Litti Chokha , a traditional dish of Bihar served as an evening
snack . In this Litti are served with chokha made of potato , brinjal and
tomato .History says Litti was eaten by the peasants and farmers of Bihar.
For the December 2017 , Ssshhhh secretly cooking , I was paired
with Archana Potdar of The Mad Scientist's Kitchen . She gave me the secret ingredients as sattu and . I
was delighted to try out this Litti along with Chokha. This was a wonderful
snack and everyone in our family liked it.
According to Wikipedia , Litti , along with chokha is a complete
meal originated from the indian subcontinent and popular in Indian states of
bihar , Jharkhand , parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh as well as Nepalese state of
Madhesh.
It is a dough ball made up of whole wheat flour and stuffed with
sattu ( roasted chickpea flour ) mixed with herbs and `spijces and then roasted
over coal or cow dung cakes or wood then
it is tossed with lots of ghee . It may
be eaten with yogurt , baigan bharta ,
alu bharta and papad. The litti are traditionally baked over a cow dung fire.
Herbs and spices used to
flavor the litti include onion , garlic , ginger , coriander leaves , lime
juice , carom seeds , nigella seeds and
salt . Tasty pickles can also be used to add spice flavor.
In the western Bihar and
Eastern Uttar Pradesh , litti is served with murgh Korma .
Litti was a war food , it is carried by the soldiers in ancient
time along with dry sattu powder. Litti can last for day and it gives us
protein , carbohydrates and other minerals . It could be consumed on long march
or during rest hours . Litti helps body retain water content of the body if
consumed with Jaggery.
As I can’t find dried cow dung , I baked the littis in the oven.
Requirements :
For Litti :
2 cup Wholewheat flour
1 Tbs Ghee
Half tsp salt
1 cup Water
For Litti Filling :
1 cup Sattu ( Roasted Bengalgram flour )
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 Tsp Fennel seeds
1 tsp carom seeds
1/2 tsp Onion Seeds
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 finely chopped green chilli
1 tsp finely chopped Ginger
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
2 tbs chopped coriander
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs vegetable oil
water as required
salt to taste
For Tamatar Chokha :
5 medium tomato
2 Green chilli
4 cloves Garlic
4 tbs chopped coriander leaves
2 tbs lemon Juice
salt to taste
For Aloo Chokha :
3 Potato
1 onion
3 Green chilli
4 cloves garlic
1/2 of Lemon Juice
2 tbs chopped Coriander leaves
salt to taste
For Serving :
Ghee
Method:
Making of Litti :
Outer Covering of Litti :
In a bowl , mix together whole wheat flour , salt and ghee. Sprinkle little water at a time and mix well.
Knead a soft and supple dough. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
Stuffing of Litti :
I like using the spices as a whole , so while eating when you bite the spices it will be a nice punch.
You can use a morter to crush the spices and add , if you don't like to bite them.
In a bowl , add the sattu , cumin , fennel , carom , onion seeds and mix well.
To this add the red chilli powder , salt , chopped coriander leaves , green chilli , ginger and garlic. While mixing , just crush these ingredients with your hand to infuse the flavor.
Now , add the lemon juice and vegetable oil . Mix all the ingredients well.
The mixture may seem dry , sprinkle little water and mix well till you feel moisture in the sattu mixture.
If this mixture is dry , it will be even more dry after the baking of litti. So make sure the sattu mixture is somewhat moist.
Shaping of Litti :
Divide the whole wheat dough in to small balls.
You can use roti press to flatten the dough balls.
I shaped with hands , to a cup and placed a spoonful of stuffing of sattu mixture and sealed the edges and shaped to a round ball.
Repeat the same for the remaining dough.
Arrange the prepared litti on the baking tray and brush melted butter on them.
Bake on the preheated oven @ 200*C for 30 - 40 minutes or till the the outer covering of litti became brown.
After half of the baking time , turn over the littis to other side , so the whole of the litti is cooked evenly.
Making of Tamatar Chokha :
Tamatar means Tomato in Hindi .Grill the Tomatoes, when they crack and charred , take off flame.
Let it cool and peel off the skin and chop roughly.
Add chopped green chilli , Garlic , coriander leaves and lemon juice.
Add salt as required.
Mix well, Tamatar chokha is ready.
Making of Aloo Chokha :
Aloo means Potato in Hindi .
Boil the potates, peel off the skin.
Mash the potatoes. Add the chopped onion , green chilli , Garlic , coriander leaves , salt and lemon juice. Mix all well.
Aloo Chokha is ready.
Serving of Litti :
Serve the Littis with a bowl of each chokha along with a bowl of melted ghee.
Note :
As , the roasted bengal gram flour ( sattu ) is not available in my place , i grounded the roasted bengal gram to fine powder on my own.
Some add carom and nigella ( onion ) seeds to the dough for outer covering , I kept mine as plain dough.
