Chhath Puja is celebrated on the sixth day of the Shukla Paksha of the month of Kartik. It is a festival of non-Bengalis.
On that special day, the women of the house worship Suryadev and his sister, i.e. Chhath Mata. After the puja, Thekua is distributed as prasad.
Although the festival is for non-Bengalis, many Bengalis are fans of this puja prasad. If you want, you can also make this popular dish of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh at home.
Here is the recipe.
What do you need to make a Thekua?
Dried coconut: 2 cups
Small cardamom powder: 1 teaspoon
Flour: 1 cup
Semolina: 1 cup
Ghee: Half a cup
Sugar: 1 cup (can be replaced with jaggery)
Fennel: 1 tablespoon
White oil: for frying
How to make it?
First, mix the flour, semolina, desiccated coconut, sugar or jaggery, small cardamom powder, and fennel seeds well in a large bowl.
Now, heat a sufficient amount of ghee and start mixing it with the flour. You should also keep lukewarm water on hand.
Once the ghee is mixed with the flour, you need to make a dough by adding water little by little.
The dough will not be very soft. Add water accordingly.
Once kneaded, cut the dough into small pieces like a sliver.
Then, form the dough by pressing it into a wooden or stone mould.
This time, just fry it in oil over low heat, and you're done. There is no need to fry it too hard because the dough will harden once it cools down.
When the hot tekua has cooled to room temperature, store it in an airtight container. If you store it this way, the Thekua will remain fresh for a long time.
