Where to buy Navratri fasting food in Los Angeles?

The short answer: Anoras Cash N Carry, 567 S Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036 — we keep the whole vrat pantry on the shelf, from kuttu atta and singhara to samak rice, sabudana, and real sendha namak. Open daily 10 AM–9 PM, delivered inside a 10-mile radius (10 AM–8 PM, free over $99). Call 323-272-3617 or shop anorascashncarry.com.

Sharad Navratri 2026 begins around October 11 and runs to Dussehra on October 20 (dates follow the Hindu lunar calendar, so a local panchang is the final word). Nine days of fasting means the same short, specific shopping list — the one list a regular supermarket can’t fill. Here’s what to buy, what each thing does, and which packs we stock in the Fairfax District.

What can you eat during Navratri fasting (vrat)?

Vrat rules vary by family, but the common thread is simple: no grains (no wheat, rice, or lentils), no regular table salt, and usually no onion or garlic. What’s left is a surprisingly good pantry — a set of “pseudo-grains” and roots that stand in for the everyday staples:

• Kuttu (buckwheat) — a seed, not a wheat, despite the name.
• Singhara (water chestnut) — ground into flour or eaten boiled.
• Rajgira (amaranth) — a tiny high-protein seed.
• Samak / moraiya (barnyard millet) — the “rice” of fasting days.
• Sabudana (sago/tapioca pearls) — the fasting all-rounder.
• Sendha namak (rock salt) — the only salt most families use while fasting.
• Plus potatoes, peanuts, dairy, and most fruit.

Get those six ingredients in the house and you can cook nine days of vrat food without repeating yourself. Below is how to use each one.

What is kuttu atta, and how do you cook with it?

Kuttu ka atta is flour milled from buckwheat — earthy, a little nutty, and gluten-free (buckwheat is a seed, not a cereal grain, so it’s allowed on fasting days). It’s the flour behind kuttu ki puri and kuttu ka cheela, and it thickens the potato curries you eat alongside them.

The trick with kuttu is that it has no gluten to hold a dough together, so you bind it with boiled mashed potato and just enough water, then roll gently between two sheets of plastic rather than on an open board. Fried into puris, it puffs and crisps beautifully. We stock Dhanraj Kuttu Flour 400 Gm at about $3.30 — a right-sized pack for one Navratri, since kuttu flour is best used fresh.

Takeaway: one 400g pack of kuttu is enough puris and cheela for a family through the nine days.

Singhara and rajgira: the other two vrat flours

Singhara atta is ground water chestnut — milder and paler than kuttu, and often mixed half-and-half with kuttu for softer puris and better rolling. If you want the fresh water chestnut itself for a boiled snack or halwa, we carry Vadilal Singoda (Frozen Water Chestnut) 312 Gm at about $8.80, available year-round in the freezer even though fresh singhara is seasonal.

Rajgira (amaranth) is the protein play. The flour makes soft, slightly sweet rotis and the classic rajgira ladoo and chikki; puffed rajgira is a light fasting cereal with warm milk. Reach for Dhanraj Rajgira Flour 2 Lb at about $5.50 if you’d rather keep energy up across a long fasting day.

Takeaway: blend singhara with kuttu for easier puris; keep rajgira on hand for something filling and sweet.

What is samak rice (moraiya / barnyard millet)?

Samak — also called moraiya, sama, or barnyard millet — cooks up exactly like rice but isn’t one, so it’s the go-to for fasting khichdi, pulao, and kheer. It’s quick, light, and forgiving. Cook it 1:2 with water like any rice, or make a soft kheer with milk and sendha namak-free sweetening.

We stock it as whole seeds — Houschefs Samo Seeds 1 Lb, about $3.85 — and as a flour, Real Taj Moraiya Flour 400 Gm, about $4.40, for those who prefer samak rotla or thicker porridge. Between samak and sabudana, the “what do I even eat for dinner” problem of a fasting day mostly disappears.

Takeaway: whole samo seeds for khichdi and pulao; moraiya flour if you like rotla.

