Thekua (also spelt as ''Thokwa'' or ''Thekariis'')'','' also known as Khajuria, Tikari and Thokni, is an ''Indo-Nepalese sweet dish'' popular in Southern

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n states of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

and

eastern Uttar Pradesh Purvanchal () is the region of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Purvanchal is also a proposed state in India, encompassing 32 eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh. The proposal, introduced in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 2011 by then Chief ...

. Thekua is a revered

prasada 200px, ''Naivedya'' offered to Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir in Mayapur, India">Mayapur.html" ;"title="Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir, Mayapur">Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir in Mayapur">Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir, Mayapur">Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandi ...

, offering to god, during

Chhath Chhath is an ancient Hindu festival, native to eastern India and southern Nepal. It is celebrated especially in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Eastern Uttar Pradesh; and Koshi, Gandaki, Bagmati, Lumbini and Madhesh province ...

puja. It has been used as a sweet snack for centuries in these places. It is widely and popularly used as a 'Koseli Sandesh' (also called Bhojani) in local ancient-traditional culture. 'Kosheli' (it may be fruits, sweets or any edible/potable goods) . A 'Koseli' is something which a guest brings to someone's home when he/she arrives there.

History

Thekua, dating back around 3,700 years to the Rigvedic period (1500-1000 BCE), is referred to as 'Apupa' in the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

. Made with wheat flour, jaggery, milk, and ghee, it was first used for its medicinal benefits and later became a traditional offering to the Sun God during Chhath Puja.

Preparation

The main ingredients of thekua are

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of common wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ...

, ''chasni'' ( melted sugar) and

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from South Asia. It is commonly used for cooking, as a Traditional medicine of India, traditional medicine, and for Hinduism, Hindu religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by ...

Jaggery Jaggery is a List of unrefined sweeteners, traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, North America, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of Sugarcane juice, cane jui ...

can sometimes be used as an alternative to sugar.

Dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...

is prepared using these four main ingredients and

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...

can be added to enhance the taste. A special wooden cookie mold is used to form various designs on the thekua. Dough is deep fried in

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...

until 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. The preparation of thekua for the

celebration is usually done in the worshipping room, to maintain the purity.

Record

A group of 16 people from

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth largest city and municipal corporation in the state of Bihar in India, and is considered an important city in North Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. Darbhanga ...

prepared a Thekuwa of 91 kg in 2019 to catch the attention of the

Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorised into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, adve ...

References

External links

Cookies Indian desserts Bihari cuisine Nepalese cuisine {{Nepal-cuisine-stub