Thekua for Chhath

Ingredients

• Whole wheat flour500 g
• Jaggery250 g
• Ghee100 g
• Water150 ml
• Fennel seeds1 tbsp
• Desiccated coconut3 tbsp
• Cardamom powder1/2 tsp
• Ghee or oil for fryingto deep fry

Method

1. 1

   Dissolve the jaggery in warm water and strain it — jaggery almost always carries grit.

2. 2

   Rub the ghee into the flour thoroughly, then add fennel, coconut and cardamom.

3. 3

   Add the jaggery water little by little and bring it together into a very stiff dough. Stiffer than chapati dough, stiffer than feels right. A soft dough absorbs oil and gives you a limp thekua.

4. 4

   Press portions into the wooden mould, or fork a pattern onto them. The pattern is not decoration — the ridges are what make it crisp.

5. 5

   Fry on low heat. Low. High heat browns the outside while the inside stays raw, and thekua that is raw inside will not keep the three weeks it is supposed to.

6. 6

   Cool completely on a rack before storing. Any warmth trapped in the tin turns them soft.