Thekua is the defining sweet of Chhath, pressed into carved wooden moulds and deep-fried to a deep golden crisp. Made simply from wheat flour, jaggery and ghee, often with grated coconut, fennel and cardamom, it is prepared with ritual purity — without onion, garlic or salt — and offered to the sun before it is shared.
A simple method: melt jaggery in a little water; rub ghee into the flour with coconut and fennel, then bind to a stiff dough with the jaggery syrup; shape and press into discs; and fry on medium heat until crisp on both sides. Sturdy enough to keep for a week, thekua is the taste that, for Maithils everywhere, signals the festival of the sun.