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

Book Review - Raising Cubby by John Elder Robinson.

This is an autobiography of a brilliant engineer John Elder Robinson and his son Jack. John didn't know he had Asperger's Syndrome until the age of 40. Asperger's syndrome is a developmental disorder that was previously considered a separate condition but is now classified as part of the broader autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Like most autistic individuals, people with Asperger's syndrome typically exhibit difficulties with social interaction and communication, along with restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests but often have average or above-average intelligence and relatively intact language development.  

 

Broken homes throw a challenge on the kids who are most neglected suffer the most and that's a common social problem especially in western countries. So when John's parents separated and he was left to fend himself he dropped out of the school and left home to fend for himself. Luckily by that time he had developed an interest in Music and Electronics that helped him survive by joining music bands. His interest and expertise made him wanted in the industry, and he moved from one to another and gained popularity. He had difficulties socialising and communicating due to his Asperger's syndrome that he didn't understand and suffered. However, he still managed to carry-on with his life. Then came a time when he and his girlfriend decided to get married, and Jack came to their life. John was so anxious about safety of his child that in the hospital where Jack was born John put his signature on the newborn with a permanent marker. His whole life revolves around Jack whom he wanted to excel in life. Jack too showered his love and affection for his dad in reciprocal but again a divorce of his parents put a stress on him. By the time he was in the high school he developed interest in science especially in Chemistry and he made a small lab at home experimenting in various ways that could produce rockets and explosives. He was indeed a brilliant student. His father over the years moved from music and electronics to corporate world to an entrepreneur in a specialised car servicing and building junk cars into as good as new. His business was successful, and he earned a decent living. As is with most parents who find teenage children most difficult to handle. Jack would just lock up himself in the room and John would never find out what is happening with him. Over the growing years both father and son were diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome that complicates the communication and socialisation. Later it came to notice that Jack's mother who also divorced by then also had Asperger's. Jack would also exploit the situation of divorced parents and take advantage of both to fulfil his ambitions. 

 

While all children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have some sort of difficulty in the areas of social interaction, communication and behaviour, the extent of difficulties may vary from one child with autism to another. No two individuals share an identical set of difficulties. This is why autism is referred as a spectrum disorder - to represent the broad range challenges found among those with autism. ASD includes the usual autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, Rett's disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. Children with autism vary widely in abilities, intelligence and behaviour.  

The jury is out on the causes of Autism including Asperger's Syndrome and its connection with genes. This story gives impression that this is genetic as John, his wife, his father and grandfather also were believed to have had the syndrome.  

 

Well returning to the story, John was quite concerned about Jack who over the high school years became very fond of chemistry and had experimented in the neighbourhood woods about rockets and explosions of mild intensity. The trouble started when he started putting the videos of these experiments that got noticed with law enforcement agencies who pounced on him in larger-than-life proportions. Anti-terrorist agencies, FBI and local police everyone got after him and looked at him from the anti-national and terrorism angles.  

 

The novel has interesting chapters that deal with the Jack's honesty about his experiments and the criminal justice system from which only got can save honest and innocent people and that's universal, got worst after the 9/11. 

 

Well, in the end justice was done and Jack was judged innocent by jury and the judge. However, the "perpetrators", the state law enforcement and district attorneys who unnecessarily stretched the case and spent hundreds of thousands of exchequer's money went "scot-free", that's how the life is. 

 

John today 14 years after the judgement is an author and an authority on the subject and lectures around on autism. 

Pradeep Joshi

pradeepkjoshi@gmail.com 

Delhi/August 06, 2025

Sitaare Zameen Par - a film review.

Autism awareness has a long way to go. Not just in rural and un/less educated class but urban and well educated people are also unfamiliar with this brain disorder that affects 1 in 60 people in the world. First time ever medical science acknowledged it with what is called Aspereger's Syndrome in 1944 and although globally the awareness started building since then but it was only in the seventies and eighties of the last century that it gathered some pace, mostly in the western countries. Global south and Asia  followed almost 20 years later. But even to this day, in my personal opinion, less than 5% people are familiar with this term leave aside the autistic behaviour of neurodivergent that is such an important subject when you consider an "inclusive" society where you provide dignity to every human being.

Aamir Khan the actor, director, producer is one of the few film industry persons who has made shows and movies bringing social awareness on such issues. His 2007 movie Tare Zameen Par tried to touch this subject and left a mark on people mostly about dislexia. 

