Litti - Chokha

Ask any true blood Bihari about the defining dish of Bihar and I can bet you about the answer "Litti-chokha". Having lived in Bihar most of my early childhood can recollect describing the whole setup as a wintry evening, star-lit skies, fragrance of fired cow dung-cakes, aroma of ghee being heated, and sound of kids playing around.
 To describe this iconic and intrinsically Bihari recipe to a non Bihari won't be easy. A dry mix of Sattu (described in my previous post) with salt, spices and spicy oil from a jar of mango pickles is made. Wheat flour is moulded into rounded hollow balls into which you fill this sattu mix. As the balls are getting formed, you stoke a “barbecue” with dried cow dung cakes (gointha). The sattu balls are then inserted into the smoldering fire with potatoes, aubergine and tomatoes following it for company later. After sometime, the vegetables are pulled out manually, followed by the littis.

Long live "Litti-chokha"

Serve: 4

Preparation Time: 45 mins

Cooking Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

Wheat (gehun) flour:                       2 cups
Refined oil:                                     2 tbsp
Salt:                                               1 tsp


For Stuffing
Sattu:                                            1 cup
Green chillies:                                2-3 (finely chopped)
Roasted cumin seeds (jeera):         1/2 tsp
Ginger (adrak):                              1 tsp (finely chopped)
Garlic (lehsun):                               1 tsp (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves(dhania):               1/2 cup (finely chopped)
Dried mango powder (amchur):      1 tsp
Green mango pickle masala & oil:   1 tbsp
Carom seeds (ajwain):                    1/2 tsp
Nigella Seed (Kalonji):                    1/2 tsp
Onions:                                          1/2 cup (finely chopped)
Salt to taste

For Chokha
Potatoes:                                       2 medium sized boiled
Brinjal (baingan / eggplant):            1 medium sized
Tomatoes:                                      3 medium sized
Green chillies:                                 2-4 finely chopped
Coriander leaves(dhania):               1 tbsp finely chopped

Ginger (adrak):                              1 tsp (finely chopped)
Garlic (lehsun):                               1 tsp (finely chopped)

Mustard (rai / sarson) oil:                1tsp
Salt to taste

Method
1) Sieve the flour and add salt & refined oil. Knead the dough properly with water and make a stiff dough.
Cover with a wet cloth and keep aside.
2) For stuffing: Take sattu or roasted gram flour in a bowl. Add all the ingredients and mix well. In case the stuffing is bit dry, you can add little water.
3) For Littis: Take the dough and make 6-7 medium equal sized balls.
4) Take each ball and flatten the ball a bit with your palm and make depression. Try to make a bowl kind of structure
5) Fill a portion of the stuffing and close the balls by lifting the sides by hand and flatten the littis a bit by pressing your palm. Keep it aside.
6) You can either use a cow dung cake (gointha) or coal to make a barbecue. You can either use a gas tandoor (I am using this). Else an easier option is to heat oil in a kadhai and fry the littis till golden brown.
7) Roast the littis in barbecue/ tandoor until nice and crisp turning around in between.
8) For Chokha: Boil the potatoes and keep aside. Make incision on the Brinjal and roast on the fire from all the sides until it becomes soft. Roast the tomatoes as well
9) Peel of the burnt skin of the Brinjal and Tomato.
10) Mash boiled potatoes, Brinjal and tomatoes together.
11) Add all the other ingredients like finely chopped coriander leaves, salt, green chilies  ginger, garlic and oil. Add salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients well.

For serving
Break the litti in equal halves and put 1 tsp hot ghee in between. Relish it hot with chokha.

BON APPETIT..

Rustic Rice with Oven Grilled Vegetables

Today its raining since morning, a cold and wet day feel like cooking something more earthy and rural. I am planning for a brown rice recipe which is considered to be more healthy yet rustic. In much of Asia, brown rice is associated with poverty and wartime shortages, and in the past was rarely eaten except by the sick and the elderly because as it has high fiber content. This traditionally denigrated kind of rice is often now more expensive than common white rice, partly due to its relatively low supply and difficulty of storage and transport. I am making a herb brown rice and layering it with boiled potato tossed in homemade pesto sauce. Serving it with some low fat oven grilled vegetables.

