Litti alongside chokha, is a complete meal originated from Bihar, also famous in Jharkhand and the Eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. It is a tasty recipe that can be included in your lunch or dinner menu. Litti is a dough ball made up of whole wheat flour and stuffed with sattu (roasted gram flour). These balls are roasted over coal or wood. Litti is always complimented with chokha which is made with all roasted vegetables like aloo, eggplant etc. Here we are trying it with aloo bharta. You can spice it up with your own masalas and preferred taste but either way, it’s worth giving a try and having some change from what you regularly eat.
Let’s bring some different cuisine on the table.
Ingredients
For litti dough:
| 2 Cups | Whole Wheat Flour |
| 2 Tablespoons | Oil |
| To Taste | Salt |
| ¾ Cup-1 Cup | Water |
For Filling:
| 1.5 Cup | Sattu |
| 2 Medium | Onion |
| 1 Inch | Ginger |
| 8-10 Cloves | Garlic |
| 2-3 | Green Chillies |
| ¼ Cup | Fresh Coriander Leaves |
| 1 Teaspoon | Carom Seeds (Ajwain) |
| 1 Teaspoon | Onion seeds (Kalonji) |
| ½ Teaspoon | Black Pepper Powder |
| To Taste | Salt |
| 1.5 Tablespoon | Lemon Juice |
| 1 Tablespoon | Mustard Oil |
| 1 Tablespoon | Mango Powder (Amchoor) |
Aloo bharta (chokha):
| 4 | Potatoes |
| 2 | Dried Red Chillies |
| 1 Small Chopped | Onion |
| 1 Tbsp | Mustard Oil |
| To Taste | Salt |
Steps:
1. Take a bowl/vessel, add flour, salt, oil and gradually add water to the flour and knead it with your hands into the dough (dough shouldn’t be very soft) Rest the dough for some time.
2. For the filling, we need finely chopped onions, garlic, ginger, green chillies, and coriander leaves. Mix all these ingredients together along with sattu and 1to2 tablespoons of water.
3. Take small portions of dough then hollow it from the center, put the sattu mix inside and roll them into balls nicely so that stuffing doesn’t come out. Similarly, do it with all the dough and filling. (Size of litti should be of a medium size ball)
4. Once you’re done with preparing all your litti, you can roast them one by one over an open flame until charred. OR you can also deep-fry at low heat for 10-15 minutes. OR you can air fry at 170 °C for 15 minutes or oven bake at 180 °C for 20 minutes in a preheated setting. However, traditional littis are roasted in open flame on coals or wood. It gives it an authentic smoky flavour.
5. It’s very simple to make any Bharta. For Aloo Bharta, take a frying pan, add some mustard oil to it and then roast the whole chillies in it. Now, add onion and sauté until it turns pink. Lastly add boiled and mashed potatoes. Also, add salt as per your taste. Mix them well and let it cook for a few minutes on medium heat.
6. Ready to serve your crispy balls of litti with hot chokha. Also, it’s very important that you serve them with ghee as it softens the litti and adds richness to the Indian dish. I hope this eastern Indian dish would add different styles and flavours to your cooking list. Let us know which Indian cuisine is your favourite!
