Crispy, crunchy and sweet in taste, Thekua is a delectable sweet dish, which is often offered as a prasad during popular Bihari festival ‘Chhath’ also known as Maharparv. It is an easy-to-make snack recipe that you can prepare for your family and friends. Also known as ‘Khajuria’ or ‘Thikari’, this snack is a dry snack, sweet in taste and is cooked using wheat flour, ghee, coconut, sugar and oil. A deep-fried preparation, it is high in calories but is so delicious that you would not mind eating 2-3 of them in one go. Traditionally, Thekua is made with gud or jaggery, however, here we have made it with sugar. Some variations of this Bihari recipe also use fennel seeds to accentuate the taste. Although the dish is prepared during festivals, but you can also prepare this traditional dish for potlucks and kitty parties. You can make this dish in a healthy way by replacing the regular sugar with sugar-free or stevia, this will bring down the calorie count. The best thing about this dish is that it has a long shelf life and can be packed for road trips. In fact, you can store it in an airtight container, in a cool and dry place and relish it anytime. What’s more, it tastes best when served with tea and some savouries.
Ingredients of Thekua
500 gm wheat flour
2 teaspoon ghee
2 cup refined oil
1 cup water
300 gm sugar
1 teaspoon powdered green cardamom
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
How to make Thekua
Step 1
To prepare this Bihari recipe, put a deep-bottomed pan on medium flame and boil 2 cups of water in it. After a boil, add sugar in the boiling water and stir till it melts. Once the sugar is melted, switch off the burner and put down the pan.
Step 2
Add ghee in the sugar syrup and stir to mix. Allow the syrup to cool at room temperature.
Step 3
Now, take a dough kneading plate and add wheat flour in it along with grated coconut, fennel and cardamom powder. (You must take whole wheat flour. It gives an amazing taste to the Thekua and is healthier too.) 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 or your Thekua will make like pooris!
Step 4
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.
Step 5
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.
Step 6
Thekua is ready, cool them at room temperature and store in air-tight containers. They can be stored for up to three weeks.