5 Easy Traditional Recipes for Chhath Puja 2024

Chhath Puja 2024 will be celebrated on November 05, 2024. On the day of Chhath Puja, women who observe fast worship the sun god and worship him. During this festival, women wake up early in the morning and offer water and flowers to the sun god and fast for the welfare of their children. Many dishes like laddu, thekuva, kheer are prepared as prasad on this festival. We bring you some traditional food items of Bihar and their recipes. These dishes can definitely be made to celebrate the festival of Chhath!

Also Read: When is Chhath Puja 2024? Mark the perfect date and 5 delicious recipes for the celebration

Here are 5 easy traditional recipes for Chhath Puja 2024:

1. take away

Thekua is the most popular prasad during Chhath Puja. It is dry sweet and made with wheat flour, desiccated coconut, chasni (melted sugar) and ghee. Thekuva is usually prepared on the second day of Chhath Puja and then offered to the Sun God.

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat flour – 1 3/4 cups
• Semolina – 1/4 cup
• Desiccated coconut – 1/4 cup
• Ghee (clarified butter) – 3 tbsp
• Fennel seeds (fennel) – 1 tbsp
• Cardamom powder (cardamom powder) – 1/2 tsp
• 10-12 cashews, small pieces
• Grated jaggery – 3/4 cup
• Water – 1/2 cup (110 ml)
• Oil to deep fry thekua

Instructions:

1. Put 3/4 cup of grated jaggery in a bowl and add 110ml of water. Stir it frequently on low flame until jaggery dissolves in water. Set the jaggery syrup aside to cool completely before using.
2. Take a large mixing bowl and add 1 and 3/4 cup wheat flour, 1/4 cup semolina, 1/4 cup desiccated coconut, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder, 2 teaspoons chopped cashews. Mix all the dry ingredients well.
3. Add 3 tablespoons of ghee to a bowl and mix evenly until crumbly.
4. Add jaggery syrup little by little to the wheat flour mixture and make a stiff dough.
5. Cover the dough completely with a damp cloth or cling film and let rest for at least an hour.
6. Knead the dough once again and pinch a small portion of it in your hands and shape it into a ball. Then flatten them by pressing with your palm. Mark the leaf with the help of a toothpick or you can make any design as per your wish. Repeat the whole process and shape thekua with the remaining dough.
7. Keep the pan on fire and let it dry completely. Add enough oil to fry the thekua well.
8. Heat oil on medium flame.
9. Add thekua one by one in oil and fry on medium flame. Do not overcrowd the pan.
10. Fry them evenly until golden brown. Turn them in between at regular intervals to cook them evenly.
11. Drain the excess oil from the thekua and place it on a tissue-lined plate. The tissue will absorb the excess oil.
12. Let the thekua cool completely and store it in an airtight container.

(Also read: 5 Things You Should Know About Thekua – A Popular Chhath Recipe)

2. Kaddu Bhat

This amazing vegetable is most popular in Chhath. It is made with kaddu/lauki (bottle gourd) with Himalayan salt or sendh salt and cooked in ghee. This delicious vegetable is paired with fried puri or rice, thus, making it the perfect dish to break the fast.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin – 500 grams
• Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
• Oil – for frying
• Salt – as per taste
• Coriander powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/3 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Dry mango powder – 1/4 tsp
• Sugar – 2 tbsp
• Coriander – fresh, finely chopped

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1. Place the pan on high flame.
2. Add oil.
3. Once the oil is hot, bring the gas to a low flame and add the mixer grains, fenugreek seeds and a pinch of asafoetida, turmeric powder, coriander powder, ginger green chili paste and red chili powder.
4. Mix them well.
5. Add 1/2 cup water. Mix well and fry them for 1/2 minute.
6. Add the pumpkin pieces and salt. Mix well.
7. Close the lid and cook on medium flame for 8 minutes.
8. Check after 8 minutes by pressing with a spoon. If it is cooked, the piece breaks easily. Smash the pumpkin with light pressure so that it forms a thick gravy.
9. Add black salt, sugar, dry mango powder and mix well.
10. Add coriander leaves and mix well. and put out the fire.
11. Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy the very delicious taste with rice.

