Littli Choka is a famous snack from Bihar. Served along with dhal, it can also be served as breakfast, lunch or dinner. I have made a version of Litti and Aloo Choka, but they were not the authentic recipes. Litti is made with wheat flour. Wheat flour dough is stuffed with sattu filling known as the Pitthi and is roasted either in oven or tandoor or deep fried. The traditional method involves cooking them on Upla (dried cow dung) or hot sand but nowadays they are baked in oven. When litti choka was announced as the challenge for the southern group in the South Vs North challenge this month, I went through the recipe at Nupur's (host of this month's challenge) page thoroughly. It was completely different from what I made. She even gave the preparation of sattu flour which is used to stuff the littis. As sattu is not available here, I made sattu at home as per her directions and made litti and choka yesterday for our evening snacks. I served them along with green chutney and it was a perfect combination. I loved the texture of litti and the flavourful stuffuing with sattu. As sattu was home made it had a nice aroma and we just loved the combination. You need to try this to know about the taste. I even had it for breakfast today.
Aloo Choka
Choka is the side dish made for litti and it is nothing but spiced up mashed potatoes. Mustard oil is used for making choka and it gives a nice aroma to it. Roasted eggplants are also used to make choka and it is called as baingan choka. Today I have made aloo choka which is very easy to make and absolutely delicious.
Ingredients:
Potatoes-3
Onion-1
Tomato-1
Garlic-4-5 cloves
Salt-to taste
Coriander Leaves-1/4 cup
Mustard Oil-1 tsp
Green Chilly-2-3
Procedure:
1. Pressure cook potatoes, peel skin and mash them in a bowl.
2. Set oven at 250C. Place the tomato and garlic cloves in the oven and roast them for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from oven, peel skin and mash them with a fork.
4. Add it to the potatoes.
5. Add salt, coriander leaves, chopped green chillies and mustard oil.
6. Mix well. Choka is ready.
Cook, peel and mash potatoes.
Bake tomato and garlic cloves.
Mash them.
Add the other ingredients and mix well.
Litti
Ingredients:
Makes 8 Littis
Fore The Dough:
Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Ajwain/ carom Seeds-1/2 tsp
Ghee-2 tbs
Baking Soda-1/4 tsp
Salt-to taste
Warm Water-1 cup
For The Pitthi/ Filling:
Ginger-1/2" piece
Coriander Leaves-3 tbs
Cumin Seeds-1/2 tsp
Ajwain/ Carom Seeds-1/2 tsp
Mustard Oil-1 tbs
Pickle Spice-1 tbs ( I used the mango pickle I had at home)
Salt-to taste
Green Chilly-2
Lemon Juice-1/2 tbs
Procedure:
For The Pitthi:
1. In a bowl mix together all the ingredients.
2. Keep it aside until the dough is ready.
For The Dough:
1. Mix together flour, salt and ghee.
2. Start with 3/4 th cup of warm water.
3. Add little by little until you get a slightly crumbling dough.
4. Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Making The Littis:
1. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions.
2. Preheat oven to 200C.
3. Gently press the dough ball into a thick disc.
4. Divide the filling into 8 equal portions.
5. Place a portion of the filling inside the disc and bring the sides of the disc to the centre.
6. Pinch to seal.
7. Arrange the prepared littis on a baking tray. 8. Bake in hot oven for 35-40 minutes.
8. Turn the littis every 10 minutes until all the sides are evenly browned.
9. Remove from oven, dip them in ghee and serhe hot along with choka and green chutney.
Take all the ingredients in a bowl.
Mix them well.
Take the ingredients for the dough in a bowl.
Add warm water to make a slightly crumbling dough. Set aside for 30 minutes.
Divide into 8 equal portions.
Shape a portion into a thick disc.
Place the filling inside.
Bring the sides to the centre.
Seal to close.
Arrange on a tray.
Bake for 40 minutes turning them every 10 minutes.
When evenly brown, remove from oven.
Dip in ghee.
Serve with choka and green chutney.
Labels: BIHARI, CHOKA, LITTI, NORTH INDIAN DELICACIES, POTATO, SATTU FLOUR, WHEAT FLOUR
