If there is no pond or river near your house, then you can make a small Chhath Ghat on the terrace or courtyard of your house. For this, make a small circle with bricks and fill it with water. If you want, you can also make a small cement pond. Many people also use children’s plastic tubs, but keep in mind that plastic should not be used too much because plastic is considered prohibited during Chhath.

If the courtyard of your house is unpaved, you can dig a small pit there and fill it with clean water. This small water pond is good for offering water to the Sun God. When you offer Arghya while standing in it, the same feeling and devotion will reach the Sun God, which is done at the ghat.

Offering Arghya is most important in Chhath Puja. To offer Arghya, mix clean water, some jaggery and Ganges water in a copper or brass pot, then look at the Sun with folded hands and offer Arghya. One Arghya is given in the evening at the time of sunset and the other Arghya is given in the morning at the time of sunrise.

Special puja materials are required for Chhath Puja, like thekua, new white clothes, fruit basket, puja soup and dalia, red and yellow vermillion, incense sticks, lamps and earthen lamps. Decorate all these things in a neat manner and keep them in the puja thali.

Special care is taken to eat pure food during Chhath Puja. People observing fast eat food without garlic and onion on all four days of puja and keep in mind the freshness of the food. Clean the house thoroughly, utensils and clothes should be completely clean. Do not allow any kind of filth at the place of worship.

If you are not able to go to the ghat, then worship by watching the rising and setting sun from the terrace or courtyard of the house in the morning and evening. Offer water to Lord Sun and pray for the happiness, peace and health of your family.

To make thekua, first take a cup of water in a pan and add jaggery in it, melt the jaggery while stirring on low flame on the gas, when the jaggery dissolves completely, filter it and keep it aside to cool.

Now take wheat flour in a big plate, then add fennel, cardamom powder and grated coconut to it. Now add ghee to it and mix well with hands so that the flour gets mixed well in the flour. Moin alone makes thekua crisp and tasty.

After this, add the cooled jaggery solution little by little and knead the dough. Keep in mind that the dough should neither be too soft nor too hard, cover it and keep it for 10 to 15 minutes so that the dough sets properly.

Now make small balls from the dough, roll each ball a little thick with your hands or press it to make a round shape. If you want, you can make a design on it using a fork, spoon or mold to make it look more beautiful.

Now heat oil or ghee in the pan, when the oil becomes medium hot, add thekua one by one, keep the gas on low and fry the thekua till it becomes golden and crisp from both the sides. Keep in mind that the flame should not be high, otherwise thekua will be cooked from outside and will remain raw from inside.

Lastly, take out the fried thekua on a tissue paper or cotton cloth to remove excess oil, then when it cools down, it can be filled in an airtight container and stored for several days.

In Bihar, Thekua is considered the most important prasad of Chhath Puja. It is prepared from wheat flour, jaggery and desi ghee and is shaped with a special wooden mould. It is fried on low flame due to which its aroma spreads throughout the house. Thekua is also made in Jharkhand, but sometimes coconut powder or sesame seeds are also added to it, which gives it a slightly different taste. Many families also use cardamom or fennel in it.

In Bihar, Kasar laddus i.e. laddus made from rice flour are a special part of Chhath. These are roasted in desi ghee and mixed with jaggery. But coconut laddu is more popular in Jharkhand. These laddus made of coconut, khoya and jaggery add both sweetness and fragrance to the Chhath prasad.

In Bihar, kheer called Rasiya is made which is prepared from jaggery and rice. Its taste is completely desi and traditional. Jaggery kheer is also made in Jharkhand, but at many places coconut milk or ground coconut is also added to it, which gives it a different taste.

In Bihar, paddy pitti is not very common in Chhath Prasad, although it is used in some villages. But in Jharkhand, Pitthi, i.e. a sweet made from rice made from husk of paddy, is considered special during Chhath of Jharkhand. It is made by filling jaggery or sesame seeds.

Apart from this, in Bihar, sweets made of sesame and jaggery are seen more during Makar Sankranti, their use is limited during Chhath. In Jharkhand, sesame-jaggery sweets are made especially during Chhath. Tilkut and sesame laddus are offered in the puja.

Now, even though the use of gas stove has increased, in many rural areas of Bihar, Chhath dishes are still prepared on earthen stove. Even today in Jharkhand, many people believe that it is auspicious to prepare Chhath Prasad in earthen pots and stoves. This gives a special aroma and taste to the dishes.