All you need to know about Thekua and how you can make it at home

Rishi, a Delhi-based Architect by profession, recalls the good old days, when the entire family used to sit together and prepare thekua. He still feels nostalgic about how preparing for Chhath Puja was a family affair and how everyone participated in the preparations. He still feels that the taste of that homemade thekua was unmatchable as it was prepared with so much love! After all, cooking is just not an art rather an emotion, the taste of a dish truly reflects the mood of a person who prepares it, and this why food prepared with love tastes the best!

No matter, wherever we go the good-old childhood memories always stay with us and the festive time simply revives that nostalgia. Much like him, if you too are missing those good old days, then this Chhath Puja, try preparing Thekua at home by following these simple steps and cherish those memories with your loved ones.

Thekua happens to be an inseparable part of Chhath puja. This delicacy is offered as prasad to the Goddess and is later distributed among the loved ones. Chhath Puja is predominantly, a festival celebrated in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and in some parts of Nepal.

Thekua also known as Thokwa or Thekariis, is a crispy sweet dish prepared during the Chhath Puja. This delicacy can be prepared at home with some easily available ingredients such as wheat flour, chasni (melted sugar)and ghee. However, many people prefer making this delight with melted jaggery, which happens to be good for the season. Thekua is prepared using a dough and is deep fried in ghee or vegetable oil till it becomes golden brown.

There have been several variations of this dish, which also differs from region to region, but the basic preparation remains the same. So, here are a few simple steps to prepare this easy recipe at home.

Sieve the flour and keep it aside. Then take a deep bottomed pan and heat it over medium flame. Add two 2 cups of water and allow it to boil. Then add sugar and keep stirring, until it attains a two string consistency. Turn off the flame and keep this sugar syrup aside. Then add ghee to the sugar syrup and blend well. The more ghee you add to this delicacy, the taste turns out to be heavenly.

Then it’s time to prepare the dough, take a dough kneading plate and add wheat flour along with grated coconut, fennel and cardamom powder. To accentuate the taste you can use whole wheat flour. It not only adds a hint of taste but at the same time it is healthy. Mix well and then add the sugar syrup in batches to knead the dough. Make sure the dough is not too soft. It has to be hard to get that perfect crispiness. The more ghee you add, the tastier your thekua will be!

When the dough is ready, make small balls with your hands. Press them flat, you can use a cookie cutter to give them shape. You can also emboss a design on them if you wish to make them look attractive. Now, put a kadhai on high flame and heat oil in it. When the oil is hot enough, add a flattened piece of dough and deep fry them till golden brown in colour. You must keep the flame low so that the Thekua is cooked from inside. Repeat the procedure and deep fry the remaining dough balls. Thekua is ready, cool them at room temperature and store in air-tight containers. They can be stored for up to three weeks.