Litti choka

Today's dish is probably the best known dish from bihar. Litti choka, simple and earthy dish which was quiet a staple in winter months earlier but now has become sort of novelty.It's a simple dish with very few ingredients and super healthy too.

Ingredients 

For litti 

Wheat flour - make it into dough by kneading it with slightly warm water.

Sattu - similar to besan but its made by grinding dry roasted  gram (de husked)instead of raw gram as done for besan. Sattu is now commonly available across country in most departmental store and super markets . And yes for this dish sattu cannot be replaced with besan.

Lemon juice  

Onion - finely chopped

Garlic cloves - finely chopped  

Green chillies - finely chopped 

Salt to taste 

For baign ka choka 

1 round eggplant , roast it on open flame. Once cool enough peel the roasted outer layer.  mash the roasted eggplants.

Mustard oil -1 teaspoon

Onion -1 small finely chopped
garlic - 2/3 cloves finely chopped

Green chilli - 1 or more depending on hotness preference , finely chopped
Salt to taste

Mix together everything and baigan ka chokha is ready.

I have already posted the recipe for aloo choka here 

For making litti.

For filling , mix together sattu with onion, chilli, garlic, lemon juice, salt and just enough water so the mix is crumbly.

From the dough, make small balls and roll out into small circular shape (size of a puri) . Now take a tablespoon of filling and place it on rolled out dough. Bring together the edge and shape it into flat ball.

While the typical version is baked, for today i made the poached version.

For this, in a kadhai fill water till 2/3 add salt and put it on heat . Once water come to boil , add these littis to water. let each side cook for 7-8 minutes.

Remove from water and serve with choka.

You can also fry some of these in little oil. Since they are poached before they absorb very less oil.

Panch Phoran (Spice Blend)

Today I am sharing a whole spice blend which is a staple in all Bihari / Bengali kitchen in India. Its called 'Paanch phoran' and is a mix of five different spices -  Cumin seeds, Fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, yellow mustard seeds, nigella seeds. This spice blend is used for tempering most of the vegetable dishes and beside adding flavor they are high on medicinal benefits too.

Cumin - have antioxidant, carminative and anti-flatulent properties. The seeds are an excellent source of dietary fiber.(more here)

Fenugreek  - contains protein, fibre, vitamin C, niacin, potassium, iron and alkaloids. It also contains a compound diosgenin which has oestrogen-like properties, as well as steroidal saponins. (more here)

Fennel Seeds - contain numerous flavonoid anti-oxidants like kaempferol and quercetin. These compounds function as powerful anti-oxidants by removing harmful free radicals from the body thus protect from cancers, infection, aging and degenerative neurological diseases  (more here)

Nigella seeds - popularly known as black seed, have been prized for their healing properties since time immemorial. (more here)

Mustard seeds - very rich in phyto-nutrients, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants. (more here)

Mix all the ingredients in equal proportion and store it tightly sealed jar in a dry cool place.

Aloo chokha (Mashed Potatoes - Bihar style)

Saturday in most of the bihari household means Kichdi (a simple rice and lentil preparation) for lunch, its easy to cook and healthy too. Also since i spend most of saturday morning in cleaning , laundry etc , preparing khichdi means i am relieved of all the prepping and cooking for a elaborate meals & can quickly finish off all the weekend work. Elaborate meals/ family get togethers  usually  starts from saturday evening :)

Along with Kichdi there are few staples which get served , as my grand mother used to say "kichdi ke paanch  yaar chokha dahi  papad, ghee ,  achar  " translation - Khicdi to be served with five friends, chokha (mashed potatoes), dahi (curd), papad , ghee (clarified butter) and achar (pickle)


While there are few variation, this is the simplest version for everyday cooking

You need

Boiled potatoes - mashed
Onion - chopped
Green chillies - chopped
Mustard oil - important to use mustard oil as it gives slightly pungent flavur and can be eaten uncooked
Salt - to taste


Boil potatoes and let it be cool enough to handle - not too cold else it would be difficult to mash.

Mash potatoes , add chopped onions, chillies , a spoonful of mustard oil and salt.

Mix well and serve.

