Festivals come with their own food memories, and Chhath Puja has some particularly delicious ones. There is thekua cooling on kitchen trays, kasar being shaped into little laddoos, rasiya kheer simmering
away and baskets being filled with bananas, coconuts and sugarcane. For families celebrating Chhath, these preparations are part of the ritual itself, with recipes that have been handed down from grandmothers to mothers and daughters over generations.
One of the most significant festivals in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, Chhath Puja honours the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya through four days of fasting, prayer and offerings. Food plays an important role throughout the observance, with specific preparations associated with Nahay Khay, Kharna and the two arghya rituals. Here are five traditional foods that define the festival’s culinary celebrations.
Chhath Puja 2026: 5 Traditional Foods Prepared For The Festival
1. Thekua: The Star Of The Chhath Prasad Thali
No Chhath Puja celebration feels complete without thekua. This traditional Bihari sweet is arguably the most recognisable offering associated with the festival and is prepared with whole wheat flour, jaggery, ghee and aromatic ingredients such as fennel seeds and cardamom. The dough is shaped into small discs, often pressed into decorative wooden moulds to create intricate patterns, before being deep-fried until golden brown and crisp. The result is a deliciously crunchy sweet with a slightly crumbly centre and a rich, caramel-like flavour from the jaggery.
Thekua is prepared with particular care as an offering to Surya Dev and Chhathi Maiya. It is arranged in bamboo baskets or soop along with other traditional offerings and presented during the Sandhya Arghya and Usha Arghya rituals.
2. Kasar: The Traditional Jaggery And Rice Flour Laddoo
Another festive favourite that finds its way into Chhath Puja offerings is kasar. These traditional laddoos are generally prepared using coarsely ground rice flour, jaggery and ghee. Fennel seeds or dry ginger powder may also be added for extra flavour. Unlike conventional laddoos that are shaped using a cooked syrup, kasar is made by combining the ingredients and pressing the mixture firmly into small round portions. The result is a rustic, slightly crumbly sweet with a lovely earthy flavour.
Kasar is commonly included in the prasad baskets alongside thekua, fruits, sugarcane and coconut. Its preparation varies slightly between households, with some families using roasted rice flour and others following their own traditional proportions of jaggery and ghee. Like thekua, kasar is prepared as a sacred offering and distributed as prasad.
3. Rasiya Kheer: The Jaggery-Sweetened Kharna Prasad
If there is one dish that deserves special attention during Kharna, the second day of Chhath Puja, it is rasiya kheer. Also known as gud ki kheer, this traditional preparation is made by cooking rice slowly in milk and sweetening it with jaggery. Unlike the familiar white-sugar versions of rice kheer, rasiya has a deeper, caramel-like sweetness and a distinctive flavour that comes from the jaggery.
Rasiya kheer is prepared as part of the Kharna ritual after devotees observe a day-long fast. Once the evening prayers are completed, the prasad is offered to Chhathi Maiya before the vrat is broken. It is traditionally served with roti or puri, and the preparation is made with particular attention to cleanliness and household customs. Following Kharna, devotees begin the rigorous 36-hour nirjala fast, during which they abstain from both food and water until the concluding rituals.
4. Kaddu Ki Sabzi With Bhaat: The Simple Nahay Khay Meal
Before the elaborate offerings and rigorous fasting begin, Chhath Puja starts with Nahay Khay, a day dedicated to purification and preparing for the upcoming rituals. One of the traditional meals associated with this day is kaddu-bhaat, a simple combination of pumpkin curry and steamed rice. The pumpkin is cooked with ghee, cumin and mild spices, often without onion and garlic. In many households, chana dal is also prepared alongside the meal, making it a wholesome and satisfying start to the four-day observance.
What makes this preparation particularly significant is its simplicity. The meal is cooked following sattvik food practices, with fresh ingredients and carefully cleaned utensils. Some families use sendha namak (rock salt), while others follow specific household customs around seasoning and preparation. The meal is traditionally consumed by the person observing the vrat before the more rigorous fasting rituals begin.
5. Seasonal Fruits, Sugarcane And Coconut: The Traditional Offerings
Beyond the homemade sweets and savoury preparations, seasonal produce plays a significant role in Chhath Puja. The bamboo soop and daura baskets are filled with fresh fruits and traditional offerings, including bananas, coconuts, sugarcane, apples, oranges, sweet potatoes and water chestnuts (singhara). Depending on regional and family traditions, radishes, ginger, turmeric and other seasonal produce may also find a place in the offerings.
These ingredients are presented to Surya Dev and Chhathi Maiya during the evening and morning arghya rituals. Sugarcane, in particular, holds a special place in the celebrations and is often used in traditional arrangements at the place of worship.
As devotees gather at riverbanks and ponds to offer arghya to the setting and rising Sun, these traditional foods become an integral part of the celebrations.
