Hindu observances · शुक्रवार व्रत

Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata)
what is eaten, and how to hold it

Almanac entry

शुक्रवार व्रतShukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata)

Hindu observances · Light · dates announced locally

Sixteen consecutive Fridays in the most common form, concluded with an udyapan.

The struck span is the part of the day held without food, from sunrise to evening puja, as commonly observed. Households differ, and where they differ the difference is the practice, not an error.

SOURCE·Published accounts of Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata) as commonly observed·customs differ by family, region and sampradaya·REVIEWED JUL 2026

How long Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata) runs

570–690kcal

One serving of each food listed below, ±10% for the hand that cooks it. A scale check, not a target. Sixteen Fridays, and no sour food. A single-meal day dedicated to Santoshi Mata, with the well-known custom of setting aside sour and citrus food entirely for the duration.

As the dataset states it: Sunrise to the afternoon or evening meal.

SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata) entry·REVIEWED JUL 2026

What Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata) is

The Santoshi Mata vrat is kept on sixteen consecutive Fridays, with gur-chana — jaggery and roasted chana — as the customary prasad. Its distinguishing rule is the avoidance of anything sour: lemon, tamarind, curd in some households, and citrus fruit.

That rule has one practical consequence worth naming. Nimbu pani and citrus are two of the easiest ways to make fluid intake pleasant during a fast, and both are off the table here, so plain water and milk do more of the work.

Customs vary. The sour rule extends to different foods in different households, and whether it applies only to the person fasting or to the whole family for the day differs too.

How this entry is drawn, and how the food is counted

The observance is read from published accounts of Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata) and written as commonly observed — never as required, never as correct. Where households differ, the entry says they differ.
The arc above places the observed span between named stations of the day — sunrise, midday, sunset, moonrise — and never between times. Sehri, iftar, moonrise and sunset are local and religiously significant, and this site publishes none of them.
The length is taken from the range the dataset itself states, as a range. Where the length turns on latitude and season, no duration is printed at all.
Food energy is per the serving each item is really eaten in, from IFCT 2017 (ICMR–NIN) where the table has the food, and from a named alternative where it does not.
Every food is reconciled against Atwater factors on each build, and a page that fails to reconcile does not ship.

serving kcal  =  per-100 g kcal × (serving g ÷ 100)
energy check  =  4·protein + 4·carbohydrate + 9·fat   (±15%, ±20% high-fibre)
day shape     =  observed span, station → station   (no clock times, ever)

Data & method in full →

What is customarily eaten, and what is set aside

Described as commonly observed. Your own family's practice is the one that applies.

Commonly eaten

Gur-chana as prasad — jaggery with roasted chana
One meal, satvik, without sour ingredients
Milk and non-citrus fruit through the day

Customarily set aside

Anything sour — lemon, tamarind, citrus, and in some households curd
Meat, fish, eggs, onion, garlic and alcohol

SOURCE·Published accounts of Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata)·reported, not prescribed; regional practice varies and the variation is the practice·REVIEWED JUL 2026

The food, with the numbers

Foods commonly associated with Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata), at the serving each is really eaten in. Every one has its own page with the full breakdown.

Commonly eaten during Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata) — calories and macros per real serving. IFCT 2017 · JUL 2026
Food	One serving is	Calories	Protein	Carbs
Jaggery (Gur)	1 small piece · 20 g	77 kcal	0.1 g	19.0 g
Cow Milk (full cream)	1 glass · 200 g	124 kcal	6.4 g	9.0 g
Banana	1 medium banana · 100 g	105 kcal	1.3 g	24.0 g
Makhana (Fox Nuts), raw	1 katori · 25 g	87 kcal	2.4 g	19.2 g
Papaya	1 katori cubes · 150 g	36 kcal	0.6 g	6.9 g
Dates (Khajoor)	2 dates · 16 g	46 kcal	0.4 g	10.9 g
Almonds (Badam)	10 almonds · 12 g	72 kcal	2.5 g	1.3 g
Boiled Potato	1 medium potato · 120 g	84 kcal	1.8 g	17.9 g

One serving of each of these 8 items would come to about 630 kcal — a scale check, not a menu. Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata) is not a calorie target and this table is not a plan.

What the vrat foods cost, counted per serving rather than per 100 g.

SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·per stated serving weight·REVIEWED JUL 2026

How to hold it without wrecking the week

This is the part nobody publishes well. None of it asks you to change the observance — training, sleep and meal timing are the variables you control, and the fast is not.

Training

Easy to train through — this is one of the lighter observances.

Sleep

Unaffected.

Blood sugar

Gur-chana is jaggery, and jaggery is sugar. Roasted chana alongside it moderates the response somewhat, but for anyone tracking glucose this is a sweet day rather than an empty one.

Hydration

Plain water and milk, since nimbu pani and citrus are set aside for the duration. Coconut water is a good non-sour option where custom permits.

The specific risk with Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata)

Low.

Who should not fast · Fasting and blood sugar · Hydration during fasting · Sources

Questions asked about Shukravar Vrat (Santoshi Mata)

Why is sour food avoided?

It is the defining custom of the Santoshi Mata vrat, observed for religious reasons rather than dietary ones. The extent of it — whether it covers curd, tomato or only citrus — differs by household.

Related observances

Sharad NavratriNine days, the longest vrat most people keep Chaitra NavratriSpring Navratri, ending at Ram Navami EkadashiTwice a month, the most frequently kept vrat of all Nirjala EkadashiWithout water — the most demanding fast in the Hindu year Karva ChauthSunrise to moonrise, kept without water in its full form Maha ShivratriA day fast followed by a night of jagran Paryushan ParvaEight or ten days of the most structured fasting in India Ayambil OliNine days of a single bland meal Ramzan (Ramadan) RozaA month of daily fasting from dawn to sunset

Guides that apply here

Who should not fast Hydration during fasting Training while fasting Breaking a fast Fasting and blood sugar Fasting and sleep Protein during a vrat Lighter vrat food, same rules

SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·observance accounts and food composition·REVIEWED JUL 2026

Practices are described as commonly observed; customs differ by family, region, community and sampradaya, and this site is not an authority on any of them. Food values come from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR–NIN), the older ICMR–NIN tables, USDA FoodData Central, named composition studies and the shared ThaliFacts dataset, reconciled against Atwater factors on every build. Which source applies to which food is listed per food, and every source carries the date it was last checked. General information only — not medical or religious guidance. Fasting is not safe for everyone, particularly during pregnancy or with diabetes or other conditions. Speak to a doctor first.

The people behind these sites

Follow the build

This site and nine others like it are built and photographed by two people: Amit Sharma — behind the build; Geeta Patel — the poses, demonstrated. New work goes up on Instagram and Facebook before it reaches a page here.

Amit Sharma @amitsharmaofficial Instagram

Geeta Patel @geetapatelnz Instagram

Geeta Patel GeetaPatelYoga Facebook

Following changes nothing here — every page stays open, with no account and no wall.