Litti Chokha | Aloo Baingan Chokha
Litti Chokha is a traditional Bihari dish consisting of whole wheat dough balls (litti) stuffed with spiced roasted gram flour (sattu) and baked or roasted, served with chokha—a smoky mashed vegetable mix typically made with aloo (potato), baingan (eggplant), and tomatoes. Rich in rustic flavors, this dish reflects the earthy essence of eastern Indian cuisine.
Ingredients
FOR CHOKHA
- Baingan, large, round (बैंगन) – 1 no
- Garlic cloves (लहसुन) – 6-7 nos
- Oil (तेल) – a dash
- Tomatoes, medium (टमाटर) – 3-4 nos
- Potato (medium, boiled & peeled) (आलू) – 1 no
- Onion chopped (प्याज़) – ¼ cup
- Green chilli chopped (हरी मिर्च) – 2tsp
- Ginger chopped (अदरक)- 2 tsp
- Coriander chopped (धनिया पत्ता)- a handful
- Black salt (काला नमक) – a generous pinch
- Salt (नमक) – to taste
- Lemon juice (निम्बू का रस) – 5 tbsp
- Mustard oil (सरसों तेल) – 2 tbsp
FOR THE DOUGH
- Whole wheat flour (आटा) – 3 cups
- Salt (नमक) – a generous pinch
- Ghee (घी) – 2 tbsp
- Water (पानी) – as required
- Ghee (घी) – for dunking
FOR SATTU STUFFING
- Chana Sattu (चना सत्तू) (roasted whole gram flour) चना सत्तु) – 1½ cups
- Salt (नमक)- to taste
- Ajwain (अजवाइन) – 1 tsp
- Kalonji (कलोनजी) – 1 tsp
- Green chilli chopped (हरी मिर्च) – 2 nos
- Ginger chopped (अदरक) – 2 tsp
- Coriander chopped (ताज़ा धनिया) – a handful
- Garlic chopped (लहसुन) – 1 tsp
- Onion chopped (प्याज़)- ¼ cup
- Lemon juiceनींबू पानी)- 3 tbsp
- Mango pickle chopped (आम का अचार) – 4 tbsp
- Mustard oil (सरसों का तेल) – 2 tbsp
- Water (पानी)- a dash
For cooking
- Oil (तेल) – a dash
Instructions
- For chokha, make small slits on a big brinjal then insert garlic cloves in it so that while grilling brinjal, cloves will also get grilled. Use a brinjal with less seeds. Rub some mustard oil on the brinjal before grilling it. Now grill it from all sides on an open flame.
- Rub some oil on tomatoes and the potato and grill them too. Remove it to a bowl and cover it with a lid so that the skin could be removed easily. Remove the skin, then remove the crown of brinjal and remove the eye of tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes into 4 parts so it won’t splash while mashing it. Mash all the vegetables with a potato masher, then add chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, black salt, salt, lemon juice, mustard oil and simply mix it.
- For litti, take some atta to a bowl, sprinkle some salt, add ghee and mix it with your fingers. Now add water and knead it into a tight dough. Brush some ghee on the dough to prevent it from getting dry. For the sattu filling, take some chana sattu in a bowl, add some salt, ajwain after rubbing it in your palm, kalonji, green chillies chopped, ginger chopped, coriander chopped, garlic chopped, onions chopped, lemon juice for sourness and it is optional and chopped mango pickle. Now, mix it well and to check its dryness take some sattu filling and try to make a ball and if it is not sticking together like a ladoo, then add some mustard oil or water accordingly and mix well.
- bowl, fill the sattu filling in it, tightly pack the filling with a spoon. Close the litti with your thumbs gently. Do the same with all the balls. Let’s cook the litti and for that you can use a pressure cooker. Remove the whistle and the rubber from its lid, drizzle some oil and place the sattu filled littis in the cooker with adequate distance so that it won’t get stuck together. Cook it on low flame with the lid closed for five minutes, then rotate the Litties frequently to cook it from all sides. The closed pressure cooker acts like an oven. Cook it for approximately 20- 25 minutes. Dip the litti in ghee and serve it hot with chokha. Enjoy!
Notes
- Knead a hard dough
- Use mota atta
- If don’t have chana sattu use roasted chana at home, grind and use
- Made in ash of coal & upla
- Make a thin outer dough with generous stuffing so that the outer is not raw
- Mustard oil is a must to add bold taste
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