Thread by @TheAtulMishra

What's with the sudden outrage against Litti Chokha?

It's a Devdurlabh Vyanjan. Litti Chokha is not what you see in ugly roadside stalls. It's not supposed to be grilled/barbecued. And oven baked Littis are abominations. As a Bihari and a Litti-Chokha lover, I'll explain what is

Imagine a big bowl, a steel bowl preferably

Imagine Sattu being poured into it, the gram-y aroma of it teasing the nostrils.

Then imagine fine chopped onions, purple with love and chopped green chillies, pleasant in appearance fiery in taste going into the bowl.

Then goes finely chopped garlic and ginger, their heady aroma teasing your taste buds. Then black-beige gorgeousness of Ajwain-Mangraila goes in next. A little bit of Amchoor powder then jumps into the bowl, a sour splendor rises from the bowl.

Then like a binding agent comes mustard oil, its strong aroma not for olive oil loving sissies of Big cities. Then goes in a clean hand, that kneads the dough, like a trained masseuse. Every lump is broken, every ingredient is mixed, till the dough acquires a golden hue.

You then add some salt and give it a final mix. The 'Makuni' (filling) is ready. You take a pinch of it and place it on your tongue. You get sensations from parts of your mouth, you never knew, existed. Saliva floods your mouth, your eyes close. You just experienced a taste-gasm

Then you knead some Atta, not soft like the soft hearted Big city dwellers but hard like the calloused hands of a peasant. and make small flat chaptis. The chapatis are thick and strong like India's perseverance. Repeat the process till you have enough chaptis.

Now place the magical filling on Chapatis and close it. Pinch the top part and keep it aside. With your hardworking hands, give it a round perfection. And then repeat the process till you have enough spheres. Call these spheres, the unbaked littis.

What kickstarted the human civilization? Fire. So make one with cow dung cakes (Goitha as we call it in Bihar). Let the fire burn and fan the embers till they go red. Now like a pyromancer, make a hollow in the embers and place your unbaked littis inside.

Let the unbaked littis acquire an earthy flavour for about 20 minutes, don't worry. They are not pizzas, they won't burn. Now wash some big brinjals, tomatoes. Boil and skin some potatoes. Let them dry in air. Chop some more onion, Garlic, Ginger and fiery green chillies.

Take out the baked littis from the fire and wipe them with a clean cloth and put them aside. They are half ready.

Now toss the Big Brinjal and tomatoes in the same fire and the let them bake for 10 minutes.

Now take out the brinjals, remove their burnt coat. Their juicy interiors will pass seductive glances at you. Put them in a bowl, add boiled and peeled potatoes, baked tomatoes, chopped chillies, garlic, ginger and onions. let them cool for about 10 minutes. The kneading resumes

Keep Kneading till it becomes a semi-solid mishmash of the aromas. Now add salt and mustard oil. Mix them again, the aroma is heady and guess what your Chokha is ready.

Let's finish the Littis now.

Place at least a liter of Shuddh Desi Ghee on same fire and let it turn into a pale aromatic liquid. Place your littis inside the hot ghee and soak them for about 10 seconds each. The over baked dry littis have soaked in the Ghee. Now it remains to be served. But there is a trick

Place your Chokha on one side of the plate and Littis on another side. Break open your Litti and pour hot ghee inside it. Let the filling absorb ghee too. Now take a small portion of the Litti along with the Chokha and place it your mouth.

Your head is swirling. Small taste bombs are exploding inside your mouth. Is it Ghee? Is it the the flavour of the Goitha? Is the filling? Ooh it's hot, it's damn spicy. The Chokha is heavenly. Your belly fills in no time but your tongue keeps craving for more.

Now that my friends is Authentic Litti Chokha. It's neither Gareeb, nor coarse or crude. It's regal. It's majestic and it's a magical.

Thank you!