Baked Thekua

Thekua, is one of the most popular delicacy of Bihar, UP and few parts of Nepal. It is mainly made of wheat flour, jaggery (or sugar), and ghee (clarified butter). Thekua serves as prasadam for a popular Bihari festival called Chhath.

Thekua, contains no preservatives and still can be stored upto several days. It contains minimal ingredients with maximum shelf life.

Thekua, in ancient times were not only served as a snack or prasad, but also served as a wholesome meals for traders/peasants travelling far from home or farmers working working whole day long on their farm. Jaggery acted as instant source of energy.

So, without further ado, let’s begin with the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups of whole wheat flour
2. 1 cup of powdered jaggery / sugar
3. 1 tsp cardamom powder
4. 1 tsp fennel powder
5. 4-5 tbsp of ghee
6. water

Method:

1. Soak jaggery powder/ sugar in 1 cup of water and stir it to dissolve.

2. Mix cardamom powder, fennel powder and whole wheat flour in a bowl.

3. Add 4-5 tbsp of ghee to the dry mixture and mix well till the mixture becomes crumbly.

4. Now, sprinkle jaggery/ sugar water bit by bit to the dry mixture, and mix it. Keep doing this till the mixture starts binding in your fist.

5. Now take a small ball size mixture and bind it, roll it out to make smooth.

6. You can flatten the balls of your desired shape like circular or oval. Make some designs using fork, toothpicks, back side of matchstick etc (feel free to use your creativity).

7. Pre heat oven at 180 deg celsius

8. Line the baking tray with a butter paper.

9. Place the all the thekua on the tray.

10. Now, brush each thekua with milk. (this step makes thekua soft & protects it from drying)

11. Bake for 10 mins.

12. Then flip all thekua to other side, and brush little bit of milk on them.

13. And bake other side for another 5-7 mins.

14. You can bake for 1-2 mins if the color hasn’t turned out brownish (but be careful every minute, else you might burn them)

To be Noted:

? You can avoid using ghee, if you have milk allergy. Instead, you can use any refined or cooking oil like sunflower oil or canola oil. Avoid using olive or mustard oil as it will hamper the taste.

? If you have milk allergy, avoid step number 10 & 12. Instead tou can brush oil.

? You can fry them, instead of baking.

Happy treat to your sweet tooth!

See you soon with another lipsmacking recipe!!

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