Litti and chokha need no introduction. Here is an easy recipe to make perfect and soft, oven made Litti and Chokha. This is a fail proof recipe and tastes same as the traditionally baked (over coal or cow dung cake) soft and delicious Litti.
Litti is a staple food of Bihar, Jharkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Alongwith Chokha it becomes a complete wholesome meal.
It is pocket friendly for the working classes and also healthy in terms of proteins and nutrients. Litti and chokha is also famous in many foreign countries such as Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname etc, where people from Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh migrated. They took their cuisine with them and there it became popular.
The common belief is that Litti was first cooked in the Magadh kingdom before becoming popular in Bihar. Litti was an apparent staple food in the court of Magadh and places around it. Litti rose to prominence during the times of Tantia Tope and Rani Lakshmi Bai . It became an important meal during war times. The main reason was that it needed very less water and could be baked without using any utensils, thereby making it an easy dish to prepare. Another reason for its popularity back then was that it could stay fresh for a few days..
Ways to cook Littis
Traditionally cow dung is the fuel used for cooking Litti. The cow dung cakes are layered and lit. Once they catch fire and then slow down a bit, the prepared littis are arranged on top of them. Keep flipping Littis till they cook from all sides.
You can also barbeque Litti in charcoal or in a Charcoal Grill. Place Littis on the grill rack once the charcoal has burnt for a while and it is burning slowly. you can use a thermometer to measure temperature which should be around 180°C/350°F.
You can also use a gas grill to cook Littis. The temperature should again be maintained at 180°C/350°F.
I have presented here the oven baked version. After baking, you can use the broil mode for 2 minutes to get the black spots on top. Or, you can simply take out Littis and cook them in a direct flame of Gas stove to get blisters on them.
I have seen people use an Appam pan to cook Littis. I have personally never used it since I find the oven or grill version more convenient because one I can make a lot of Littis together and second, there is no supervision required.
The other option is to use Gas Tandoor or any heavy bottomed Pan to cook Littis in slow heat.
But this recipe is handy for those who want to enjoy this delicacy within the four walls of home.This is a perfect recipe for soft oven made Litti and Chokha.
About Sattu
Considered as a staple of Bihar and Jharkhand, sattu is now a global superfood that people have started consuming. Called the ‘Poor man’s protein’, sattu is steadily gaining popularity. It is basically roasted chickpea flour and hence is high in nutrients and is often called the powerhouse of energy.
Sattu is high in insoluble fibre and all other essential nutrients. It is a wholesome meal. Workers and farmers prefer sattu porridge (made with sattu, onion, mustard oil, salt, and green chilli) as their mid-day meal. This not only keeps them full for longer but also provides instant energy to work under direct sunlight and helps prevent lethargy.
Please check some more Main Course Recipes of mine here and leave me your comment.
HANDMADE VEGAN FETTUCCINE PASTA
ARMENIAN GHAPAMA, VEGETARIAN FESTIVE RECIPE
Perfect and Soft, Oven Made Litti and Chokha
Ingredients
Sattu Stuffing
- 1.5 cups Sattu If Sattu is not available , dry grind roasted chickpeas in a high speed blender and use
- 1 tsp Carom Seeds
- ½ tsp Nigella Seeds
- 1 tbsp Grated or finely chopped Garlic
- 1 tbsp Grated or finely chopped Ginger
- 2 Nos Green chillies finely chopped
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Lime Juice
- 1 tbsp Red Chilli or Mango Pickle alongwith Masala
- 2 tbsp Mustard Oil For Litti, Mustard oil is a must. You can not get the same taste with any other oil.
- ½ cup Onions. Finely Chopped.
- ½ cup Coriander leaves. Finely Chopped.
- 2 tbsp Water
Covering Dough
- 3 cups Whole Wheat flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Melted Ghee
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ cup Milk
- ½+2 tbsp cup Water The quantity of water may vary according to the type of whole wheat flour that you use.
