Litti Chokha is the hallmark of Bihari cuisine. Litti Chokha is a popular dish from the Indian state of Bihar, and it's also enjoyed in some other parts of North India. Litti Chokha has two main parts: Litti and Chokha. Litti is a round wheat flour ball stuffed with roasted gram flour (sattu) and spices, while Chokha is a spicy mashed vegetable preparation, typically made with roasted eggplants, tomatoes, and spices.
There are four parts of making Litti- Chokha – making of the litti, Preparation of baingan bharta (eggplant mash), making of aloo bharta (mashed potatoes), and lastly making of tomato chutney. At first, it may sound like a lot of work, but really isn’t hard when you start putting it together. Here's how you can prepare Litti Chokha at home:
Ingredients Require for Litti Chokha:
For Making Litti Dough:
- 2 cups- Whole wheat flour
- 1.5 tbsp- Ghee
- 1.5 tsp - Salt( or to taste
- 1 cup approx- Water (for kneading the dough)
For Stuffing of Litti:
- 1 cup- Sattu (roasted gram flour)
- 1/2 tsp- Saunf ( fennel seeds)
- 1/2 tsp- Red Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
- 1/2 tsp- Ajwain (carom seeds)
- 2 tsps- Lemon juice
- 1.5 tbsp- finely chopped Coriander leaves
- 2 tsps- Mustard Oil ( or oil from homemade mango or red chilli pickle)- 2 tsps
- 1 tsp Finely Chopped Ginger- 1 tsp
- 1 tsp Finely Chopped Garlic- 1 tsp
- 1.5 tbsp- finely chopped Onion
- 1.5 tbsp- finely chopped Coriander leaves
- 1.5 tsp - Salt (or as per taste)
- 2 tbsp approx - Water to bring the stuffing together
For making Baingan Bharta:
- 1- large Baingan (brinjal)
- 1-2 - roasted Green chilies (or as per your choice)
- 1 tbsp- Chopped coriander leaves
- 2-3 roasted Garlic pods
- 1.5 tsp- Salt ( or taste as you prefer)
- 1 tsp- Mustard oil
For Making Aaloo Chokha:
- 2- Medium sized potatoes
- 1 tsp- Mustard oil
- 1 tbsp- Chopped coriander leaves
- 1.5 tbsp- Finely chopped onions
- 1-2 - roasted Green chilies roasted (or heat level as you like)
- 1.5 tsp - Salt (or as per taste)
For Making Tomato Chutney:
- 2- Medium sized tomatoes
- 1 tsp- Mustard oil
- 2- roasted Garlic pods
- 1-2 - roasted Green chilies ( or as per heat level you like)
- 1 tbsp- Chopped coriander leaves
- 1.5 tsp- Salt (or as per taste)
Instructions of Making Litti Chokha:
Making of Litti Dough:
1. Take all ingredients in a deep and wide mixing bowl. do not add water yet.
2.Rub the flour-salt-ghee mix between the palm of your hands for 5-7 minutes.
3. Now add little water and combine the dough; to make the dough of right consistency by adding water gradually. Dough should be soft and pliable and not very hard. Now cover and keep aside.
Preparing Litti Stuffing:
1. Take another deep bowl and keep all the stuffing ingredients together in it except water and mix thoroughly with your hands.
2. Add 1 tbsp water and mix well. The mixture should be sightly clumpy. It would not be too dry also not very wet. If you think that Litti stuffing is ready, just test it by pinching some mixture between your fingers before you proceed for next step. If the mixture holds shape it is good; otherwise add some more water if its very dry and powdery.
Rolling, Stuffing and Baking of Litti
1. Make some small balls first out of the dough. Take one ball and roll between your palms just like what you do when making rotis.
2. Then roll out these balls and make about a 4-6 inch roti, and place about 2 tbsps of the stuffing mixture in the center.
3. Seal the edges by bringing them in the center and pressing together.
4. Then again roll them gently between your palms to make a ball.
5. Proceed similarly one by one with the remaining balls that you made at first.
6. Now preheat your oven to 200 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.
7. Place the stuffed littis on the tray and brush them all over with ghee.
8. Grill the stuffed Littis on a medium flame for approximately 20-30 minutes or until the exterior is slightly charred and baked well.
9. Turn them occasionally until they are evenly browned and cooked through and brush them again with some more ghee.
Making of Baingan Chokha:
1. Slit the baingan/eggplant halfway and put 6-8 garlic pods inside and roast on open flame or an iron tawa placed on the flame till the exteriors are charred and black and the white inside is cooked through; keep on turning the baingan while roasting so it is evenly done.
2. Roast 4-6 green chilies also alongside.
3. Now have a look to the baingan. If it is evenly backed, then peel off the skin, remove the stem and also pull out the garlic pods.
4. Peel the garlic pods and keep aside.
5. Now in a bowl, take two garlic pods, roasted green chilies as per taste, mustard oil, salt, roasted eggplant and mash together until they are well combined.
6. Garnish your baingan chokha with chopped coriander.
Making of Aaloo Chokha:
1. Boil potatoes in a pressure cooker.
2. If you like, you can roast these boiled potatoes over flame on an iron tawa or in an oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. It will make your Aaloo Chokha more tastier. But if you have no time, you can skip this step.
3. In a bowl, take roasted green chilies as per taste, mustard oil, salt and boiled potatoes and mash together.
4. Garnish Aaloo Chokha with chopped coriander.
Making of Tomato Chutney:
1. Take tomatoes and poke holes into them. Roast them on an iron tawa and turn their sides till the skin is nicely charred and tomatoes are cooked thoroughly.
2. When the tomatoes are well cooked, peel the skin, cut them into small pieces and mix well with the remaining ingredients. You can blend this tomato mix also with all ingredients (except the coriander) to make a thick liquid.
3. Now your tomato chutney is also ready and garnish it with coriander leaves.
Serving of Litti Chokha:
1. Now all the things like Baingan Chokha, Aaloo Chokha and Tomato chutney is ready. It's time to serve hot littis with a side of ghee, chokhas and chutney.
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