Why sendha namak instead of regular salt?

Most Navratri fasts swap out regular iodized and table salt for sendha namak — rock salt, mined rather than processed, considered pure and “saatvik” for vrat. It tastes cleaner and slightly mineral, and it’s the salt every fasting recipe assumes. Don’t skip it: the wrong salt is the most common way a well-meant fasting dish stops being vrat-friendly. Pick up Real Taj Sindhav (Sendha Namak) 400 Gm at about $5.50 — one pack easily covers the season.

Takeaway: buy sendha namak first; it’s the ingredient people forget until the pan is already on the heat.

Sabudana: the fasting all-rounder

Sabudana (sago/tapioca pearls) is the workhorse of vrat cooking — sabudana khichdi for breakfast, sabudana vada for a snack, sabudana kheer for something sweet. Soak the pearls until they swell and go tender, then cook with potato, roasted peanuts, green chili, and sendha namak. We carry Spicy World Sabudana 2 Lb at about $5.50, a size that gets a household comfortably through nine days. Want the details on soaking and which size pearl to buy? Our full guide to buying sabudana in Los Angeles breaks it down.

Takeaway: soak sabudana the night before — rushed soaking is why khichdi turns sticky.

What about ready-to-eat fasting snacks?

Not every fasting hour is a cooking hour. For the mid-afternoon slump, a farali (fasting-friendly) namkeen does the job: Balaji Farali Chevdo 400 Gm, about $4.10, is a potato-and-peanut mix seasoned with sendha namak, made specifically for vrat. And if you don’t want to cook at all, a frozen Vadilal Sabudana Khichdi 284 Gm at about $6.60 heats up in minutes. Browse more in our Pantry & Ready to Eat collection, and find every flour in one place under Rice, Atta & Dal.

Where to buy Navratri fasting food in Los Angeles (and do you deliver)?

Yes, we deliver. Anoras Cash N Carry is at 567 S Fairfax Ave in the Fairfax District, one block off Wilshire, and we deliver anywhere inside a 10-mile radius — Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Mid-City, Koreatown, Larchmont, Hancock Park, Culver City, Century City, Miracle Mile, and most of the eastern Westside. Delivery runs 10 AM–8 PM daily, minimum order $35.97, $7.98 flat fee, free over $99, on our own drivers. Store hours are 10 AM–9 PM every day if you’d rather shop in person. If it’s your first trip, our Indian grocery store in Los Angeles page has directions and parking. Put your Navratri order in a day or two before Ghatasthapana — the vrat aisle moves fast the week the fast begins.

Frequently asked questions

What can you not eat during Navratri fasting?
Most families avoid all grains (wheat, rice, lentils), regular table and iodized salt, onion, garlic, and non-vegetarian food. Allowed foods include buckwheat (kuttu), water chestnut (singhara), amaranth (rajgira), barnyard millet (samak/moraiya), sabudana, potatoes, peanuts, dairy, most fruit, and rock salt (sendha namak). Exact rules vary by family and region.

Is kuttu atta gluten-free?
Yes. Kuttu is milled from buckwheat, which is a seed rather than a cereal grain, so kuttu ka atta is naturally gluten-free. Because it has no gluten, bind the dough with boiled mashed potato and roll it gently between two sheets of plastic.

What is samak rice made of?
Samak (also called moraiya, sama, or barnyard millet) is a small millet seed that cooks and eats like rice but isn’t a grain, which is why it’s allowed during vrat. Use it for fasting khichdi, pulao, and kheer.

Why do you use sendha namak during vrat?
Sendha namak is rock salt, mined and minimally processed, and is considered pure for fasting, so it replaces regular iodized or table salt in Navratri cooking. It’s what nearly every fasting recipe is written for.

Where can I buy Navratri fasting food in Los Angeles?
Anoras Cash N Carry at 567 S Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036 stocks kuttu atta, singhara, rajgira, samak rice, sabudana, sendha namak, and farali snacks. Open daily 10 AM to 9 PM, with delivery inside a 10-mile radius from 10 AM to 8 PM.