Janai Purnima

Janai Purnima is also called as Kwati Purnima or Gunhi Punhi. The Newar Community of Nepal mostly celebrates Kwati Purnima. However, nowadays every house celebrates this festival. This day coincides with Shravan Poornima of the month Shravan in the Hindu lunisolar calendar which is celebrated as Janai Purnima.

On this day, a special dish called Kwati is prepared and is consumed as a feast with the rest of the family as a celebration. Kuwaiti is a soup made from a mix of nine different types of sprouted beans.The different  beans used while making Kwati commonly includes black gram, chickpea, field bean, soybean, green gram, field pea, garden pea, cowpea and rice bean. The beans are soaked for three to four days in water until the time they sprout. They are cooked with various spices to make a thick soup.

This dish is consumed on the festival of Gun Punhi, the full moon day Gunla. Gunla is the tenth month of the Nepal Era lunar calendar. It is eaten as a delicacy and for health benefits and ritual significance.