Litti

Litti chokha is synonymous with Bihar. In fact, it is the only Bihari food that I had heard of before this blogging marathon. My Bihari friends painted a beautiful picture with words for me when they described the making of littis. They said that the whole family would gather around a charcoal fire. The women would deftly shape the atta into thick, deep cups and fill them with sattu flour. They would then roll them into balls, press them between the palms and pass it on to the men folk who would then cook them over charcoal. Cooked littis were then served with a generous helping of ghee and chokha.
The recipe is the same as that of sattu paratha. The difference lies in the making.

What you need:
For the filling:
Sattu flour - 1 cup
Onion - 2 medium, chopped fine
Ginger - 1 inch piece, julienned
Garlic - 8-10 cloves, chopped coarsely
Corriander - a handful, chopped fine
Ajwain - 1 tbsp
Lemon juice - to taste
Green chillies - 5-6, minced
Salt - to taste
Mustard oil - 3-4 tbsp

Mix all the ingredients well.

For the outer covering:
Atta - kneaded with water and salt, as you would for rotis

Pinch out a large, tennis ball sized amount of atta. Using your fingers, shape it into a cup. Place some of the filling inside.

Bring the sides together and close the cup. Flatten between your palms.

These are usually cooked, like I said in the beginning, over a charcoal fire. Since I didn't have that at my disposal, my litti has been cooked in the oven. The taste, though it does not match that of a fire cooked one, is still good enough. Cook in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until well browned on both sides.

Serve hot topped with ghee and a generous helping of chokha.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#11