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Bihar & Jharkhand / East India · Indian

Litti Chokha (Bihari Roasted Wheat Balls with Mashed Vegetables)

Bihar and Jharkhand's signature meal: wheat-flour balls stuffed with spiced roasted sattu, charred over coals, and served with smoky mashed brinjal, potato and tomato chokha.

By Table & Traditions Editors

Published July 22, 2026

A plate of Bihari litti chokha — charred round wheat balls glistening with ghee beside a smoky mashed brinjal-and-tomato chokha, with green chili and onion.

Litti chokha is the soul food of Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh — a rustic, protein-rich meal built on sattu (roasted gram flour) that travels well and keeps for days, historically the food of farmers, travellers and soldiers. The litti are traditionally roasted over cow-dung cakes or coal embers, then drowned in ghee and served with smoky chokha.

Yield
Serves 4 (about 12 litti)
Prep
30 min
Cook
40 min
Total
About 1 hr 10 min
Difficulty
Intermediate

Litti chokha is the soul food of Bihar and Jharkhand — wheat-flour balls stuffed with spiced, roasted sattu, charred over coals until cracked and smoky, then drowned in ghee and served with a mash of flame-roasted vegetables. Hearty, protein-rich and famously good keepers, littis were the food of farmers, travellers and soldiers long before they became a regional pride.

Sattu is the heart

The filling is what makes a litti. Sattu — flour from roasted gram — is mixed with a pungent paste of ginger, garlic and green chili, sharp mustard oil, ajwain, kalonji, and crucially a spoon of pickle masala, which gives the tangy, briny kick that marks a proper Bihari litti. There’s no substitute for sattu, but it’s easy to find at Indian grocers.

Char is flavour

Traditionally littis roast over cow-dung cakes or charcoal, and that smoke is the point. An oven at 200°C will firm and crack the crust, but a finish over an open flame — or a quick charcoal dhungar — brings the rustic character home.

The smoky mash alongside

Chokha is just as important: brinjal, potato and tomato roasted over flame until charred, then peeled and mashed with raw mustard oil, onion, green chili and garlic. Dip the hot littis in plenty of ghee and eat them with the smoky chokha. For more rustic, sattu- and gram-rich cooking, see dal baati churma and the Indian spice pantry.

Ingredients

Serves
4

For the dough

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda (optional), water to bind

For the sattu filling

  • 1 cup sattu (roasted chana/gram flour) The heart of the dish; available at Indian grocers. There's no real substitute.
  • 1 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chili paste
  • 2 tbsp pickle masala (achar masala) with a little pickle oil The defining tangy, pungent note of a Bihari litti.
  • 1 tsp ajwain, 1 tsp kalonji (nigella), 1 tbsp mustard oil, chopped coriander, lemon juice, salt

For the chokha

  • 1 large brinjal (eggplant)
  • 3 potatoes
  • 3 tomatoes
  • 1 onion (finely chopped), 2 green chilies, garlic, mustard oil, coriander, salt

To serve

  • lots of melted ghee for dipping

Method

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  1. Knead a firm dough with atta, ghee, salt and water; rest 20 minutes. Mix the sattu filling — sattu, the ginger-garlic-chili paste, pickle masala and oil, ajwain, kalonji, mustard oil, lemon and coriander — to a moist, crumbly mix.

    Why: A firm dough holds the filling without cracking during roasting; the pickle masala and mustard oil give the sattu its unmistakable tangy, pungent kick that defines a good litti.

  2. Take a ball of dough, flatten it, place a spoon of sattu in the centre, seal it closed and roll back into a ball. Repeat for all.

    Why: Sealing well keeps the dry filling inside; any crack lets it spill and burn during the roast.

  3. Roast the littis over charcoal, in a tandoor, or in a 200°C oven (turning) until the crust is firm, cracked and charred in spots, about 30–40 minutes.

    Why: The char is the flavour — direct coal heat gives litti its smoky, rustic character. An oven works but finishing over a flame adds the authentic touch.

  4. For the chokha, roast the brinjal, tomatoes and potatoes over a flame until charred and soft, then peel and mash with chopped onion, green chili, garlic, mustard oil, coriander and salt. Dip the hot littis in ghee and serve with chokha.

    Why: Roasting the vegetables over open flame gives chokha its essential smoky depth; raw mustard oil and onion keep it sharp and fresh. The ghee dip is non-negotiable in Bihar.

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Variations

  • Baked / appe-pan litti

    Cook the stuffed balls in an appe (paniyaram) pan or air-fryer for a no-coal version.

  • Litti with ghee and chokha only

    Skip the brinjal and serve potato-tomato chokha alone for a quicker meal.

  • Spicier filling

    Add more green chili and a heavier hand of pickle masala for a fierier sattu.

Serving & Storage

Serve the hot litti dipped in or drizzled with plenty of melted ghee, alongside the smoky chokha. Curd, green chili and raw onion are traditional accompaniments; some serve a bowl of dal too.

Pairs with: Brinjal-potato chokha, Melted ghee, Plain yogurt, Green chili and onion.

Storage: Litti keep 2–3 days at room temperature (their keeping quality is the point) and reheat well over a flame or in an oven. Chokha is best fresh; refrigerate up to a day.

Nutrition

Per serving (3 litti with chokha)

Calories
520
Protein
18 g
Carbs
62 g
Fat
24 g
Fiber
10 g
Sugar
6 g
Sodium
640 mg

Notable micronutrients: Protein, Fiber, Iron, Folate

Estimated using standard ingredient data. Values vary with brands and substitutions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is sattu?

Sattu is flour made from roasted Bengal gram (chana). It's high in protein and fibre, cooling, and a staple of Bihar and eastern India. There's no true substitute — look for it at Indian grocers, where it's sold as 'sattu' or 'roasted gram flour'.

Can I make litti without a coal fire?

Yes. Bake at 200°C, turning, until cracked and golden, or use an appe pan or air-fryer. For the authentic smoky note, finish a few directly over a gas flame or add a quick dhungar (charcoal-and-ghee) smoke.

What is chokha?

Chokha is a rustic mash of flame-roasted vegetables — most often brinjal (baingan), potato and tomato — seasoned with raw mustard oil, onion, green chili and garlic. The smokiness from open-flame roasting is its signature.

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