Thekua Recipe With Jaggery: Crisp Chhath Prasad at Home

Quick answer: To make thekua, rub 2 tbsp ghee into 2 cups (about 300 g) whole wheat atta with fennel, cardamom and grated dry coconut. Knead into a stiff dough with cooled jaggery syrup (¾ cup jaggery melted in ¼ to ⅓ cup water). Press into shapes and deep-fry on low-medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes until deep golden. Makes about 25 pieces in roughly an hour.

Thekua is the main prasad of Chhath Puja, a crunchy wheat-and-jaggery cookie made across Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern UP. This year Chhath runs from Friday, November 13 to Monday, November 16, 2026, and families usually fry thekua on Kharna evening or early on the Sandhya Arghya morning. So if you want to practise a batch first, the coming weekends are a good time.

The recipe is simple. What separates good thekua from bad is three things: a stiff dough, enough ghee rubbed into the flour, and patient frying on low heat. Here's how to get each right.

Thekua recipe ingredients

For about 25 medium thekua:

A 1 kg bag of atta and 500 g of jaggery is enough for a large family batch of around 80 to 90 pieces.

How to make thekua, step by step

1. Melt the jaggery. Put the jaggery and water in a pan on low heat and stir until it just melts. You don't need a string consistency. Strain it if your gur has grit, then let it cool until warm, not hot.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a wide bowl, combine atta, suji (if using), coconut, saunf and cardamom.
3. Rub in the ghee. Add the ghee and rub it into the flour with your fingertips for 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze a fistful: if it holds its shape, you have enough ghee. If it crumbles straight away, add another tablespoon. This step is what keeps thekua crisp instead of rock-hard.
4. Knead a stiff dough. Add the jaggery syrup a little at a time and bring the dough together. It should be firm and tight, stiffer than roti dough. Don't add extra water. A soft dough makes thekua spread and turn chewy.
5. Rest it. Cover and leave for 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Shape. Take a lemon-sized ball, flatten it to about ½ cm thick and press it onto a wooden thekua saancha (mould). No mould? Press it on the back of a grater, a clean comb, or just mark lines with a fork. The pattern isn't only for looks: the grooves help it cook through.
7. Heat the ghee or oil to medium, then turn it down. Drop in a small piece of dough. It should rise slowly with gentle bubbles, not shoot up and brown.
8. Fry slowly. Fry a few at a time on low-medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, turning once or twice, until deep golden brown on both sides. Rushed thekua looks done outside and stays raw inside.
9. Cool completely. Drain on a steel rack or paper. Thekua is slightly soft when hot and crisps as it cools over 20 to 30 minutes.

Why thekua turns hard, soft or breaks: fixes

Variations: suji, sugar, dry fruit

• Thekua recipe with sugar: Use about ½ cup sugar dissolved in ½ cup water instead of jaggery. Sugar thekua comes out lighter in colour and a little crisper.
• Thekua recipe with suji: Replace up to a quarter of the atta with fine suji for a more biscuit-like crunch.
• Dry fruit thekua: Add 2 tbsp finely chopped cashews, almonds or raisins to the dry mix. Keep pieces small so the thekua doesn't crack.
• Air fryer thekua: It works for an everyday snack. Brush with ghee and air-fry at about 160°C for 12 to 15 minutes, flipping halfway. The texture is drier and more like a cookie. For prasad, most families stick to deep-frying in ghee.

Making thekua as Chhath prasad: what families keep in mind

Customs vary by family, so follow what your elders do. These are the common ones:

• The kitchen and utensils are cleaned first, and many use a separate kadhai kept only for prasad.
• Thekua is made with pure ingredients: atta, gur, ghee. No onion or garlic is cooked in the kitchen during the festival.
• Many households grind wheat specially for Chhath after washing and sun-drying it.
• Nobody tastes the prasad before it's offered.
• Thekua goes into the bamboo soop or daura along with seasonal fruit, sugarcane and coconut for the arghya.

Buying ghee or khoya from outside for the festival? Our guide on how to check sweets and khoya for adulteration has quick home tests for ghee too.

Chhath Puja 2026 dates

Dates follow Drik Panchang as reported by Hindutone. A few calendars start a day later, so check with your family pandit. Arghya times depend on sunset and sunrise in your city.

How long does thekua last?

Properly fried thekua has very little moisture, which is why it's been a travel snack for generations. Stored in a clean, airtight steel or glass container at room temperature, home-made thekua usually stays crisp for two to three weeks. Let it cool completely before you close the box, or the trapped steam will soften it. Don't refrigerate; it can pick up moisture.

Making more festive sweets after Diwali? Our list of easy Diwali sweets to make at home also has a shelf-life guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is thekua made of?

Whole wheat flour (atta), jaggery or sugar, and ghee, flavoured with fennel, cardamom and dry coconut. It's then deep-fried until crisp.

Which state is thekua from?

Thekua is most closely linked with Bihar, and it's also made in Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Terai region of Nepal, mainly for Chhath Puja.

Why is my thekua hard?

Almost always because there wasn't enough ghee rubbed into the flour before adding the jaggery syrup. A fistful of the flour mix should hold its shape when squeezed. Frying on very high heat can also make the outside hard.

Can I make thekua without a mould?

Yes. Press the dough on the back of a grater or a clean comb, or mark lines with a fork. The grooves help heat get in so the centre cooks.

Can I make thekua with sugar instead of jaggery?

Yes. Dissolve about ½ cup sugar in ½ cup water and use that syrup instead. The method is the same and the thekua will be lighter in colour.