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Indian

Litti chokha

Vegetarian

लिट्टी चोखा · liṭṭī cokhā

Wholewheat dough balls stuffed with a pungent sattu filling of garlic, ginger, chilli, ajwain and mustard oil, baked until crusty and dunked in ghee, served with a smoky mash of roasted aubergine, potato and tomato.

Litti chokha is an Indian bread, ready in about 1 hour 35 minutes and made with whole-wheat flour, sattu (roasted gram flour) and mustard oil. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep
35 min
Cook
45 min
Rest
15 min
Total
1 h 35 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
721

Ingredients

4 servings (12 litti)

For the litti dough

For the sattu filling

For the chokha

To serve

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour, ajwain (opens in a new tab) and salt for the dough. Rub in the 2 tbsp ghee (opens in a new tab), then add water gradually and knead to a firm, smooth dough, stiffer than chapati dough. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.

    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, mix all the filling ingredients: sattu (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab), ginger, green chilli (opens in a new tab), onion (opens in a new tab), coriander, ajwain (opens in a new tab), nigella seeds (opens in a new tab), lemon juice (opens in a new tab), mustard oil (opens in a new tab) and salt. Sprinkle in water until the filling holds together when squeezed but still crumbles. It should taste sharp, salty and hot.

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 200 °C. Divide the dough into 12 balls. Flatten each into a cup about 8 cm across, fill with a heaped tablespoon of filling, gather the edges and pinch to seal, then roll gently into a smooth ball.

    • 15 min
    • 200°C

  4. Step 4

    Bake the litti on a tray for 30–35 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until deep golden, crusty and small cracks appear on the surface.

    Over charcoal or coals, roast them in the embers, turning often, for about 20 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    For the chokha, push 2 garlic cloves (opens in a new tab) into slits in the aubergine (opens in a new tab). Roast the aubergine and tomatoes (opens in a new tab) directly over a gas flame (or under a hot grill), turning with tongs (opens in a new tab), until the skins are charred all over and the aubergine has collapsed, 12–15 minutes for the aubergine and 6–8 for the tomatoes. Cool slightly and peel.

    Food safety: Keep a hand away from the flame and use long tongs; roasted aubergine releases hot steam.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  6. Step 6

    Mash the aubergine (opens in a new tab), tomatoes (opens in a new tab) and boiled potatoes (opens in a new tab) together by hand or with a fork. Mix in the chopped garlic (opens in a new tab), green chilli (opens in a new tab), onion (opens in a new tab), coriander, raw mustard oil (opens in a new tab) and salt.

    Potatoes being mashed
    How it looks · Photo: Mateusz Feliksik on Pexels

  7. Step 7

    While the litti are hot, break each one lightly and dip it in melted ghee (opens in a new tab), or pour a little ghee into the cracks. Serve with the chokha.

    • 2 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, India · Well documentedTraditionally baked over smouldering cow-dung cakes or charcoal; now often made in an oven or in an appe pan.Also popular in NepalMore food from India
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Breads & flatbreads · Main courses · Street food
Cooking method
Oven-baked, Roasted, Boiled
Taste
smoky, spicy (chilli heat), earthy, garlicky
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food · Festive & celebration · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Whole-wheat flour · Sattu (roasted gram flour) · Mustard oil · Eggplant · Ajwain · Ghee
Techniques
Roasting · Baking · Broiling · Boiling · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom ghee
  • Contains: Wheatfrom whole-wheat flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom whole-wheat flour
  • Contains: Mustardfrom mustard oil

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

721 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 502 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 12%
  • Carbohydrate 58%
  • Fat 30%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy721 kcal143 kcal
Protein23 g4.6 g
Carbohydrate107.9 g21.5 g
Net carbohydrate88.9 g17.7 g
Sugars12 g2.4 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre19 g3.8 g
Fat25.2 g5 g
Saturated fat6.4 g1.3 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol17 mg3 mg
Sodium1209 mg241 mg
Salt equivalent3 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1545 mg
Calcium
101 mg
Iron
6.2 mg
Magnesium
220 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
109 µg
Vitamin C
55 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
255 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: onion, ghee.
  • Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): ajwain, ajwain, nigella seeds.
  • Sattu (roasted gram flour): Chickpea flour (FDC 174288) used as a stand-in; sattu is flour of roasted, husked black chickpeas, very close in composition.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Boil the potatoes for the chokha while the dough rests (about 20 minutes, or 3 whistles in a pressure cooker).
  • Roll the stuffed balls gently; pressing hard pushes the filling through the dough.

Common mistakes

  • Making the filling too dry — it falls out when the litti is broken. Too wet and the dough goes soggy.
  • Baking at too low a temperature, which dries the litti out before it develops a crust.

Serve with

  • Serve hot with the chokha, extra ghee, raw onion and green chillies.
  • Add tomato chokha alongside for a bigger spread.

Storage

  • Litti keep 1 day at room temperature in a covered container; chokha keeps 1 day refrigerated.

Reheating

  • Warm the litti in a 180 °C oven for 8–10 minutes.

Variations

  • Makuni: The same sattu filling stuffed into a flatbread and cooked on a griddle.
  • Appe-pan litti: Cooked on the hob in a covered appe (paniyaram) pan, turning until golden on all sides.

History

Litti, wheat dough baked in embers with a sattu filling, is an old food of the Bhojpuri-speaking region, valued because sattu and wheat travel and keep well. It is now a celebrated street food across Bihar and Jharkhand.

Confidence: Commonly attributed

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

Structure

For the litti dough

Used in steps 1, 6, 7

Reviews & corrections

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