Thekua! An undetachable part of chhath

 

From Bihu to Durga puja and Diwali to Christmas there is a CHATT means “six” hence the festival starts just after six days of Diwali. The festival is observed in the honor of sun god of energy, surya shakti or dala chhath and chhata maiya.

  Thekua or Khajuria is a dry sweet from Mithila autonomous state in southeastern Nepal. It is very popular in Nepal, Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Thekua is a revered prasad (offering to God) in the chhath puja. It has been used as a sweet snack for centuries in these places.

 The main ingredients of Thekua are wheat flour, chasni (melted sugar) and ghee. Jaggery can sometimes be used as an alternative to sugar. Dough is prepared using these four main ingredients and cardamom can be added to enhance the taste. Dough is deep fried in ghee or vegetable oil till it becomes reddish brown. It is so soft when hot but harden after it cools. It needs no preservatives and it can be preserved for several days for eating.

 Normally there are two variants, the people in central Nepal and Bihar prefer the ones which are harder(khajur) and have a longer shelf life, whereas people in eastern Nepal and UP prefer it softer (Thekua). The soft thekuas are made of refined vegetable oils and have more of special type of flour, Maida – which is actually roasted wheat flour.

Some of benefits of thekua

• These are very healthy biscuits. It’s one of the best items to have when you are hungry. It has the taste and the fullness you need at point in the day.
• These are made from whole wheat flour which is a much healthier alternative of Maida.
• Doesn’t require a fancy ingredient.
• Replacing jaggery with sugar makes it a healthier option. 
• Instead of deep frying, one can bake these and remove the oil too.