October 7, 2025

Sharad Purnima, also known as Kojagori Laxmi Puja in eastern India, is here! This special full moon night in the Hindu month of Ashwin is a delightful mix of devotion, food, and festive joy. On this magical night, Goddess Laxmi, the deity of wealth and prosperity, is worshipped with great love. It is believed that the goddess visits her devotees, showering them with blessings. The festival is famous for its wide variety of traditional foods made and shared with family and friends all over India. Among these, rice kheer steals the spotlight! This creamy, slow-cooked rice pudding made with milk, sugar, cardamom, saffron, and nuts is especially pricey in North India, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal. The kheer is kept under the full moon’s glow overnight to soak in the cool moon rays and then eaten as sacred prasad. Devotees believe, “Maa Lakshmi comes to roam around the earth,” and offering kheer to the moon brings her grace, as many believers say. In Maharashtra, Gujarat, and parts of Madhya Pradesh, sabudana kheer – a sweet dish made from sago pearls cooked in milk with fragrant spices – is a favorite for this day. It is gentle enough to be a fasting-friendly dessert. For those in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, masala doodh is a warm and soothing milk drink with cardamom, nutmeg, and saffron that comforts the body during the evening rituals of Sharad Purnima. Besides sweet treats, savory eats like sabudana khichdi, made from soaked sago, potatoes, peanuts, and mild spices, fill plates in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and North India for festive fasting. Basundi is another star – a rich and thick milk dessert flavored with saffron and nuts – popular especially in Maharashtra and Gujarat to sweeten the celebrations. In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, doodh poha, soaked flattened rice with sweet milk and dry fruits, is a simple yet pure dish enjoyed cold under the moonlit sky. And in the eastern states, no Kojagori Laxmi Puja is complete without narkel naru. This sweet delight is made by gently roasting grated coconut till golden, mixing it with melted jaggery and cardamom, and rolling the mixture into small balls. These tasty treats are often served as prasad to devotees. Sharad Purnima is truly a festival rich in culture and flavors, where tradition and taste blend under the glowing moon, bringing families together to celebrate abundance and divine blessings.

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Tags: Sharad purnima, Kojagori laxmi puja, Goddess laxmi, Traditional foods, Rice kheer, Indian festivals,