Litti Chokha

I had litti chokha for the first time when I was ten years old at our family friend’s home. Made in the traditional method using cow-dung cakes, it was an experience! It was the first time I had seen such a different style of cooking.  Litti dunked in ghee is served with Chokha made of brinjal and green coriander chutney. This is one vegetarian food I can have anytime.

I got this recipe from another family friend hailing from Bihar. She would make it often and was my dependable source for Litti chokha. I made sure that I take this recipe before moving to a different city. 

Dough Ingredients

1. Whole Wheat Flour- 3 cups
2. Desi Ghee- 3 tablespoons
3. Curd-3 tablespoons
4. Salt- 1/2 teaspoon

Method

1. Make a soft dough by mixing everything
2. Cover it with a damp cloth for at-least 2 hours

Stuffing Ingredients

1. Sattu flour(roasted chana daal flour) – 1 1/2 cups
2. Mustard oil -1 tblspn
3. Onion chopped medium size – 1
4. Garlic cloves chopped – 6
5. Green chilly chopped -1
6. Ginger grated – 1 inch
7. Coriander chopped -1/4 cups
8. Carrom seeds – 1/2 tsp
9. Nigella seeds – 1/2 tsp
10. Lemon juice/Dry mango powder -1 tblspn
11. Salt-As per taste
12. Mango Pickle -2 tblspn
13. Water – 1-2 tblspn

Method

1. Mix everything together well. Mixture should be just about damp enough to be ok for filling

Method for Shaping the littis

1. Divide the dough in to 12 medium size balls
2. Using your hands flatten the balls a little and fill with stuffing made earlier
3. Seal well
4. Rub very little ghee over them and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 30-35 minutes
5. Once done grill it on gas stove for few seconds. This will get that charred effect.
6. Dip it in ghee immediately to make them soft

Chokhha Ingredients

1. Brinjal – 1 medium size
2. Tomatoes  – 2 medium sized
3. Potato boiled – 1
4. Onion chopped – 1 small
5. Garlic cloves chopped – 4
6. Green chilly chopped – 1
7. Green coriander chopped – ½ tblspn
8. Mustard oil – ½ tsp
9. Salt to taste

Method

1. Grill the brinjal directly over gas stove/flame evenly from all sides
2. Let it cool and peel away the charred skin
3. Grill the tomatoes same way and peel away the skin
4. Mash brinjal, tomatoes and boiled potato in a bowl
5. Add onion, garlic cloves, green chilly, coriander, salt, mustard oil and mix thoroughly

Notes

1. Mustard oil cannot be replaced by any other oil
2. Use of hands is unavoidable while making chhokha
3. Tomatoes should be the red juicy variety
4. Mango pickle is used for the stuffing, however I have used lemon/chilli pickle as well