Litti Chokha (Bihari Sattu-Stuffed Wheat Balls with Smoky Mash)
لٹی چوکھا (بہار کے ستو بھرے گندم کے گولے اور دھوئیں دار بھرتا)
Litti chokha is the pride of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh: humble, hearty and full of smoky flavour. *Litti* are wholewheat dough balls stuffed with , roasted gram flour mixed with garlic, ginger, lemon, ajwain and pickle oil. They're traditionally roasted over cow-dung cakes or coals until charred, then cracked open and soaked in ghee. *Chokha* is a smoky mash of fire-roasted aubergine, tomato and potato, close to Pakistani baingan bharta, sharpened with raw mustard oil.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr 10 min
- Prep: 30 min
- Cook: 40 min
- Medium
- Serves 4
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Knead the atta with the ajwain, salt, 2 tbsp ghee and water into a firm dough. Rest for 15 minutes.
For the filling, mix the sattu with half the garlic, the ginger, chillies, onion, nigella, half the lemon juice, 1½ tbsp mustard oil, half the coriander and ½ tsp salt. Add 2–3 tbsp water so it holds together when pressed.
Divide the dough into 8 balls. Flatten each into a cup, fill with a spoonful of sattu, seal and roll smooth. Bake at 200°C for 25–30 minutes, turning once, until crusty and lightly cracked.
For the chokha, roast the aubergine and tomatoes directly over a gas flame, turning, until charred all over and soft, about 10 minutes. Cool, peel and mash with the boiled potatoes.
Mix the mash with the remaining garlic, raw mustard oil, lemon juice, coriander and salt.
Crack each hot litti open slightly, dip in melted ghee and serve with the chokha.
Kitchen notes
Sattu is sold in Indian grocers. To make it, dry-roast roasted chana (bhuna chana) and grind it fine.
An air fryer at 180°C for 18–20 minutes also gives crusty litti.
Raw mustard oil in the chokha is essential to the Bihari flavour; start with a little if you're new to it.
Bihar’s beloved street food
Litti chokha is cooked at roadside stalls across Bihar and Jharkhand over glowing coals, and it’s now served in restaurants in Delhi and Mumbai too. It’s food for farmers and travellers: cheap, filling and full of protein from the sattu.
Sattu, the superfood of Bihar
is gram flour made from roasted chickpeas, so it has a nutty, toasty taste. It’s rich in protein and fibre, and in Bihar it’s mixed into drinks for summer (see sattu sharbat), parathas and this famous stuffing.
Smoky chokha
Chokha gets its smoky flavour from charring the aubergine and tomatoes over an open flame until the skins blacken. The same technique gives Pakistani baingan bharta its taste. Raw mustard oil, garlic and green chilli give it a sharp kick.
Serving
Serve hot litti dipped in ghee with chokha, a spoonful of green chutney and sliced onion. For the Rajasthani cousin, see dal baati churma.
Questions people ask
What is sattu?
Roasted gram (chickpea) flour, a high-protein staple of Bihar, eaten in litti, parathas and as a cooling drink.
Is litti the same as baati?
They look similar, but baati from Rajasthan is plain, while litti is stuffed with spiced sattu.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 560
- Protein
- 18 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 68 g
