Thekua!!!
Each state of India has its unique traditional recipes which have been carried by generations. Some recipes are either savory, dessert recipes or it could be a morning breakfast.
One such easy and simple sweet snack recipe is known as Thekua or Khajur made with wheat flour, jaggery, and ghee. It is a revered Prasada, traditionally offering to the lord sun and Chatth Maiya in the Chhath puja.
Thekua is also known as thokwa, Khajur, or Khabooni. It is a dry sweet from the Indian subcontinent. It is very popular in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, eastern Uttar Pradesh (Purvanchal), and the Terai region of Nepal. It has been used as a sweet snack for centuries in these places.
The main ingredients of Thekua are wheat flour, jaggery, and ghee. The dough is prepared using these main ingredients and cardamom can be added to enhance the taste. The dough is deep-fried in ghee or vegetable oil till it becomes reddish-brown. It is soft when hot but hardens after it cools. It needs no preservatives and it can be preserved for several days for eating.
Thekua is a popular dry sweet dish from the Bihar state of India. As many and many people from Bihar are going to other parts of India and abroad, this term and its sweetness is also spreading out these days. I can remember my childhood when during Chatth Puja, that was being made, and I was eagerly waiting for the thakua because it was distributed after completing the three days puja. After Puja, Thakua were served among the devotees and we were enjoying Thakua a lot!!!!
Being a Bihari, I thought to spread the Mithas of this sweet dish, this being the reason why I came up with Thekua. and I am sure that you will be able to taste this delicious dish and will become a fan of this website.
Prep time:15 Mins
Cooking time: 40 mins
Serving: 20 pis
Level: Intermediate
Vegetarian
Ingredients
- wheat flour/atta – 4 cup
- Fennel / saunf (pounded) – 1 teaspoon
- Dry coconut (chopped) – 4 teaspoon
- Cashewnut (chopped) – 2 teaspoon
- Ghee – 1 cup
- Jaggery – 1-1/2 cup
- Oil/ghee – for frying
Method
- Heat 2 cup water in a deep pan and add jaggery, mix continuously to remove the lump. Remove from heat and keep aside.
- In a container, mix wheat flour, dry coconut, cashew nut, and pounded fennel. Mix with the hand.
- Melt ghee in a pan and add in the wheat flour mixture. Mix well
- Add jaggery water to the flour mixture and prepare a tight dough with the help of a hand.
- Pinch a small ball sized dough and press it from both sides with the help of thekua frame.
- You can also mark leaves using a toothpick or skewer.
- Heat oil in a kadhai on moderate heat and gently golden fry from both sides.
- Drain off and cool completely
- Thekua will be soft when hot, it turns crisp once cooled completely.
- Serve!