Litti Chokha - health bhi, taste bhi.

These past few days I have thinking of cooking Litti Chokha the popular meal that reminds everyone of the state of Bihar in India.The dish has its roots in the cuisine of Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, and southern Nepal. It has been a part of local diets for centuries, often associated with the peasant and working-class populations. It is also said to have been a staple food for the armies of Magadh due to its long shelf life and nutritional value. 

Litti is a dough ball made from whole wheat flour, stuffed with sattu (roasted gram flour) mixed with garlic, ginger, onions, coriander leaves, lime juice, carom seeds, nigella seeds, and mustard oil. Traditionally, it is cooked over a coal fire, giving it a distinct smoky flavour.

Chokha is prepared by mashing boiled vegetables, typically eggplant, tomatoes, and potatoes, mixed with garlic, green chilies, mustard oil, and various spices to enhance the flavour.

So today was the day when I entered kitchen to try my hands to prepare this. I was little apprehensive about the output so this was a trial and the only receipient who volunteered to compromise her regular lunch and waited till 4.00pm to eat was Abha, my wife. I had hinted about it to a couple of friends but they didn't seem quite enthusiastic about it, now I feel that it's their loss as the outcome was quite authentic, as endorsed by the only person who tasted and approved of it (other than me).

Getting inspition from Chef Bhupi, I looked at his recipe for Litti Chokha and began my preparation. 

The ingredients are:

(for two persons).

for chokha:

Round or egg shaped brinjal - 2 (medium size) approx weight 500 gms.

garlic -4  cloves

green chilli - 2

onion - 1 medium size

coriandar leaves - a bunch of 100 gms

Lemon - 1 small

mustard oil - two table spoons

table salt - 1/2 tea spoon

potato - 1 medium size

for chutney:

Tomato - 1 medium size

Onion - 1 medium size

Garlic - 1 bulb medium size

green chillis - 3

corriender leaves - 50 gms

red chilli powder - 1/2 tea spoon

table salt - 1/2 tea spoon

lemon - 1/2 small size

for Litti:

Wheat flour ( coarse atta preferred)- two cups approx 200 gms,

ghee - 3 table spoon,

table.salt - 1/ tea spoon, 

water - 50 ml or as needed.

for litti filling:

Sattu( gram flour not besan) - 2 cups approx 200 gms.

onion - 1 medium size

green chilli - 3 medium size

coriendar - 50 gms

lemon - 1/2 small

red chilli powder - 1/ 2 tea spoon 

table salt - 1/2 tea spoon

turmeric powder - 1/2 tea spoon

mustard oil - 2 table spoon

Take the round brinjal (bharta baingan) and give a small cut on both sides and check for worms (there shouldn't be any). Put 6-8 garlic cloves, 2-3 green chillis in the brinjal and putnit on low to medium flame (ideally this process should be done on a coal stove). Keep roatating till  the brinjal skin is burnt and it becomes soft. Let it cool for 10 mins.

Now put the tomato, onion and garlic bulb on the stove flame till their skin is burnt. Rotate them so that the skin is burnt uniformly. Remove and let it cool for 10 mins.

Take wheat flower in a bowl and add 1/2 tea spoon salt and 3-4 table spoons of ghee, mix the mixture and prepare a hard dough..Put it aside for 10 mins.

Remove the burnt skin of brinjal and chop the soft cooked brinjal with garlic and chilli inside it. Add the boiled potato, green chilli, chopped onion, coriadar leaves mustard oil, salt, squeeze lemon and mix it...your chokha is now ready. 

For chutney, remove the burnt skin from tomato, onion and garlic and put them in a mixer jar, add 3-4 green chilli,  coriandar, red chilli powder, salt, squeeze lemon and run is for a minute, don't make it very fine. Your chutney is now ready.

Now for the filling. Put sattu in a bowl add chopped onion, geen chilli, coriandar leaves, squeeze some lemon, red chilli powder , turmeric poder and mustard oil and mix it. Make small balls of this mixture. This would make about 8 balls for 8 litti.

By now the dough has rested for over 15 minutes, punch it down and make 8 small balls. Flaten the dough in your palm and put the filling(ball) and close it gently..Now younhave eight dough balls/litti filled with sattu. Put them on the coal stove on slow flame, if you are using electric oven preheat it for 10 mins at 200°C. Set the over for upper and lower element hearing. Now put the raw litti and set temp between 200-220 and cook it for 30 minutes. Turn littis half way through to ensure uniform cooking. It should turn light brown, of not run for another 10 minutes. Your litti is now ready to be dipped in ghee. 

Happy cooking! 

Pradeep Joshi

Delhi

November 30, 2025