It is not easy for anyone of us to bid goodbye to the festive season just as yet. Good news is that we still have one major festival to go. That’s right, Chhath Puja is right around the corner. The festival is celebrated widely across Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. People throng rivers and canals to pay their respects to the sun God. Since it is celebrated on the sixth day of the lunar month of Karthika in the Hindu calendar of Vikram Samvat, the Puja is known as Chhath Puja, where ‘Chhath’ stands for sixth. One of the oldest festivals of India, Chhath has many beautiful traditions and rituals. From Nyaya khaye, the first day of Puja, where people take a ritualistic bath early in the morning and clean their houses to install the deity to the Rasiaav Roti or Lohanda, where devotees fast without drinking a single drop of water, to offering a basket of fruits, milk, sweetmeats to Sun God, there are examples galore.
Not only do people like to consume only satvik, vegetarian foods during Chhath festivities, but there are also certain delicacies that are only prepared during the festival, like the Thekua. Thekua is a crispy, biscuit-like treat that is made with whole wheat flour, ghee and jaggery. It is one of the prasad offerings, and it is also something that is relished upon during the festival by everyone in the house. Making Thekua is so incredibly easy, that you can also make it at home and give it your own spin. That’s right, if after all the festive bingeing, you wish to end the month on a slightly healthy note, then you must try this Oats and Jaggery Thekua. You do not require an oven or eggs to make this Satvik cookie. Here’s how to go about it.
Start with grinding oats in a fine powder. Then in a pan, bring water to boil and melt some jaggery. In a kneading bowl, sieve maida, oats powder, coconut powder, mawa powder, cardamom powder, fennel seeds and ghee mix well till the dough becomes crumbly. Add melted jaggery, mix well until you get a hard dough. Pull out small balls, press them flat and give them the desired shape. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes and then deep fry. If you do not wish to deep-fry, you can also air-fry it to cut back on calories. Try this detailed, step-by-step recipe and let us know how you liked it.