Bihar’s Litti Chokha

Ingredients to make the litti dough

2 cups whole wheat flour
30 grams ghee
Salt to taste
¾ cup water, or as required to form a semi-hard dough

Instructions to make the litti dough

1. In a shallow bowl, add whole wheat flour, ghee, and salt to taste & rub it together well.
   
2. Add water little by little to form a semi-hard dough.
   
3. Apply some ghee on the top and knead it properly once again.
   
4. Cover the dough and rest it for about 30 minutes.

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Ingredients for the Sattu filling for litti

2 cups roasted gram powder, sattu
½ cup onions, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 inch ginger, chopped
2 green chillies, chopped
A handful of fresh coriander, chopped
1 tablespoon aachar masala
½ teaspoon ajwain
1 teaspoon kalonji
1 teaspoon saunf
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon water
45 ml mustard oil

Instructions to make the Sattu filling for litti

1. Mix everything well until it comes together.

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Ingredients to make the litti

Pre-made litti dough
Pre-made sattu filling

Instructions to make the litti

1. Divide the dough into small portions and flatten it out.
   
2. Stuff it with the sattu filling and seal it tight.
   
3. Bake the littis in a pre-heated oven at 160 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
   
4. Once baked, remove the littis & allow to cool ever so slightly. To check if the litti is cooked, crack a small portion from the bottom, if the dough is crispy & slightly soft from the inside the litti is cooked perfectly.
   
5. Using a wire rack, roast the littis directly on an open flame till charred.

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Ingredients to make the Baingan and aloo chokha

1 eggplant, scored and stuffed with a few garlic cloves and charred on direct flame till soft
4 tomatoes, scored and stuffed with a few garlic cloves and charred on direct flame till charred
2 green chillies, charred on direct flame
1 potato, boiled and peeled
1 inch ginger, chopped
¼ cup onion, chopped
A handful of fresh coriander, chopped
1 tablespoon mustard oil

Instructions to make the chokha

1. Peel the charred eggplant and add it to a deep bowl.
   
2. Add all the other ingredients, salt to taste and mash well.
   

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Ingredients for tomato chutney

4 tomatoes, scored and stuffed with a few garlic cloves and charred on direct flame till charred
3 green chillies, charred on direct flame
½ inch ginger, chopped
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon mustard oil

Instructions to make the tomato chutney

1. In a blender, add the charred tomatoes, chilli, and ginger & blend everything well into a coarse chutney.
   
2. Add onions, fresh coriander, salt, and mustard oil to this & mix everything well.
   

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Ingredients to serve the litti chokha

Melted ghee, as required
Cooked littis
Baingan-aloo chokha
Tomato chutney
Charred green chillies

Serving Instructions

1. Once the littis are charred, crack them open, pour ghee generously and let them soak in the ghee for about 2 to 3 minutes.
   
2. Serve them littis hot chokha, tomato chutney & charred chillies.