Litti Chokha, which belongs to Bihar and Jharkhand, comprises of a baked whole wheat ball stuffed with a flavorsome stuffing made up of sattu, dipped in ghee and served with chokha. Well, before we proceed let us understand what is sattu? Sattu is the new super food. Sattu has been one of the most under-rated foods for many years. However, in the recent times, the benefits of sattu have become well known and this ingredient is gaining much popularity. Sattu can easily be prepared at home. I shall soon post the sattu recipe. It is basically the flour/powdered form of roasted chana/chana dal.
Coming back to litti, just as the bati recipe from Rajasthan, litti is whole wheat dumpling which is baked, traditionally in a chulha or on cow dunk cakes, and nowadays in a tandoor, oven, direct flame, pan or skillet. It has a stuffing that bursts with flavors; it has the sharpness of mustard oil, the heat, and tanginess of pickle masala, the freshness of green chilies and coriander, and the aroma of few more spices.
I have always loved trying the regional cuisine of India. Being in Rajasthan, dal bati recipe is a staple weekend meal. However recently I thought of making litti. Litti chokha recipe is so popular and is often asked for by the readers. Also, I recently made chana sattu and was looking for sattu recipes. So finally I prepared the litti chokha recipe. Here is all you need to make litti:
Whole Wheat Flour: Just like the baati from Rajasthan, litti is prepared with whole wheat flour. The soft dough is prepared using water and little ghee.
Sattu: Very popular part of Bihar food, sattu, is so simple to make and can be used in so many ways. After knowing about the health benefits of sattu I plan to use it more often and soon I shall post more recipes using sattu.
Flavors: Mustard oil, green chilies, green coriander leaves, pickle masala, ginger paste, garlic paste, etc are used to flavor the stuffing of litti. However, if you don’t have pickle you can use achaari masala.
Ghee: Mustard oil is used a lot in Bihar food. However, for the moyan as well as for dipping / serving, litti needs to be soaked in ghee. And the quantity of ghee should not be cut down.
The most similar to the litti chokha recipe is the Rajasthani dal bati recipe. You can even combine the two and try baati chokha. However if you are looking for more Bihar food, you might like the chana ki ghugni.
Serve litti with the chokha of your choice be it tamatar ka chokha or aloo ka chokha for a weekend lunch.
1.This recipe makes 12-14 litti.
2.To make the covering, in a mixing bowl add 2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 tbsp ghee, salt and ½ of ¼ tsp baking soda.
3.Mix well.
4.Prepare dough, as for roti, using lukewarm water.
5.Let it rest for 30 minutes.
6.To make the stuffing in a mixing bowl add all the ingredients of the stuffing i.e. 1 cup sattu, salt to taste, 1 tsp red chili powder, 1 tbsp pickle masala, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 chopped green chili, chopped coriander leaves, lemon juice, and 1 tbsp mustard oil.
Tips:Always add salt, red chili and lemon juice after tasting the stuffing. Because of pickle masala all these flavors are already there, therefore taste the stuffing and add accordingly.
7.Mix everything.
8.You should be able to bind the stuffing. If it falls apart add mustard oil.
9.Divide the stuffing into 6 portions. After 30 minutes knead the dough once and divide into 6 portions.
10.Flatten one portion of dough and make a sort of cup, fill in the sattu stuffing portion.
11.Seal properly.
12.Place a wired plate on the gas. Place all litti on it. Let it cook on the lowest flame. Alternatively you can bake in the oven at 180°C for 25-30 minutes. Alternatively you can make in the tandoor as baati is prepared. Other you can also make it in a cooking pan or skillet or appam pan. Apply little ghee on and off, cook on the lowest flame. 25-30 minutes is the cooking time for litti, which so ever method you opt for.
13.Again, which so ever method you may go for, turn/flip litti after 15 minutes or so and let them cook from the other side too.
14.Once cooked from all the sides, dip in ghee. Further at the time of serving do not miss to drizzle enough ghee.
15.Serve hot. Bon appétit!
Tips:Recipe for chokha given in the ingredients section.
PREP TIME 20 minutes + 30 minutes rest time
COOK TIME 25-30 minutes
TOTAL TIME 50 minutes + 30 minutes passive time
For Covering:
For Stuffing:
For the recipe for tamatar ka chokha click here
For the recipe for aloo ka chokha click here
Serve hot. Bon appétit!
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