Every family seems to have its own answer to this question.
For some, Krishna Jayanthi means the smell of freshly fried seedai. For someone else, it is nei appam disappearing from the plate almost as quickly as it is made. And in another home, there will always be Aval (poha) - sweetened with jaggery or tangy with tamarind or both.
In fact, Girija Paati says offering even just one handful of poha or aval is enough, just like Sudhama. What matters is the love it's offered with.
This is perhaps one of the nicest things about our festivals. There isn't one compulsory menu. It's a whole list of choices and you can pick what works for your family and more importantly in today's stressful world, your time and energy.
At Girija Paati's, many of the Krishna Jayanthi recipes we make today have travelled through the family for generations. And over the years, Paati has also added recipes of her own.
So if you're wondering what to make this Krishna Jayanthi, here's an easier way to decide.
If you want to make just one sweet: Nei Appam
Warm, soft, slightly chewy and made with rice, jaggery, banana, coconut and cardamom, Nei Appam is one of those recipes that makes the kitchen smell like a festival.
Bonus, it is surprisingly simple to make1
Girija Paati's Nei Appam recipe (here) walks you through it from soaking the rice to frying the little appams in the appam pan.
And if making the batter from scratch is the part stopping you, this year we have another option: our ready-to-cook Nei Appam Mix (order here). You still make the appams fresh at home. We've simply done some of the work before they reach you.
If Krishna Jayanthi means aval in your house...
Make it sweet or tangy.
Krishna's association with aval makes it one of the loveliest things to put on the festival menu - and you don't need an elaborate recipe.
For something sweet, try Girija Paati's Vella Aval recipe: poha with jaggery, coconut, cardamom and cashews.
If we don't have the time, then we have a delicious, slightly more snacky, drier version of the Vella Aval the you can order read-to-eat here. We even enjoy this in milk, like an Indian morning breakfast cereal, a healthy one.
Prefer something savoury?
Girija Paati's Puli Aval (recipe here) is made with tamarind, curry leaves and a simple South Indian tempering.
Or make both.
Festivals are not really the time for choosing between sweet and karam anyway.
If you have an appam pan out already...
Here's another Girija Paati favourite worth trying: Mor Appam (recipe here).
Rice and lentils meet curd, coconut, chillies, ginger, curry leaves and a proper tadka. Paati's version even has torn pieces of raw appalam mixed into the curd before it goes into the batter.
It's one of those recipes that is very difficult to explain by simply calling it 'savoury appam.'
You have to eat one.
And then, of course, there is the bakshanam.
Uppu Seedai. Vella Cheedai. Kai Murukku. Thattai. Adhirasam. Manoharam...
These are often the things that take us straight back to the Krishna Jayanthis we remember.
They're also usually the things that take the most time to make.
If you have the time this year, make something from scratch. Get the family involved. Make too much. Eat some while you're making it.
That's how these recipes survive.
But if work, children, travel - or simply life - means that's not happening this year, that's okay too.
Girija Paati's Krishna Jayanthi specials are made for precisely that reason: so the foods we grew up celebrating with can still find their way onto the table.
Our sweets and savouries are made in small batches, from family recipes, without preservatives or colouring.
Order Girija Paati's Krishna Jayanthi Specials - made with love & home kitchen ingredients.
So, what should you make this Krishna Jayanthi?
Our suggestion?
Make one or two specials yourself.
Pick the recipe that reminds you of home, or try one you've never made before.
And for everything else, we're happy to help.
Because keeping a food tradition alive doesn't necessarily mean spending two days in the kitchen.
Sometimes it simply means making sure it is still on the table.
Happy Janmashtami from Girija Paati's kitchen to yours.