Chhath Mahaparv is a festival of health, peace, discipline and devotion. While the festival equips devotees with positivity, it also offers some delicious cuisine as perks! Let's explore some Chhath-special delicacies.
1. As we all know, the first ritual of the Chhath Pooja is to cook and consume 'Kaddu Bhaat.' Kaddu or Lauki is believed to be Sattvik and mandatory for the festival.
2. Agastya Flowers are also believed to be very auspicious when it comes to Chhath Pooja. However, it is not mandatory, but the devotees do prepare fritters of this flower on the first day of the festival along with Kaddu Bhaat.
3. The second day is a big get together in which two special dishes are offered as prasad. One of them is ghee-based Dosti Roti or Puri, while....
4....the other one is Gur Ki Kheer. Gur or Jaggery is used instead of sugar as it is considered pure.
5. Chhath Pooja festival also has a special ladoo made of rice flour, ghee, jaggery and some dry fruits. These ladoos are also offered to Sun God and kept along with all the fruits.
6. Then comes the most famous and loved 'Thekua.' A bunch of women come together and cook Thekua in large amounts on the third day as this is the prasad distributed the most to people. (BTW, Thekua fried in ghee tastes the best!)
7. Did you know how the 'Vrattis' break their rigorous 36-hour waterless fast? Well, after the Usha Arghya, they head back home and prepare a wholesome meal. One of the most important dish to break fast is Kadhi-Chawal!
8. Another important dish is Laal Bhaji to compliment Kadhi-Chawal.
9. Typical Bihari fritters made up of green/black gram, bottle gourd, potato, etc. along with chutney are also served in the fast-breaking 'Thali' of the vratti.
Happy Chhath Pooja!
