Litti Chokha (Bihar)

Litti chokha is Bihar on a plate. Wholewheat dough balls are filled with sattu – roasted gram flour mixed with garlic, ginger, mustard oil and pickle spices – and baked until crusty. They are dipped in ghee and eaten with chokha, a smoky mash of roasted eggplant, tomato and potato.

Video by Kunal Kapur on YouTube. Our recipe below is our own home-style version, written in our own words – quantities and steps may differ from the video.

• Serves 4
• Prep 40 min
• Cook 40 min
• Vegetarian · Spicy
• Famous in Bihar

Ingredients

• For the dough: 300 g atta (wholewheat flour), ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp ajwain, 2 tbsp oil, about 170 ml water
• For the filling: 150 g sattu (or besan dry-roasted until golden), 1 tbsp grated ginger, 4 garlic cloves minced, 2 green chillies chopped, 1 tsp nigella seeds, ½ tsp ajwain, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp mustard oil, 1 tbsp pickle masala or mango pickle oil, 2 tbsp coriander, ½ tsp salt, 2–3 tbsp water
• For the chokha: 1 large eggplant, 2 tomatoes, 2 potatoes boiled, 1 small onion finely chopped, 2 green chillies, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tbsp mustard oil, coriander, salt
• 3 tbsp melted ghee to serve

Method

1. Knead all dough ingredients to a firm, smooth dough. Rest covered for 20 minutes.
2. Mix all filling ingredients; it should hold together when pressed.
3. Divide the dough into 12 balls, flatten each, fill with a spoonful of sattu mixture, seal and roll smooth.
4. Bake at 200 °C for 30–35 minutes, turning once, until golden and hard-crusted (traditionally they are roasted over coals).
5. For the chokha, roast eggplant and tomatoes over a gas flame or under the grill until charred and soft. Peel, then mash with the potatoes, onion, chopped chillies, garlic, mustard oil, coriander and salt.
6. Crack the littis slightly, dip them in hot ghee and serve with chokha.

Tip: Sattu (roasted chickpea flour) is ideal; besan roasted in a dry pan for 8–10 minutes until nutty is a good substitute.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need for this recipe is in stock at Farmah’s – order online or pick it up at Annenstraße 41, Graz.