of Holi and Gudi Padwa. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Sakkarai pongal (sweet pongal) Rice and moong dal cooked with jaggery and ghee — the dish that gives the harvest festival its name. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Tilkut Crisp discs of sesame pounded with jaggery or sugar — the Sankranti sweet of Bihar and Jharkhand. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Thekua Crunchy wheat-and-jaggery cookies shaped in wooden moulds — the essential Chhath prasad. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Gujiya Crescent-shaped pastries filled with khoya, semolina and dry fruit — the sweet of Holi. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Malpua Soft, syrup-soaked pancakes with fennel and cardamom, made for Holi and as temple bhog. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Annam naivedyam (rice with ghee and dal) Plain cooked rice with ghee and a simple dal — the everyday naivedyam of many South Indian homes. Uses saltNo onion or garlic
- Rava kesari Bright saffron-coloured semolina sweet with ghee and cashews, a favourite South Indian prasad. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Paal payasam (Kerala milk payasam) Rice slowly reduced in milk until pale pink and creamy — the festive payasam of Onam and Kerala temples. No saltNo onion or garlic
- Dhaniya panjiri (coriander panjiri) Roasted coriander powder with sugar, makhana and dry fruits — the Janmashtami midnight prasad. No grainsNo saltNo onion or garlic
- Makhana kheer (fox nut kheer) Roasted fox nuts simmered in milk — a creamy kheer for fasting days. No grainsNo saltNo onion or garlic
Recipes written by our editorial team from common household practice. Measures: 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml.