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Litti Chokha

Sattu-and-spice-stuffed whole wheat balls, litti chokha is a rustic delight from Bihar and Eastern UP. It’s become popular of late thanks to the Bihari migrant workers who have carried the dish with them to other states, and it’s entered restaurant and other menus. But there’s really nothing like making these at home, on a wood-fired stove if you have one or even with cow dung cakes.
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Ingredients
  

For the littis

  • 2 cups wholewheat flour
  • 2 tablespoons ghee plus more to brush the baking littis
  • Sufficient water to make a dough

For the litti stuffing

  • 1 ½ cups sattu flour; do not substitute with besan
  • 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin, roasted and crushed to a powder
  • 1 tablespoon powdered jaggery
  • ½ teaspoon minced ginger
  • ½ teaspoon minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons chopped coriander
  • 3-4 tablespoons mustard oil
  • 1 tablespoon oil and masala from a mango pickle (optional)
  • Juice of 1 large lime
  • Salt, to taste

For the eggplant chokha

  • 2 large eggplants
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 2 ripe tomatoes
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 2 green chillies, minced
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ teaspoon roasted and crushed cumin or jeera
  • 3-4 tablespoons of mustard oil
  • Lime juice, to taste
  • Salt, to taste

Instructions
 

Prepare the dough

  • Place the whole wheat flour in a large mixing bowl and make a hole in the center. Add the ghee and mix in quickly with your fingers until well and fully incorporated.
  • Now add room-temperature water slowly and mix again with your fingers to make what is essentially a chapati dough—it should be yielding, but not overly soft or wet.
  • Knead this well for a few minutes and set aside, covered with a plate or tea cloth.

Prepare the littis

  • In a separate mixing bowl, add all the ingredients for the litti filling and mix well. Check for taste—it should be piquant and pungent with a touch of sweetness.
  • Adjust any of the ingredient quantities to suit your tastes.
  • The lime juice and mustard oil should be sufficient to bring the mixture together, but if they’re not, either add more mustard oil or sprinkle just barely enough water to pull the mass together. It needs to be “hydrated” enough to hold little balls of filling together.
  • Divide the litti filling into lime-sized balls. Set aside on a plate.
  • Now separate the dough into the same number of fillings that you have. Roll between your palms into dough balls and set aside, covered, while you roll and stuff the dough.
  • Prepare a rolling surface by sprinkling it with a little flour. Roll each dough ball into a round a bit larger than a jam jar bottle cap.
  • Place a litti filling in the middle, fold the dough over it, into a draw-string pouch like shape, and pinch off the excess dough at the top—set that aside for some other use.
  • Roll the covered litti well to seal and smoothen its surface, and set it aside, too, covered with a moist tea towel to keep it from drying out.
  • Repeat this process with all the other doughballs and litti fillings.
  • Now pre-heat an oven to 325F/160F and place a tray in the center.
  • Assemble all the littis in a baking tray and brush them liberally with ghee. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until browning. Pause mid-way to turn the littis over so they brown somewhat evenly on all sides.
  • You may, if you wish, also take the littis out of the oven early and finish the cooking on a stovetop tava where you have finer control of cooking and browning, though you may need the help of a bit more brushed-on ghee.
  • Baking the littis on an outdoor chulha is of course the option that produces the most flavorful results, but it will take patience and much care, so plan for it if you wish.

Make the chokha

  • While the littis are baking, start roasting the eggplants, tomatoes and peppers, if using. The fastest way to do this is directly on a flame. Simply lay the eggplants on the burners or on top of chapati grills and turn them periodically until they are soft to the touch.
  • Do the same with the red bell pepper. You can use the tomatoes raw or roast them on the flame, too (it helps to skewer them first, to aid in turning them).
  • Allow the flame-charred vegetables to cool, and then remove the skins. Scoop the eggplant flesh into a large bowl, roughly chop the tomatoes and the pepper and add to the same bowl.
  • If you don’t have a gas burner, then simply cut the eggplants, peppers and tomatoes (if you are not using those fresh) in half and grease them lightly. Place them, cut sides down, on a baking tray and directly underneath the broiler at the top rack of your oven. Broil at 350F/180C until they are well-charred. Remove, cover with a tea towel and allow to cool before removing the skins of the tomatoes and pepper, and scooping out the eggplant flesh.
  • Add all other remaining chokha ingredients to the bowl and use a fork to mash and mix.
  • Adjust salt, lime, and chilli to taste.
  • Note that the same recipe can be used to make chokhas with potato (cook or roast the potatoes first and char them lightly), green bell peppers, and even squashes, though that is not traditional.

To serve

  • Serve hot littis with enough ghee to dip and the eggplant-pepper chokha on the side.