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28 states: How to make Bihar's Litti Chokha

We had asked you, dear reader, to share with us recipes and photographs of any of these wonderful dishes from the 28 states of India. Today we bring you the recipe of Bihar's Litti Chokha

Nothing can possibly prepare you for the diversity of India and its cuisines.

Following up on a list by Storypick, we invited you, our readers, to share recipes from select dishes from India's 28 states.

Also see:
Maharashtra's Thalipeeth
Andhra special Gongura Pachadi
Masor Tenga, Assam's fish curry recipe
Gujarat's special Khandvi
Kerala's Irachi Ishtu
Madhya Pradesh's Bhutte ka Kees

We have, as always, been inundated with your responses. Today Sudeep Jaiswal shares with us the recipe of Bihar's Litti Chokha

For the Litti you will need the following

Ingredients:

(for the dough)

• 3 cups Atta
• 3 tbsp refined oil
• Water

(for the filling)

• 250 gm Sattu (flour of roasted Bengal gram)
• 1 large Onion (finely chopped)
• 5 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 inch Ginger (grated)
• 1 Green chilli (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp Onion seeds
• 1 tsp Ajwain
• 1 tsp or more Aamchur (to make the filling slightly sour)
• Salt
• Water

(for serving)

• 200 gm Desi Ghee (Melted and kept in a bowl)

Method

Dough

• Mix atta and vegetable oil.
• Add water and kneed to make dough (slightly stiff than the dough for making roti).
• Divide the dough into 10 equal parts.

Filling

• Mix all the ingredients well with a little water.
• Ensure that the mixture is powdery but damp.
• It should not be too dry or too wet.

Litti

• Take one part of the dough and make into a ball.
• Now hold it between your fingers and press with your thumbs to make it like a katori.
• Fill one generous heap of filling in this katori.
• Bring the edges together to seal it and make a round ball.
• Seal it properly so that the filing does not come out.
• Likewise make 10 litti balls.
• These balls are now ready to be roasted.
• Traditionally it is roasted in cow dung cake/ charcoal fire.
• This gives a typical earthy aroma to it but in cities it is not always possible.
• So we can use a grill to roast the litti.
• Put all the litti balls in preheated grill and roast in medium heat for 20-25 minutes.
• Keep on turning the litti balls over periodically to ensure that they are roasted evenly and are crisp.
• (Some people prefer to roast the litti till half done and then fry in desi ghee to make is crisp and evenly coloured).
• Once properly roasted, take the litti from the grill and apply little pressure to make an opening and put each litti inside the ghee. Ensure that the filling inside is also dripping with ghee.

For the Chokha you will need the following

Ingredients:

• 1 large brinjal
• 6 medium-sized desi tomatoes
• 2 medium-sized boiled potatoes (optional)
• 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 inch ginger (grated)
• 1 green chilli (finely chopped)
• 3-4 sprigs coriander leaves (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp mustard oil

Method

• Slit the brinjal along one side (ensure that it is not cut into two halves).
• Roast the slit brinjal and tomatoes in cow dung cake/charcoal fire or grill for about 20~25 minutes.
• Keep turning the baingan and tomatoes over periodically to ensure that they are evenly cooked till the skin of the baingan and tomatoes turn black and the pulp is soft and juicy.
• Once done, take out from the grill.
• Remove the charred skin and put the cooked pulp in a bowl.
• Add rest of the ingredients in this bowl and mix well.
• The chokha is ready.

Serving

• Serve littis with generous helping of ghee and chokha.

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Love to cook? Care to share?

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Chhattisgarh: Dehrori

Goa: Bebinca

Haryana: Bajra Khichdi

Himachal Pradesh: Madra

Jammu and Kashmir: Kalaadi Cheese

Jharkhand: Rugda

Karnataka: Pandi Curry

Manipur: Khaman Asinba Kangshoi

Meghalaya: Jadoh With Pork

Mizoram: Sawhchiar

Nagaland: Nagaland Pork With Dry Bamboo Shoot

Odisha: Chhena Poda

Punjab: Makki-roti And Sarson-saag

Rajasthan: Malaai Ghewar

Sikkim: Phagshapa

Tamil Nadu: Kambu Koozh

Tripura: Awan Bangwi with Wahan Mosdeng and Khundrupui leaf

Uttar Pradesh: Baingan Ki Lonje

Uttarakhand: Bal Mithai

West Bengal: Daab Chingri

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