By Niveditha Kalyanaraman
November 16th, 2023
Women who keep fast on Chhath Puja days offer prayers to the Sun God and worship him. During this festival, women are supposed to wake up early to offer water and flowers to Lord Surya and then observe fast for the well-being of their children. Many dishes like laddu, thekua, and kheer are prepared for this festival as an offering. Here are 9 traditional dishes for Chhath Puja.
Thekua is the most popular prasad during Chhath Puja. It is dry sweet and made with wheat flour, dry coconut, chasni (melted sugar), and ghee. Thekua is mostly prepared on the second day of Chhath Puja and then it is offered to the Sun God.
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This amazing sabzi is most popular in Chhath. It is made with Kaddu/Lauki(Bottle Gourd) with Himalayan salt or sendha namak and cooked in ghee. This delicious sabzi is paired with fried poori or rice, thus, making it the perfect dish to break the fast with.
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Hara chana (or green chana) is just another delicious dish you'll find in Chhath-special thali. Green chana is soaked in water overnight and then it is prepared the next day in ghee along with some green chillies and cumin seeds.
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It is basically rice kheer, but in place of sugar, it has jaggery (or gur). It is prepared almost like the regular kheer with rice, water, and milk. This dessert completes the Chhath puja meal. It is exclusively offered to Surya Devta before serving for consumption. It is best paired with Dal Puri/Puri/Roti.
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It is made of Powdered rice, Jaggery Powder, Ghee, and Fennel. Kasar ke Laddu is one such prasad made on Chhath Puja which is made on the day of Sandhya Arghya.
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One of the important prasads prepared during Chhath Puja is Ghiya Sabzi and Rice, which is made by cooking the bottle gourd in ghee over clay pots or clay stoves. The reason why it holds so much importance is that it uses Ganga Jal while cooking, and no other water is used. This sabzi is served with boiled rice and symbolizes the body’s purification.
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Poori is a delicious bread that’s deep-fried. A tight dough is made of wheat flour along with salt to taste and little carom seeds. Small balls are squeezed from it and then rolled into a disc, which is further deep-fried in ghee. These pooris can be enjoyed with Rasiyaw, ghiya ki sabzi and even chana dal.
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Its main ingredients are gram flour, salt, turmeric, and spices. It is of different types like lauki, potato, brinjal, green chili, unripe banana, and many vegetables. It is crispy and crunchy, and delicious.
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It is the offering on the first day of the festival that is a little sweet and spicy. Its main ingredients are Indian gooseberry, oil, and salt. It is green and sour.
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