Litti

I bring to you to the soul food of Bihar/Jharkhand - litti :) To those who don't know what it is, think of it as baati from Rajasthan. Reference:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baati

Anyway, littis are made usually during winters. And eaten with either tomato/brinjal bharta or aloo ka chokha. P.S. no am only posting the recipe for litti. Greedy readers :P

Gather the following first.

For the flour, you'll need:

* 1 & 1/2 cup whole wheat atta. For more crispy littis, you may want to use maida.

* 1 cup curd

Note: Knead the dough using curd and not water. and make sure the dough is soft without lumps. Once kneaded, cover & keep aside.

For the filling, you'll need:

* 1 cup sattu (it is a special ground powder mix of chana dal, green gram, jowar, wheat, oat, barley etc. Most supermarkets keep it. And in case you can't get your hands on any, just ask a friend traveling from Bihar/Jharkhand to get you some) :)

* 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

* 1 piece of ginger, finely chopped

* 2 green chilies, finely chopped

* 1/2 cup cilantro (dhaniya) leaves, finely chopped

* 1/2 tsp mangrela (nigella seed or black cumin)

* 2 tbsp mustard

* 1 tsp ajwain (thyme)

* 1 tbsp lemon juice

* 1 tbsp masala of chili pickle

* Salt to taste

Here's how to make the awesome L:

1. Mix all the ingredients of the filling, and add about half a cup of water to moisten the mixture.

2. Now, make balls out of the dough. P.S. Remember, this is not 'playdough' :P And don't forget to dust each ball with atta. And remember that the balls have to be proportionate/equal sized :D

3. Once the balls are done, put 2 tsp of the filling in the center of each  litti, and close from all ends.

4. Then, preheat the oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit/190 degree Celcius. Put all the littis on a foil, and bake till one side turns brown or black spots come on the surface. Then, turn over the littis to the other side and bake again.

Alternately, you can also deep fry the littis if you don't want to go through the baking process. Or even make them like how you would make rotis over a stove. Whatever suits you.

And here's the secret to eating the litti - you take a hot piece, burst open the center with a finger, and pour ghee on it. And THEN you sink your teeth into it. But not without  tomato/brinjal bharta or aloo ka chokha!!