Punjab, Sept. 15 -- Navratri fasting is one of the most widely observed food practices in India, and one of the least consistent. What is permitted varies by region, community and household, and almost everyone believes their version is the standard one.
What the rules usually share
Most versions exclude grains, pulses, onion, garlic and common table salt. What replaces them is a well-developed parallel cuisine: kuttu and singhara flours, sabudana, samak rice, rock salt, and a heavy reliance on potato, dairy and fruit.
The regional variation is genuine, not sloppiness. Fasting food in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bengal and the north differs substantially, and Bengal's Durga Puja observance has a different relationship with food altogether.
Th...