Thekua

Thekua, a deep fried cookie, is a revered offering during Chhat pooja in Bihar, Jharkhand and some parts of Nepal.

 
Chhat pooja is an ancient Hindu festival dedicated to Surya, the god of sun. The word ‘Chhath’ means the number six in Hindi, that is how the festival gets its name. The festival begins on the sixth day of the Lunar month of Kartika(October or November) and observed for four days by fasting till sunset. Devotees gather on the final day of pooja at the banks of Ganges river or pond for rituals where they take a dip in the water and bow down to sun to pray with pure devotion. Surya, the god of energy is worshiped for sustaining life on earth and his continuous blessings for well being, prosperity to mankind. Devotees also make cultural bonds of compassion and forgiveness by distributing fruits and sweets to family, friends and neighbors. More about Chhat pooja read here.  
 https://myblog24091989.quora.com/Chhath-Puja

I have a very nostalgic memory for thekua. Every year during Chhat pooja festival, we eagerly waited for the special prasad(food that is offered to god first then distributed to devotees and other people) to arrive from Sheonath kaku's(my father's very close Bihari friend) house. On the final day of pooja, Sheonath kaku would bring a platter full of prasad, mostly thekuas. As far as I remember some of those thekuas were chewy and some were crunchy in texture.

Nowadays crispy crunchy thekuas are sold in local grocer in my home town. They are great accompaniment with a cup of tea. It is super easy to make. Main ingredients are whole wheat flour, semolina, jaggery and grated coconut. For flavoring either cardamom or fennel seeds can be used. Sugar may be used an alternative to jaggery. A special wooden mold(chaNch/saancha) is used to make an imprint on thekuaks. But you can make it without the mold. Here is my version of thekua.

Ingredients~ 
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp semolina
2 tbsp coconut powder
2/3 cup jaggery(I used half raw sugar and half powdered jaggery)
3 tbsp warm water
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp coconut oil or ghee for the dough
3/4 cup oil for frying

Total time~ 30-40 minutes

Method~
Mix jaggery, sugar and warm water in a bowl and mix well to dissolve completely. Use a pestle to grind fennel seeds coarsely. Now take all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and add in oil. Mix them by hand until mixture resemble breadcrumbs. Slowly add jaggery syrup and knead it well to make a firm dough. If dough is soft add some flour and knead it again. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces.  Heat oil in a pan. Oil should be medium hot.

Roll the dough between your two palms and press firmly into the mold to imprint desired design.If you don't have mold just roll and flatten the dough on your palm. After all thekuas are imprinted from the mold they are ready to be fried. Gently drop thekuas into the pan and fry them on low heat till medium brown. Flip them couple of times while frying. Drain them on a kitchen paper towel. Cool them completely before consuming. Savor this cookie with a cup of hot tea with family and friends. 



                                                         See step by step pictures.