Ingredient:

Brown rice:                 1 cup (soak in water for 1 hr)
Spring onion:               2 medium long stems
Potato:                        1 large
Fresh Basil
Fresh Parsley
Parmesan cheese:        2 table spoon
Pine nuts:                     2 table spoon
Olive Oil
Garlic:                          4 large cloves
Garlic powder:             1/2 tea spoon
Butter:                         1 tea spoon
Lemon Juice
Seasonal Vegetables:    2 cups cut in medium size chunks (I an using beans, broccoli, onion, eggplant, carrot & capsicum)   
Kosher salt to taste
White pepper

Method:
1) Wash and dry all cut seasonal vegetables. Add salt, pepper, 1 table spoon olive oil, 1 tsp butter, garlic powder and 4 table spoon finely chopped parsley and basil leaves. Mix well and grill it for 20-25 minutes turning the vegetable twice in between. Keep it hot.
2) Peel a large potato and slice it. Boil it till fully cooked.
3) For pesto sauce, grind together 1 cup fresh basil,  2 table spoon parmesan, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 garlic cloves and 1 table spoon lightly roasted pine nuts.
4) Toss the boiled potato slices in pesto sauce and season it with salt and pepper. Set aside
5) For herb brown rice, heat some olive oil in a pan and add 1 table spoon minced garlic. Add finely chopped spring onion. Toss it for a minute and add the rice. Pour 4 cups of water and season it with salt. let it cook until the water run dry and rice is well cooked. Turn off the heat and mix 1 cup of finely fresh basil and parsley leafs. Season it with white pepper. Mix well and cover it for 2 minutes.
6) To assemble use a bowl or a mould put some rice at the bottom then layer it with pesto potato in between and again cover it with rice. Take out the mould and top it up with grilled vegetable and sprinkle some lemon juice.

BON APPETIT..

Sonar Begun ( Golden Eggplant)

The culture of West Bengal is an Indian Culture which has its roots in the Bengali literature, music, fine arts, drama and cinema. West Bengal shares its distinctive culinary tradition with neighbouring Bangladesh, and also borrows from other Indian states. Bengali cuisine is rich and varied with the use of many specialized spices and flavours. I had this dish in my one of the visits to Sonargaon  a fine dining restaurant by Taj, Kolkata. Today I am trying to replicate and share the same taste which is really hard to forget. The rustic yet elegant look, velvety texture and mouth melting bite is enough to describe this recipe. Lets cook and find it for ourselves.

Ingredient:
Eggplant:               1 Medium
Mustard seed:       1 table spoon
Mustard oil:           1 table spoon
Nigella seed:          1/4 tea spoon
Green Chili:            2-3 chili
Turmeric Powder:   2 tea spoon
Red Chili powder:   2 teaspoon
Garlic cloves:          1large
Lime juice:              1 table spoon
Salt to taste
Sugar:                     1/2 tea spoon

Method:
1) Wash eggplant and cut it with the stems on.
2) To make mustard paste, soak it in water for 10 minutes and grind it to a coarse paste.
3) Heat mustard oil to the smoking point. Crackle nigella seed, slit green chili and minced garlic.
4) Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and eggplant. Toss together. Add 40ml of water.
5) Cook on low heat until the eggplants are done.
6) Add mustard paste, sugar and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
7) Add a little more mustard oil, lime juice and stir. Serve hot with some butter phulka or boiled white rice.

BON APPETIT..

Lasagna Layered Parmigiana di melanzane

I was introduced to "Parmigiana di melanzane" during a dinner party at friends place. How can eggplant recipe taste so yummy? I am tweaking it by adding lasagna sheets to make a complete meal. Parmigiana (a short form of Parmigiana di melanzane) is a Southern Italian dish made with a shallow-fried sliced filling, layered with cheese and tomato sauce, then baked. Parmigiana made with a filling of eggplant (also called aubergine) is the earliest version. The dish consists of a sliced filling pan fried in oil, layered with tomato sauce and cheese, and baked in an oven. In some versions, the sliced filling is first dipped in beaten eggs and dredged in flour or breadcrumbs before frying. Some recipes use hard grated cheeses such as Parmesan, while others use softer melting cheeses like Mozzarella, or a combination of these.

