Litti chokha

Name: Litti chokha
Yield: Serves 7-10
Cuisine: Indian recipes
Ingredients: For the dough; 500g chapati flour (from larger supermarkets and Asian grocers); ½ tsp salt; ½ tbsp dried thyme; 35ml vegetable oil; 250ml water; For the sattu ka masala (filling); 150g gram flour (from larger supermarkets and Asian grocers); 125ml mustard oil (from Asian grocers; or you can use the oil from the top of a fresh jar of hot mango pickle, combined with sunflower oil); 2 red onions, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 4 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped; 3cm piece fresh ginger, finely chopped; 1 tbsp dried thyme; 1½ tsp nigella seeds; 3 tsp salt; 1 tbsp sugar; 3 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander; 4 tbsp raisins; To serve; 3 tbsp ghee, melted, for soaking the littis (dough balls); Lime wedges for squeezing; Mint raita and hot mango pickle

Published: 20 Apr 16
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Test kitchen approved

Vivek Singh remembers making these savoury dough balls, which are stuffed with a spicy onion, herb and raisin filling, with his father as a child.

Serves 7-10
Hands-on time 45 min, oven time 15 min

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Ingredients

For the dough

500g chapati flour (from larger supermarkets and Asian grocers)
½ tsp salt
½ tbsp dried thyme
35ml vegetable oil
250ml water

For the sattu ka masala (filling)

150g gram flour (from larger supermarkets and Asian grocers)
125ml mustard oil (from Asian grocers; or you can use the oil from the top of a fresh jar of hot mango pickle, combined with sunflower oil)
2 red onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
3cm piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried thyme
1½ tsp nigella seeds
3 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander
4 tbsp raisins

To serve

3 tbsp ghee, melted, for soaking the littis (dough balls)
Lime wedges for squeezing
Mint raita and hot mango pickle

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. To make the dough, mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until it forms a stiff dough. Cover with cling film and chill while you make the filling.
To make the filling, combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well incorporated.
Divide the dough into about 15 x 50g balls. Flatten each dough ball slightly, then roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of the filling onto each flattened ball, then pull the dough from the sides to the centre and pinch to enclose the filling.
Lay the balls (littis) on a wire rack in the centre of the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, turning once halfway through. Some parts of the dough may begin to blister and crack, but that’s fine. Remove the littis from the oven and toss them with ghee while they’re still warm. Serve warm with lime wedges, mint raita and hot mango pickle.

Recipe from March 2016 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

For 10

Calories: 429kcals
Fat: 12.9g (2.7g saturated)
Protein: 6.9g
Carbohydrates: 39.3g (5.8g sugars)
Fibre: 3.7g
Salt: 1.3g

delicious. tips

Although the dough will be quite dry, it should hold together. If necessary, add a little extra oil or water in step 1 until the mixture just comes together into a smooth dough.
The dough keeps well and may be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

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Litti chokha

Ingredients

Method

Nutrition

delicious. tips

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