(Also read: Chhath Puja: Make the traditional Gud Ki Kheer for Chhath Puja Kharna Prasad)

3. Green gram

Hara chana (or green gram) is another delicacy found in Chhath-special thali. Green gram is soaked overnight in water and prepared the next day ghee Along with some green chillies and cumin seeds.

Material –

• Green gram – 1 cup (150-165 grams)
• Tomato – 1 pc
• Green chili – 1 pc
• Coriander powder – 1 tsp
• Cumin – 1 tsp
• Ginger – 1 inch
• Rock salt – as per taste
• Turmeric – 1 tsp
• Ghee – 2 tbsp
• Chopped coriander leaves

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1. Heat ghee in a pan.
2. Add cumin, ginger and chopped green chillies and stir well on low flame
3. Add finely chopped tomatoes and cook on low flame for 5 minutes.
4. Add turmeric and coriander powder along with sea salt and stir well for 2 minutes.
5. Add the green gram to the pan and stir well, and cover the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
6. Add some water to the pan, and cook on low flame for another 10 minutes.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves and it is ready to eat.

4. Rasiyav (rice pudding) with puri/roti (chapati).

Rasiav Basically a rice pudding, but instead of sugar it has jaggery (or gur). It is prepared almost like regular kheer with rice, water and milk. This dessert completes the Chhath Puja meal. It is specially offered to the Sun God before serving for consumption. It is paired with dal puri / puri / roti.

Ingredients:

• Rice 50 grams (1/4 cup)
• Ghee – 1 tbsp
• Cardamom – 3-4 pcs
• Milk – 1000 ml
• Sugar – 4-5 tbsp. Adjust the taste
• Chopped nuts – 3-4 tbsp
• Rose water, saffron and kewra – 1 tsp (optional)

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1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear.
2. Then soak the rice in enough water for 20 to 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes are up, drain the rice using a colander and set aside.
3. Heat a heavy bottom pan over medium heat. Then add 1 tsp ghee to it and add soaked rice.
4. Add 3-4 crushed green cardamom pods.
5. Toss the rice with the ghee and cardamom for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
6. Then add milk to the pan and stir well. Set the heat to medium-high.
7. Let the milk boil, it will take about 10-12 minutes. Stir in between so the milk doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
8. Once the milk boils, lower the heat and let the kheer cook on low heat for about 25 minutes. Stir every 2 minutes or so. The milk will thicken and the rice will be fully cooked. If you want a thicker pudding, cook for another 15 minutes at this point.
9. Add in the sugar and mix. Also, add the nuts.
10. Cook the kheer for another 5 minutes. The sugar should be completely dissolved. Don’t worry if your pudding doesn’t look too thick at this point. It thickens as it cools.
11. Remove the pan from the heat. Mix rose water, kewra and saffron (if using). Garnish with additional nuts and serve the kheer hot or cold.
12. You can refrigerate it before eating or eat it hot.

(Also Read: Chhath Puja: 10 things you should know about this festival)

5. Kasar ke laddu

Except thekua And rice pudding, another type of sweet is made. It is very easy to make and it is ready in few minutes. This powder is made from rice, jaggery powder, ghee and fennel. Kasar Ke Laddu is one such prasad made in Chhath Puja which is made on the day of Sandhya Argha.

Material –

• Powdered rice – 1 kg
• Jaggery powder – 500 grams
• Ghee – 1/2 kg
• Fennel seeds – 1/2 cup

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1. Place coarsely ground rice in a large bowl.
2. Add fennel seeds, jaggery powder and ghee to it and mix all the ingredients well.
3. Take it and gently press it and make small round balls out of it.
4. Your Kasar Ladoo is ready.
5. These laddus can be eaten for many days.

About the Author: Hiranyami Shivani is the co-founder of Chownak – a cloud-kitchen startup that serves home-cooked Bihari cuisine.

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