Litti Chokha for SNC Challenge

Litti Chokha is a traditional dish mostly prepared and had in U.P, Bihar and Jharkand. I've never been to these places nor had a chance to taste their food. Thanks to the SNC event started by Divya of You too can cook. Without it, I would not be able to explore the traditional recipes like this. Each month a member of South Team would host and challenge a recipe to the north team and vice versa; the theme of SNC. 

Litti Chokha is made out of wheat flour with stuffing (or Pithi) made out of Sattu (roasted Bengal Gram Flour). When I served this to my Hus telling the name 'Litti Chokha', he asked what nethi chuttiya (an ornament worn in the forehead) ? But after eating he said its really nice and something very different from our regular food. He said he feels like eating in sowcarpet area of chennai. North Indians mostly live there. Thanks Nupur for the detailed recipe, without your step by step clicks, it would be very difficult for me to understand the recipe itself. I just used regular Bengal Gram Flour, but to know about the exact preparation of Sattu, please check out Nupur's space.

I tried making Litti through deep frying method. The flavor and the taste was awesome but few of the pieces didn't get cooked well. So I again tried this using oven. This time it came out well cooked. But when I was about to start, I noticed I was running out of Baking Soda. So I made the recipe without it; thus looks little flattened. Never mind, I like it and it is worth trying. 

Ingredients:

Litti:

Wheat Flour 1 cup
Ajwain seeds 1/4 tsp
Baking Soda 1/8 tsp
Warm Water 1/2 cup
Ghee 1 tblsp and additional Ghee for serving

Pithi/Stuffing:

Sattu 1/4 cup (I used roasted gram flour)
Chopped Coriander Leaves 1/4 cup
Green Chilly 1 (finely chopped)
Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp
Finely chopped Ginger 1/2 tsp
Ajwain seeds 1/4 tsp
Mustard Oil 3/4 tbslp
Pickle 3/4 tbslp

Chokha:

Potatoes (Medium) 2
Garlic Cloves 2
Tomato half
Onion (Small) 1
Green Chilly 1 (finely chopped)
Finely chopped Ginger 1/2 tsp
Coriander Leaves Few
Mustard Oil 1 tsp
Salt

To prepare dough for Litti:

Mix all the ingredients except water. Now add water to form a soft dough. Cover and set it aside for half an hour.

To make Chokha (Stuffing):

Pressure cook Potatoes for three whistles. Peel the skin and mash it. 

Meanwhile, roast garlic and Tomato on the gas flame. Once cooled, remove the skin and mash it with spoon. 

In a bowl,combine mashed potatoes, tomato and garlic. Add all other ingredients along with salt. Mix well. 

To shape and cook Litti:

Divide the dough into medium sized balls. With a rolling pin, roll it like a small chapathi without adding additional flour. 

Take a tblsp of the stuffing, put in the center of the dough piece, wrap it and close from all sides. Pinch off the extra piece. Press it gently to flatten.

Preheat the Oven at 200 deg C. Place all the pieces in a baking tray. Allow baking for 30-35 minutes. Flip them for 2-3 times in between for even cooking.

Serving:

Break Litti at the center. Drop little Ghee so that it reaches both the Chokha and the stuffing. Serve with Chokha and/or chutney.

Linking this recipe to SNC this month hosted by Nupur.

Kadalai Maavu Urundai (Besan ki Laddoo)

It is Wednesday today and I am paired with Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal of Mharo Rajasthan’sRecipes. I fell in love with her subzis and have decided to try one by one. But I liked her Besan Laddoo very much and wanted to give a try first. 

My Laddoos were not as perfect as priya’s but we loved its taste and texture. I had very less cashews in hand, so didnt use them.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Chickpea Flour (Kadalai Maavu) 2 cups
• Ghee ½ cup
• Sugar 1 ¼ cups
• Cashews for garnishing

Method:

• In a wide bottomed pan, heat Ghee. Add the flour. 
• Fry on a medium flame continuously stirring until it releases a nice aroma and its color changes.
• Switch off the flame. Let it cool for some time. 
• Add sugar (should be bearable hot now) and mix well. Make balls, add cashews and serve.

Linking this recipe to blog hop Wednesdays. Check out other blog hoppers here.

Potato (Urulaikizhangu) Bonda

When I made Potato Wedges some time back, my son liked it very much. It was very much fun to see him eating Wedges dipping in Sauce. I came to a conclusion (of course, a wrong oneL) that my son is ready for all snacks with Potatoes. I made this and served him yesterday. To my surprise, he didn’t even touch it and didn’t even consider it as a food. What to do??  Kids are like that.. As usual we ate them and gave some to neighbors here.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes – medium – 4
• Onions – medium- 2
• Finely chopped Curry and Coriander leaves ¼ cup
• Finely chopped Ginger and Garlic 1 tsp
• Asafoetida a pinch
• Turmeric Powder 1/8 tsp
• Chilli Powder ½ tsp
• Coriander Powder ¼ tsp
• Lemon Juice 1 tsp
• Cumin ¼ tsp
• Salt ½ tsp
• Oil (for seasoning and deep frying)

For the batter:

• Kadalai Maavu (Chickpea Flour) ¾ cup
• Chilli Powder 1 tsp
• Salt ¼ tsp

Preparation:

Chop Onions, Coriander and Curry Leaves as fine as possible.

Method:

• Pressure cook Potatoes for 4-5 whistles (I mean more than usual). Peel and Cube Potatoes into finest pieces as possible.
• Heat little Oil in a Pan. When hot, add cumin. When it starts crackling, add chopped Ginger, Garlic. Few seconds later, add chopped Coriander & Curry leaves and Onions. Fry till onions turn slightly brown.
• Now add cubed Potatoes, sprinkle all the Powders, Asafoetida and Salt. Mix well and fry till the powders get well mixed with Potatoes. Simmer the flame and mash the Potatoes. (Need not put more efforts here, gentle mashing will done as it is already cooked).
• Switch off the flame and add lemon juice. Allow to cool for some time.
• Meanwhile prepare the batter; add Flour in a wide vessel. Sprinkle Salt and Chilli Powder. Mix well. Add water little by little, stirring simultaneously to form a thick batter.
• When it is quite hot (bearable hot), make small balls out of the mixture prepared. Dip in the batter and deep fry them.
• Serve with Coconut Chutney or Tomato Sauce.

Notes:

I made small bondas for my little one; you can increase the size. Coriander Powder can be replaced by Chat Masala and/or Amchur Powder.

Linking this to Serve it Fried event of Krithi’s kitchen and Iftar Nights of Jabeen’s Corner.