Just released film Sitare Zameen Par from Aamir Khan Productions as a sequel to Taare Zameen Par released a couple of weeks ago, is an excellent attempt to build autism awareness through the popular film medium. The first half of the movie is slow and looks more like a documentary on the subject, but post intermission it gathers speed and keeps you fixated with the screen.. it also brings out emotions, charges you and makes your eyes moist similar to the Chak De and Bhag Milkha Bhag kind of movies. Songs and music are not great and may not last longer unlike Taare Zameen Par. Overall it's a good combination of spreading social awareness and entertainment. I recommend everyone to watch this and talk about Autism disorder with people to help build awareness on this important subject.

Sitaare Zameen Par, now In the theatres.

July 06, 2025.

#autismawareness #autism #ASD.

Book Review - The Sound of a Miracle.

Book Review.

"The Sound of Miracle" is an autobiographical story that's indeed miraculous. It's a story of a mother whose first born gets detected with leukemia and the second one with autism. Her fight with circumstance and with determination to give children a life with dignity is an inspiration to every parent. The endless rounds to one hospital for blood transfusion and another to deal with autism is untiring, you always wonder how a mother can get so much strength and fight with the system and with herself to understand and find ways for her children to be happy. In the 1970s the medical science did not have the kind of advancement and understanding of Leukemia (even to this day it is not). When going gets tough it becomes more complicated and tougher.. I have seen in many cases when parents are struggling to deal with an ailing child one parent, most often the father, gives away and moves out instead of helping deal with the situation. The same happens with Annabel Stelhi, the author, and her husband and the father of two angels moves out and eventually they get divorced. It also amazes me that under such situations how children grow up and behave so maturely. Dotsie, the elder girl who is diagnosed with leukemia at the age of four takes up some responsibilities at home and comforts her mother while dealing with her own illness that she doesn't understand much about. After four years of treatment of terminal disease she never shows a sign of pain to bother her mother and peacefully goes away soon after celebrating her 8th birthday in the hospital ward with her suffering friends where she saw some other children her age passing away.

 Just a few months before Dotsie's death god shows some kindness and Anna is introduced to a kind person who she later marries her. He is also a divorcee having three children but they don't live with the protagonist. He shares her worries and genuinely loves her. As luck would have it Peter, the new husband, gets a job in Geneva and the three of them move to Switzerland where they meet a doctor who refers Georgina, the child who is autistic and gone through a lot of different treatment without much progress, although she is high functioning, to an audiologist. 

That was a game changer.. that doctor is a researcher and had developed a unique audio treatment with which he had treated some autistic children successfully. Autism as we understand is not a disease but a condition that never goes away. They are neurodiverent with certain characteristics. Only some training makes children overcome some of the disabilities and make them independent to some extent, that also varies from children to children and that's why autism is a spectrum. From high functioning on one end to the low functioning on the other where often you need constant support. Dr Guy Berard, the audiologist administered his audiology treatment and the results were amazing. In just 10 weeks it changed Georgie's life. He trained her to listen to certain frequencies and filtered out some others that used to bother her. No one believed the improvements in Georgie and some people started questioning if she was autistic in the first place. Well to cut the story short, Georgies does well at schools when the family moves back to the US and then graduates from a university with flying colours. She becomes a topic of research herself but only after she has graduated  and that's when Annabel writes this autobiography and establishes a non profit Gerogiana Institute to help people who are neurodivergent.

It's the whole system that is responsible for such miraculous healing but you need to be lucky to have the right sequence and circumstances when the right things happen by meeting the right people and in this case doctors. Georgiana and Annabel are inspiring examples who show how to WIN life. Salute to them. 

June 2025.

Book Courtesy Action For Autism, National Centre for Autism Library.

Book Review - Somebody Somewhere.

 Book Review.

Somebody Somewhere by Donna Williams is an autobiographical sequel to her first autobiographical book Nobody Nowhere. Donna an autistic child who had difficulty growing up had described her childhood and growing up years in the first book.

In Somebody Somewhere she continues her journey after she establishes herself as an author and returns to her home country Australia to live independently. Her struggle with life continues due to autism, she describes her determination and helping others like her in this book. Her relationship with her sympathetic landlord's family and her psychologist, her reaching out to people to speak about her book for promotion and her interaction with a publishing agent towards her second book.

It's amazing how she comes as not only a winner after autism captures her at every stage of life but she also helps a few others who she finds similarly affected with ASD and makes them stronger.