Ingredient:

Aubergine:               1 large ( Cut in 1 cm thick round slice)
Onion:                      1 medium ( finely chopped)
Tomato:                   4 large ( Finely chopped)
Tomato paste:          2 table spoon
Lasagna Sheet:         2 medium
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Bread crumb:            2 tablespoon
Dried Oregano
Garlic:                      2 cloves
Salt to taste
Black Pepper

Method:
1) Heat some oil in a grill pan and roast the aubergine slices, season it with salt and pepper. Keep aside
2) Boil the lasagna sheet and wash it with cold water.
3) Heat some oil and add dried oregano and minced garlic. Add onion, stir it for a minute and add tomato. Season it with salt and pepper. Cook it covered till the tomato are soft and juicy. Add tomato paste and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
4) Take a oven proof container and layer it with tomato sauce, a thin layer of parmesan cheese, grilled aubergine and lasagna sheet. Repeat the layers and top it up with tomato sauce some breadcrumb parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
5) Bake it in a pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes at 180 degree. Serve it sizzling hot with your choice of fresh bread.

BON APPETIT...

Aubergine Delights ( Feta stuffed Brinjal with caramelized onion sauce)

Aubergine, Eggplant or Brinjal several names, several shape and sizes but make a delightful recipe. Almost all the cuisine has their favorites recipe from this humble vegetable. It is often stewed, as in the French ratatouille, or deep fried as in the Italian parmigiana,  the Turkish karnıyarık or Turkish and Greek musakka/moussaka. Eggplants can also be battered before deep-frying and served with a sauce made of tahini and tamarind. Best-known Turkish eggplant dishes are İmam bayıldı (vegetarian) and Karnıyarık (with minced meat).It may also be roasted in its skin until charred, so the pulp can be removed and blended with other ingredients, such as lemon, tahini, and garlic, as in the Middle Eastern baba ghanoush and the similar Greek melitzanosalata. Indian and Pakistani dish baingan ka Bhartha or gojju. Unlimited varieties

I tried to do some experiment with this humble veggie and came up with this delicately flavored Feta stuffed roll with caramelized onion and tomato sauce topped with some breadcrumb and Parmesan. Finally baked to perfection. It has a french feel and flavor to it.

Ingredients:

Aubergine:            1large (Sliced lengthwise )
Yellow Onion:      2 large
Feta Cheese:        5 table spoon ( crumbled)
Tomato:               1 large (finely chopped)
Mozzarella:          1table spoon
Tomato ketchup:  2table spoon
Garlic powder
Garlic cloves:       2large
Dried Oregano
Dried Basil
Bread Crumb
Parmesan cheese
Black pepper
Salt to taste
Olive oil
Butter
Crème Fraîche
Milk

Method:

1) Cut the aubergine lengthwise in thin slices of 0.5 cm and sprinkle it with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2) Heat 1 spoon olive oil in a nonstick pan and roast the slices from both the side till soft and brown.
3) Heat some butter in another pan and add onion juliennes to it. Toss it continuously until it caramelizes and turn golden brown.
4) Take half of the caramelized onion and add feta, mozzarella, salt, pepper and dried basil. Mix well and make equal portions of it.
5) Put the cheese mixture at the end of the roasted aubergine strips and roll it. Place it in a oven safe bowl with open end below. Make all the rolls and queue it up.
6) For the sauce heat some oil in a pan. Add dried oregano, crushed garlic and tomato to it. Season it with salt and pepper. Toss well and add remaining caramelized onion to it. Cover and simmer it for 10 minutes. Add tomato ketchup.
7) Put the sauce in a mixer and make a paste of it. Add 1 spoon crème fraîche and some milk if the sauce is too thick to get the desired consistency.
8) Pour the sauce in the bottom of the oven proof dish. Sprinkle some breadcrumbs and grated parmesan over the roll and grill it at 150 degree Celsius for 15 minutes.
9) See breadcrumb and parmesan turning brown and the sauce boiling its time get it out and dig into this appetizing wonder. Enjoy it with your favorite french bread.

BON APPETIT..