Bihari Litti Chokha

Litti Chokha is a traditional Bihari and Jharkhand dish that is quite similar to Rajasthani Baati but still very different. The litti is the bread made out of flour and is stuffed with sattu and chokha is the side dish made using eggplant, potato or tomatoes. Here is how to make it.

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• About This Recipe
• How was Litti Cooked in olden days?
• Recipe Summary
• Recipe Card

About This Recipe

This is a very traditional dish that’s popular in Bihar and Jharkhand, it’s a special dish that’s made in most Bihari households and the whole family comes together to enjoy this ghee dunked stuffed wheat balls. Don’t you love it too?

These authentic stuffed whole wheat balls resemble the Rajasthani Batti, but the flavours are quite different in the Litti. The stuffed whole wheat balls are referred to as Litti and the subzi served with is the Chokha. In some regions of Bihar, the Litti is also served with a spicy chicken curry.

This dish was very popular during the war times as it didn’t require much water and would also stay fresh for a longer period of time. The flavours of this dish are great and the stuffing in the dough balls adds oomph of flavour to the Litti.

How was Litti Cooked in olden days?

Traditionally, the litti is baked in traditional fuel like cow dung and now you’ll find that most restaurants are trying to infuse different flavors while baking the Litti balls. But this recipe recipe can be made in oven easily. You can also use convection mode to make it in a Microwave.

After cooking the litti in oven, just keep it over the direct flame to get those black blisters all around. It will not only enhance the taste, the litti will look traditional.

Recipe Summary

To make the Litti or the wheat balls, whole wheat flavor is kneaded into a soft dough with salt, ghee or clarified butter and cooking soda.Sometimes, carom seeds or ajwain is also used to flavor it.

Once done, the dough is covered and kept aside for some  time. The flavourful filling is made using a stuffing of Sattu or roasted chana dal flour, grated ginger, finely chopped green chillies, pickle masala, lemon juice, salt and red chilli powder.

Some oil can be added in if the filling is too dry. Next the Litti is assembled by taking a small ball of dough and stuffing it with the prepared stuffing. Finally, the littis are laid out and baked in an oven till it’s browned on all sides. Then it’s lightly roasted over direct flame and dipped in ghee.

A quick chokha is also prepared using roasted baigan and tomatoes. A simple flavouring of chopped onions, green chilli, chopped coriander, salt, mustard oil and lemon juice are added in to make the chokha.

This Authentic recipe is an extravagant dish to try at home, but your family is going to fall in love from the very first bite. What’s great about these dough balls is that the flavors come through as you bite into the stuffing.

Chokha might seem a lot similar to the traditional baigan bharta, but the flavors of this dish are quite different.

Dipping of the fresh littis in desi ghee gives it such a nice flavor. The whole dish has a very rustic and earthy flavor to it and it might seem like a tedious recipe at first, but give it a try and you’ll enjoy how the whole dish comes together in your mouth. Here is how to make it in Traditional Bihari style.

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