Aloo Baingan Chokha
- 1 Large Brinjal
- 4 Medium Tomatoes
- 4 Small Potatoes
- 5 large cloves Garlic
- 3 Nos Dry Red chillies
- Salt
- Onion Finely chopped
- Green chillies Finely chopped
- Coriander Leaves Finely Chopped
- Mustard Oil
Instructions
Prepare the Stuffing
- Add all ingredients of stuffing (except water and oil) in a large bowl. Mix till everything is well incorporated.
- Add water and mix or knead again.
- The stuffing should have a binding consistency.
- Keep aside the stuffing.This stuffing stays fresh for a long time if refrigerated (at least for a month)or kept in a deep freezer (at least for 4 months). The same stuffing can be used for making Sattu Paratha.
Make the Dough
- Add all dry ingredients of Dough to a large pan. Also add ghee.
- Add milk. Milk helps to make Littis softer.
- Add water in batches (1/4 cup at a time) and knead to make a soft dough. You will need a total of 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp of water. The quantity of water may vary but this is to give you a general idea.
- Make a firm dough.The dough should be firmer than the chapati dough. It will be slightly softer than the puri dough.
- Cover the dough with a wet cloth and let it rest for half an hour.
- The rested dough should be non sticky and you don't need oil or anything to handle it.
Make Litti
- Take a lime size dough ball.
- Make a dent in the center.
- Using your finger, make a round shell.
- The base should be thicker than the sides.
- Fill a gooseberry size stuffing inside.
- Press the stuffing with hands.Using your palm, keep rotating Litti and bring all corners together.
- Gather the edges in the center and keep rotating so that it becomes like a top with extra dough getting collected at the top.
- Pinch off excess dough from top.
- Slightly roll between palms to make a perfect ball shape.
- Prepare all litties in the same manner and arrange on the lined cookie sheet.
Bake Litti
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Arrange the cookie sheet or Baking tray on the middle rack.
- Bake for 30 minutes on one side.
- Take out and flip.
- Bake again for 10-15 minutes.
Make Chokha
- Arrange all vegetables on a lined baking tray.
- Apply mustard oil on all vegetables including garlic and red chillies.
- You can also grill vegetables on an open flame on a stove top and boil potatoes separately.
- Since mine is a full oven version, I also baked dry red chillies along with vegetables.
- Keep the tray with vegetables in a preheated oven @ 400°F/200°C.
- Take out the tray and remove chillies after 5 minutes. If you keep it longer, it may burn and may fill your entire oven and kitchen with smoke.
- Bake vegetables again for 45 minutes. The potatoes will turn soft by this time.
- Take out and let it cool till you can handle it.
- Remove garlic and add with red chillies.
- Add Chillies and Garlic to a Mortar and Pestle. Add a little salt for easy grinding.
- Make a coarse paste and keep aside.
- Peel off skin from potatoes, tomatoes and Brinjal.
- Add vegetables to a large Pan.
- Cut the tip off tomatoes and Brinjal.
- Mash all vegetables with a masher.
- Add Salt.
- Add chopped onion.
- Add mustard Oil.
- Add chopped coriander leaves.
- Add chopped green chillies.
- Add the prepared Chilli Garlic paste to mashed vegetables.
- Mix everything together.
- The chokha is ready.
Serve Litti
- Take 2-3 tbsp melted ghee in a bowl.Dip Hot Littis immediately in melted ghee and then take out.
- Serve with Chokha
- The Littis taste so good even on the next day. Having Litti with tea is very common in Bihar.
Nutrition Facts
16 servings per container
- Amount Per ServingCalories247
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
7.53g
12%
- Saturated Fat 2.16g 11%
- Cholesterol 8.11mg 3%
- Sodium 590.29mg 25%
- Potassium 339.48mg 10%
- Total Carbohydrate
36.18g
13%
- Dietary Fiber 2.6g 11%
- Sugars 2.73g
- Protein 8.59g 18%
- Vitamin A 1%
- Vitamin C 22%
- Calcium 4%
- Iron 7%
- Magnesium 9%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.