At one stage during her day long stopover in Srilanka on the way from Australia to the UK she had to struggle to shut up the cab driver who behaved in a typical manner as we all experience leachers who try to attract "foreign tourists".. Their conversation goes like:

"you married? Do you have a boyfriend? Do you like Srilanka? Do you like Srilanka men? Have you ever had a boyfriend? Are you afraid of AIDS? Would you like to get married? Would you like to get married to me? The taxi driver went on and on as I answered each question honestly. It wasn't until he got to the last question and he explained his intentions that I understood what was happening. I thought it was a sort of factual quiz, a culture study on his behalf, or that maybe he was into sociology or something."

Now such conversation would make any neurotypical woman nervous, sweating and fearful but Donna braves the situation and firmly asks the driver to return to the hotel.

It's a story worth reading and appreciating her bravery.

May' 2025

#donnawilliams #SomebodySomewhere #autism #ASD

Book Review - Nobody Nowhere.

 April 03, 2025

Book Review.

Nobody Nowhere by Donna Williams.

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Seldom you come across a subject that completely changes the way you approach the world. Autism is one that has little awareness in the world, although it has gained a substantial ground over the last four decades when even people from the psychology and psychiatry profession hardly showed any interest in studying and helping those affected.

Seldom you come across a book that completely captivates you takes over your imagination and changes your perception of the world, forever. Donna Williams autobiography (written in two parts) Nobody Nowhere is one such book I discovered. Donna is autistic and born in the era when almost no one knew of this neuro divergence.

She was taken for born-mad and was punished severely by many first of all her mother. She struggled as a child and as she grew older.. left home as a teenager, survived on some people's kindness, became homeless, got exploited sexually and otherwise until she reached her twenties. The bright and intelligent girl in her could not remain in isolation and she overcame her autism issues by training herself and became a teacher and a counsellor, a writer, artist, singer- song writer, a sculptor and much more.

The book changes our perception of the condition. It's rare or almost absent that an autistic person discovers her/his condition and trains herself to overcome the hurdles and shares her experience to encourage neurodivergent people and their family and friends to live more meaningful life.

It's a must read for every one who are interested in understanding human diversity.

April 01, 2025
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Some excerpts from the book:

I had begun to feel something was missing but I did not know what it was. I had a doll and wanted very much to cut it open to see if it had any feeling inside. I took a knife and tried to pry it open but became afraid of the consequences of breaking the doll and simply went on wondering for the next few years.
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I remember, when I was about seven, how I got a slap in the face after walking into someone 's house and announcing, " it's very dirty on here", and following it up by enthusiastically informing the host that he " only had one arm.". This was fairly typical of me, and I came to earn myself a reputation as rude, hurtful and outspoken. Later this same quality sometimes came to earn me respect as someone who was "never afraid to say what she thinks."
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I believe that all thoughts begin with feelings. such children have feelings, but it has developed in isolation and can't be verbalised in the usual way, and most people cannot hear with anything other than their ears.
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TS Eliot wrote " in my beginning is my end" and in

my end is my beginning ". perhaps in some strange way I started at the end and tried to work my way back.
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Through his paintings, Vincent van Gogh tried to teach people to look beyond the surface image of things and to see the true beauty in the individuality of things so often dismissed as ugly.
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Above all I would encourage those who have strived to help people like myself that their efforts are not useless. Responding in an indirect or detached manner is not synonymous with indifference.
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Jhula Pul (suspension bridge) in Chanfi village, off bhimtal-padampuri road, Uttarakhand.

March 29, 2014

Hidden from the urban areas and tourists in south gola range between bhimtal and padampuri is a small village called Chanfi. 

As you reach through a kachcha pabble road about a kilometre inside from the metal road, you reach a small stream called gaula river and there is no road beyond so even an off roader has to stop there. Right there you see an old suspension bridge – ‘Jhula Pul’. The bridge was erected in 1910, more than 100 years ago and is still in pristine condition. Though the village across was inhibited in 1930s, there is no real explanation for this bridge to be commissioned in 1910s.

I went there to look for birds when someone mentioned this as a birding place. Upon enquiry some locals said they have no knowledge of a birding spot but there is a scenic place that attracts curious tourists, called Paritaal that also has a lake and a waterfall.

It was a total wilderness and after walking nearly a kilometre when I felt that without a proper direction there was no point going further and since it was a late afternoon, I decided to abandon my exploration and return. 

The stream or the gaula river was very thin and mostly stone bed, but it was a wonderful gateaway where one can sit and listen to the flowing water, some chirping birds and sound of silence with hills on the two sides. 

Enjoy the pictures till you plan to visit this place. here is a link of the map that will take you there.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/SGpRQgrAXKcntU379