Thekua is a traditional Bihari sweet made from whole wheat flour, jaggery and ghee or oil. The dough is pressed in a carved wooden mould called a sancha, which leaves a pattern on the surface, and is then fried slowly until it is crisp outside and firm inside. It is best known as the prasad of Chhath Puja, but it is also eaten at other festivals, kept in the tin for guests and sent as a gift. It is also spelled thekuwa and thekwa, and written ठेकुआ in Hindi.
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What thekua is made of
Thekua has a short list of ingredients. The base is whole wheat flour, stone-ground for texture. It is bound with natural jaggery, melted and mixed into the dough, so the sweetness is that of jaggery rather than refined sugar. Green cardamom is ground fresh for fragrance, and just enough water is used to bring the dough together.
The last ingredient is the fat. Thekua is traditionally made with desi ghee, which gives it a rich aroma, and it can also be made with refined oil, which changes the shelf life and the allergens but not the method. We come back to that choice below.
That is the whole recipe: flour, jaggery, cardamom, water and fat. There is no refined sugar in ours, no dalda and no preservatives.
How thekua is made
The dough is kneaded by hand until it holds together without being sticky. Small pieces are then pressed into a carved wooden mould called a sancha. The carving leaves its pattern on the surface, which is why a thekua is so easy to recognise.
The pressed pieces are fried slowly, and the slow frying is what gives thekua its signature crunch and aroma. Fried too fast, the outside darkens while the inside is still raw; fried slowly, the thekua turns an even golden brown all the way through.
At BihariPakwan Foods we use our own moulds and the kneading technique that has always been used for thekua. There are no shortcuts, and no substitutions.
Where thekua comes from, and what it is called
Thekua belongs to Bihar and Jharkhand, where families have made it for generations. The tradition is described as more than five hundred years old.
The name is spelled in several ways. You will see thekuwa and thekwa as often as thekua, and in Hindi it is written ठेकुआ. They are all the same sweet. If a recipe or a shop uses one of those spellings, it is describing the pressed wheat and jaggery sweet this page is about.
Thekua and Chhath Puja
Thekua is the sacred offering of Chhath Puja, the festival of the Sun God. In the days before the puja, families make thekua at home as prasad, and it is offered along with fruit. Because it is prasad, it is made with great care, and many families prepare it themselves every year.
Not everyone can make thekua at home. Some people live far from family, and some have no time before the festival, which is why many now order thekua online for Chhath. If that is what you are looking for, read our page on Chhath prasad thekua.
Desi ghee or refined oil: which thekua to choose
Both versions use the same dough and the same method; only the fat differs. Desi ghee thekua stays fresh for 15–20 days, and refined oil thekua stays fresh for 45–60 days, both in an airtight container at room temperature. Desi ghee thekua contains milk as well as wheat, while refined oil thekua contains wheat only.
If you are ordering for a festival a week or two away, either works. If you are sending thekua to someone in another city, or you want it to last through a month of tea-time, the refined oil version gives you more time. If you want the traditional version, choose desi ghee.
How to eat and serve thekua
Thekua is eaten as it is, at room temperature. It is firm and not very sweet, so it goes well with a cup of tea, and it is a good travelling snack because it keeps without refrigeration. Beyond Chhath it is a festival gift, a wedding return gift and a parcel to send to relatives living away from Bihar.
Because it keeps well, thekua is often made in a large batch and kept in a tin, ready for guests.
Thekua beyond Chhath
Chhath is the best-known occasion, but it is not the only one. People keep thekua for the evening tea, give it in festival gift boxes and as wedding return gifts, and send it to family who are far away and miss the taste of Bihar. Because it is made with whole wheat and jaggery and keeps for weeks without refrigeration, it travels well.
If you want to know how long a pack will last, our guide to how long thekua lasts goes through the shelf life of each type and how to store it.
What to look for when you buy thekua
Start with the ingredient list. A good thekua has a short one: wheat flour, jaggery, a fat, cardamom and water. Ask which fat is used, because that decides the allergens and the shelf life, and ask how long the thekua will keep and how it is packed.
Also ask whether anything has been added to make it last longer. Ours has no preservatives: it keeps because of the way it is fried and the way it is stored, in an airtight container at room temperature.
If you would like to try it, you can order Bihari thekua online in desi ghee or refined oil.
This post is from the kitchen at BihariPakwan Foods. Read more about us and how we cook.