613. Litti Chokha

Venturing out to try something different

Yes, its Monday (so soon) and can you believe it we are into the 6th week of the 2017. Time flies. For our 78th theme on #FoodieMonday #Bloghop we decided to go regional with #RegionalCuisine. As soon as the theme was decided I knew I wanted to try out a cuisine that I’ve never done before. So it had to be the Eastern part of India. I guess having made baked yogurt and rasmalai doesn’t really count. I decided on Litti Chokha from the state of Bihar. Well, some say that its also from Uttar Pradesh. What made me choose Litti Chokha? Two reasons, one being that my son in law is from that state, well now Jharkand which was a part of Bihar once upon a time and my neighbour Priya as she comes from UP and makes litti chokha.

What is Litti Chokha? Well, its a traditional snack from the state of Bihar. The litti is made from wheat and stuffed with a filling (pitthi) and roasted over coal, cow dung or wood fire. Its usually served with roasted mashed vegetables called chokha or bharta. The chokha  can be made from a mixture of potatoes, brinjal and tomatoes or you can make it with only brinjals or only potatoes. I made it with a mixture of both. Litti Chokha is usually served for breakfast or as a snack. It can be made into a meal by serving it with some yogurt and pickles.

The filling is quite different too. Sattu is used as the filling. What is sattu? Sattu is a flour made from roasted bengal grams or chickpeas. It is different from the usual besan or chickpea flour. The chickpeas are roasted in salt or sand in a large wok till they begin to crackle.Various spices are added to the sattu or roasted chickpea flour and then filled into the wheat dough. Modern times we don’t have coal, cow dung or wood for stoves or sigris so nowadays the litti is baked in the oven and some even fry them. Most Eastern states of India sell ready made sattu in the stores but I had to grind mine at home.The only roasted chana or chickpeas I got here are the ones with the skin. So I had to spend some time removing the skin. I know some people make the sattu with the roasted skin, but I decided not to. Sattu is very healthy. Its rich in protein and minerals. Easy to digest and is usually given to toddlers, pregnant women and old people to provide energy. Sattu is added to a cool drink during summer, in puris and parathas, upma and even other cereals.

roasting chana in salt (picture from Google)

What other delicious goodies is Bihar well known for? I’m truly amazed at the variety actually. Some of the things I’ve eaten, I had no idea that they are from Bihar. Some of the popular dishes besides litti chokha are Thekua (khajuria), Chandrakala, khaja, khurma(sakapara) which are shaped differently from the normal diamond shaped we know of, kadhi badi, dal puri, sattu paratha, parwal ki mithai, laktho, dal pitha, chana gugni, kala jamun, rasia to name a few. It also has some famous non vegetarian dishes like Bihari Kebab, Bihari Chicken Masala, Bihari Boti etc. I’ll be definitely be exploring more about some of these dishes and trying them out in my kitchen.

So without much delay, lets go to the recipe of making litti chokha. What adds that unique and special taste to the litti chokha besides the spices? Raw mustard oil (with my nose screwed up!). My neighbour insisted that I had to add that. I had to ask her for some as I don’t have mustard oil in my kitchen and I don’t like using it because of the really strong smell and taste. However, Now I really don’t mind! Hubby loved the new dish and I must thank my neighbour Priya for her valuable guidance.

LITTI CHOKHA
Makes 12 littis
Recipe source: Rachna’s Kitchen

For the litti dough:
2 cups wheat flour (atta)
2 tbsp ghee
½ tsp ajwain (carom seeds, ajmo)
2 tbsp yogurt
¼ tsp soda bicarbonate (baking soda)
½ – ¾ tsp salt
⅓ – ½ cup warm water

For the pitthi or filling:
1 cup sattu flour (roasted chickpea flour)
1 tsp ginger
1-2 finely chopped green chillis
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tsp fennel seeds ( valiyari, saunf)
½ tsp ajwain (ajmo, carom seeds)
½ tsp kalonji (nigella seeds)
1 tsp garlic paste
½ cup finely chopped fresh coriander (dhania)
½ – ¾ tsp salt
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp mustard oil
1-2 tsp pickle masala
¼ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)

For chokha(bharta):
1 big eggplant (aubergine, baigan)
3 medium tomatoes
2 medium potatoes
4-6 cloves of garlic
1 tsp ginger paste
1-2 finely chopped green chillis
¼ cup finely chopped fresh coriander
2 medium onions finely chopped
1-1½ tsp salt
1 tsp mustard oil

Preparation of the litti dough:

1. Sift wheat flour, salt and soda bicarbonate into a big bowl.
2. Add ajwain and ghee. Rub the ghee into the flour.
3. Add yogurt and warm water and form a dough.
4. Knead it into a smooth dough. The dough should not be hard or too soft.
5. Rub a bit of oil or ghee over it. Cover the dough with a lid or cling film and let it rest till the filling is ready.

baked Punjabi samosas – Punjab

Idli Sambhar – South India

Chum chum – Bengal

poha – Maharashtra

Amiri Khaman – Gujarat

Sending this recipe for the following event: