Thekua
 | |
| Course | Dessert |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Nepal |
| Region or state | Janakpur, Mithila Province |
| Creator | Maithali and Maithil |
| Main ingredients | Wheat flour, sugar syrup or jaggery, ghee, cardamom |
 Cookbook: Thekua  Media: Thekua | |
Thekua or Khajuria or Thikari is a dry sweet from Mithila autonomous State in Southeastern Nepal.[1] It is very popular in Nepal, Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh (Purvanchal).
Thekua is a revered prasad (offering to god) in the Chhath puja. It has been used as a sweet snack for centuries in these places.[2]
The main ingredients of Thekua are wheat flour, chasni (melted sugar)and ghee. Jaggery can sometimes be used as an alternative to sugar.[2] Dough is prepared using these four main ingredients and cardamom can be added to enhance the taste. Dough is deep fried in ghee or vegetable oil till 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.
Normally there are two variants, the people in Central Nepal and Bihar prefer the ones which are harder(Khajur) and have a longer shelf life, whereas people in Eastern Nepal and UP prefer it softer(Thekua). The soft Thekuas are made of refined vegetable oils and have more of a special type of Flour, maida - which is actually roasted Wheat flour. It can be viewed as a Nepalese precursor of Western Biscuits or cookies.
Recipie in Nepali
छठ पर्वमा पारम्परिक व्यन्जन ठकुआ वा ठेकुआ बनाउने परम्परा छ । यो गहुँको मुछिएको पिठोलाई विभिन्न आकारमा काटेर बनाउने गरिन्छ । यसको लागि काठको साँचो वा नमुना पनि प्रयोग गरिन्छ । तत्पश्चात यसलाई तातो तेलमा रातो होउन्जेलसम्म पकाइन्छ । तेलमा पुरा पाकिसकेपछि यो अत्यन्त कुरुमकुरुम हुन्छ । यसलाई पुजामा प्रसादको रुपमा उपयोग गरिन्छ । पश्चिमी देशहरुमा लोकप्रिय व्यन्जन कुकी को जस्तो यसमा घरमै बनाएको मख्खन, धेरै सख्खर तथा नारिवल पनि राख्ने गरिन्छ ।
ठकुवा बनाउने सामग्री
Ingridents: ५०० ग्रामा पिठो,२ टे. चम्चा नारियल,३०० ग्राम सख्खर,ठकुआ बनाउने साँचो (नमुना),४ पिस इलाइची,घीउ,1-1/2 कप पानी
ठकुवा बनाउने विधि
Rituals: सख्खर र हरियो इलाइचीलाई पिसेर पानीमा घोल्नुहोस ।पिठोमा ४ टे. चम्चा घीउ, सख्खरको पानी र नारिवल हालेर रोटीको पिठो जसरी मुछनुहोस्। मुछिएको मिश्रणको सानो सानो पेडा जस्तो बनाएर साँचोमाथि राख्नुहोस् ।साँचोमा उक्त पिठोलाई थिची थिची विभिन्न आकार बनाउनुहोस्। साँचोबाट निकालेर तातो घीउमा रातो होउन्जेलसम्म पकाउनुहोस्। चिसो भएपनि खान खुवाउन सक्नुहुन्छ।
References
- ↑ "Nepali foods : Thekua".
- 1 2 "'Rasiao-kheer', 'thekua' make for festive platter". The Times of India. Nov 1, 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2012.