Litti chokha-Bihari delicacy
Bengal and Bihar have always been close cousins. With the split of Bihar, to create the state of Jharkhand, we found another cousin with whom not only do we share borders, but a lot of culture and food habit and even language confluence. However, Bihar and Jharkhand both have cultures that are distinctive and often shared with the people of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Nothing is more marked than the worship of the Sun God during Chat Pujan. The other distinctive attribute comes from a food item that’s as Bihari as the song “Lopa loap lalipop lagelu” and jokes on Lalu Prasad Yadav. Yes, we are talking of Litti chokha.
Litti chokha is essentially a stuffed dough ball baked over an open fire that is had along with a side dish of braised eggplant or boiled potato. The taste is enhanced by the ample ghee or clarified butter the dough balls are soaked in. The chokha is made spicy as per your taste. This is a wholesome meal in itself looking after needs of carbs, proteins, fats, and various minerals and vitamins. As per traditional cooking, these were cooked in wood or cow dung cake-fired stoves or charcoal grills. Today for ease of the modern homes they are often baked, something we will also follow in our cooking in today’s food journey. As mentioned earlier this food is typical of Bihar, Jharkhand, and easter parts of Uttar Pradesh, where litti chokha can be had even as street food. However the spicy food today appeals to the taste buds of a more varied palate. Thus, these whole flour dough balls, stuffed with gram flour seasoned with herbs and spices and the side of chokha sabzi have a national appeal. In fact, even in countries like Fiji, Surinam, and Mauritius, the litti chokha is pretty common. While chokha is the favored side with littis, some regions of west Bihar and eastern up also have variations where a creamy chicken curry or murgh korma may be used as the preferred side dish.
In our journey today we will make a chokha that’s even more appealing than the typical chokha of eggplant or potato by combining the two. We will also be using an oven for baking the littis. As mentioned the best way is to cook on wood or cow-dung fire. If you have a charcoal grill you can bake the litti on it by occasionally turning the litti over till it’s cooked and starts charring. Whatever be your preferred way of cooking your pantry needs to be stocked thus for our version of the litti chokha:
For the Litti:
- Whole flour 250 gms i.e. about 2 cups
- Ghee (clarified butter) 1 tbsp
- Water 2 cup
- Salt per taste
- Roasted gram flour (sattu) 125 gms i.e. about 1 cup
- Cumin whole seeds (jeera) ½ tsp
- Fennel (sauf) ½ tsp
- Carrom seed (ajwain) ½ tsp
- Nigella seeds (kalonji) ½ tsp
- Red chili powder ½ tsp
- Ginger 2” finely chopped
- Coriander leaves 1 sprig finely chopped
- Lemon juice 2 tsp
- Mustard oil for cooking
For the chokha
- Eggplant ( baingan) 1 large
- Onion 1 large
- Green chilies 1 tsp finely chopped
- Garlic cloves 1 tsp finely chopped
- Lemon juice 1 tsp
- Potatoes 2 medium
- Mustard oil about 2 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Ghee as a side for tossing while serving
Now that our pantry visit is through let us roll up our sleeves and get going to make the litti chokha. There are two parts of the cooking process, making the litti and the chokha which have to be done separately. As also already mentioned we will use an oven for baking the littis.
Making the litti
In a mixing bowl, the whole flour is taken, with salt as per taste and 1 tbsp of ghee. Now partly add the water in portions and knead the dough, adding water till the dough is ready. This should be soft and smooth. The vessel is now covered with a shrink and let stand and set aside till the stuffing is ready.
To make the stuffing we take the sattu in a mixing bowl. To it add a mix of the sabut Jira and sauf lightly crushed (using a mortar and pestle). Now add the rest of the ingredients, that is the kalonji, ginger, garlic, green chili, red chili powder, and coriander leaves. A bit of black salt and normal salt as per taste is added. The lemon juice and a bit of mustard oil (about 2 tsp each) are also added. This is now mixed into the flour. A bit of water is added to help knead the stuffing together. If it’s too dry the taste will be affected. If ts too wet the baking will be hampered.
To make the dough balls, dust your palms with flour and pull out portions of the dough and flatten them into round shapes, and then indent to make a cup. Once flattened the diameters should be about 5 inches, not too thin that they break. Into the cup, 2 tbsps worth of stuffings are placed and the sides closed by pleating them at the top and joining them. Then lightly rolled till a smooth ball shape is ready. This is now set aside. Cover the batch of littis with a slightly wet cotton towel so that the dough balls don’t dry out.
Now, preheat your oven to 200 C for bout 20 minutes. Grease a baking tray thoroughly and place the dough balls on the baking tray. Bake this now for about 15 minutes. Now flip the doughballs and re-bake for another 15 minutes. After another 15 minutes flip and rebake the littis for 10 minutes and repeat 2 3 times, till the crust is well done, which you would understand by the hardness of it and a brown to a golden brown color appearing o the crust. It takes about 45 to 60 minutes for the littis to be properly cooked. To give the charred taste typical of littis, using a tong hold the littis over a flame for a few seconds. The litti is now ready to be served.
Making the chokha
The chokha can ideally be made just with the eggplant or the potato, but we will make a mix of both for a better taste. The potatoes are put to steam, till they soften (4- 5 whistles in a pressure cooker should do it. At the same time, a brinjal is smeared with a bit of mustard oil and set to braize on a flame. It is turned over and braized till well done (which can be easily checked by pushing a knife into the eggplant, which should go in smoothly if the brinjal is well cooked). Both are allowed to cool. peeled and then mashed. Typically this can be now just mixed with the other ingredients and served, but to make it tastier we will stir fry it. In a pan, add a bit of mustard oil and heat to medium heat. In this add the finely chopped onions and green chili. Now add the finely chopped garlic and sautee ( a dash of ginger may also be added) Into this add the brinjal and potato mash and mix stirring, over a low flame. After about 3 to 5 minutes of cooking take it off the flame and add the lemon juice for tanginess. A little more mustard oil may also be added to add the zing into the dish. The chokha is now ready to be served
To serve take about 3 to 4 off the litti, along with about 2 tbsps of the chokha. Serve with a side dipping of ghee. To enjoy the dish, break the littis and drizzle ghee onto it. Now using the litti scoop up portions of the chokha and enjoy a spicy tangy whole meal. More the ghee, the greater is the decadence and taste of the littis. Similarly, the mustard oil and spices enhance the zing and flavor of the chokha.
Like all food coming out from my mom’s kitchen, we do add two special ingredients while cooking. Our signature, to make the dishes that much more enjoyable. Litti chokha is a dish that’s simple to make but time-consuming and requires patience. So while cooking, do remember to smile maybe with a merry tune on your lips for the ones you are cooking for. More importantly, add dollops of love into the mixes while cooking for the people you cook for, even if it is just for you. The meal will be that much more tasty and enjoyable vouches a “Bihari Lala” from kolkata. Bon Appetit.