Excellent with Khicdi & Litti (recipe coming up soon)

Lal Saag & Chana

So my mum was in Singapore in last four months with my sister, along with all the festivities she was also missing the season of all the different variety of 'Saag' available  in abundance in during this time in India especially in Bihar.While the most common variety of Saag - Spinach is available every where in the world. But varieties  like Laal Saag (Red amaranth) , Bathua etc are kind of limited to northern india.

 Now that she is back in India one of the first dish to cook was 'Lal Saag with kaala chana' 

You need 

A bunch of Lal Sag

Kaala chana (black gram) a handful -  soaked overnight 

Red chilli - 1 or 2 whole 

Ginger (1/2') - chopped finely 

Onion - 1 medium , finely chopped

Turmeric -1/3 teaspoon

Salt - to taste.

Cooking oil - 1 tea spoon 

To prepare.

Clean out the leaves (remove the hard stalks) and chop roughly.

Heat oil in pan, add red chilli ginger, onion. Saute on medium heat for couple of minutes.

Add chopped lal saag leaves and saute further for couple of minutes.

Turn heat to low, add turmeric , mix well , cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Keep checking the mixture in between, if it turns dry and start sticking add a little water.

Now add salt and soaked Kala chana, again saute for couple of minutes.

Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Serve with hot roti / parathas.

Fish curry in mustard gravy

I love fish, unfortunately husband doesn't even touch them so I don't get to prepare it that often, since husband was away for the weekend so decided to cook a big batch to last all weekend ( told you I love fish)

For this preparation you need fresh water fish,  in bihar we mostly use fresh water fish (there are no sea side near by but plenty of ponds and ofcorse the mighty river Ganges) so it's either Rohu / Katla -from Carp family . 

So for this fish curry in mustard gravy you  need.

Fish -1 kg , cut horizontally 

Mustard oil - 1/2 cup

Yellow mustard seeds - 2 table spoon

Garlic - 10 pods 

Red chillies -4 /5

Tomato- 1 large, chopped finely

Salt

Turmeric powder

Grind  mustard seeds , garlic and chillies into fine paste.

Clean fish, add little turmeric , salt and half teaspoon of this masala and mix well , covering each piece.

Heat mustard oil to smoking point, turn down to medium and fry each piece 2-3 minutes each side , keep adjusting the oil temperature to ensure all the pieces are golden and not over / under cooked .

Keep the fried fish aside on a kitchen towel to drain all excess oil.

Now add all the remaining masala to mustard oil and cook it on very low heat for 10-15 mins , you don't have to stir continuously but ensure that it doesn't stick

When masala is almost done add chopped up tomato pieces and cook for further 5 mins , till oil starts coming out from masala.

Add water, increase temperature and bring to boil.

Turn heat back to medium and leave it cooking for 5 mins.

Now gently add the fried fish pieces and cook for further 3-4 minutes .

Turn off the heat, your fish in mustard curry is ready. Serve it with plain boiled rice. 

Also, a good idea to prepare this dish some time in advance (30 mins to an hour) so it gets time to rest and fish can absorb all the masalas.

Mum tells me when they would cook this in winter, the leftovers were covered in a wok and left overnight to get the 'winter chill', it would taste all the more better ! 

From Mum's kitchen - Tea time snack

This is another one of the Bihar staple tea time snack called 'kachri'.

You need:

Black gram- soaked overnight (at least 5-6 hours), ground into paste

Onion -1 medium , finely chopped

Ginger -1" finely chopped

Green chillies - per taste finely chopped

Salt -per taste

Coriander leaves - chopped up 

Oil to fry 

Mix everything and form into small patty like shapes. Shallow fry on a non stick tawa ( in pre calorie counting days, it would be deep fry ), crispy and crunchy  and perfect for tea time .

From mum's kitchen 'Godla'

The ultimate comfort food from mum's kitchen -not sure if there is any fancy name for this but in Bihar it's called 'Godla'

So this is what you need:

Kala chana (Black gram) - 1 cup

Potato -1 medium size

Onion - 2 medium 

Ginger -1/2"

Garlic -4/5 pods

Cumin powder -1 tea spoon

Coriander powder - 1 tea spoon

Turmeric powder -1/3 teaspoon

Garam masala powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Bay leaves -2 /3

Badi elachi  (Black cardamom )- 1 

Red chillies -2/3 depending on taste ( I also remove the seeds to reduce heat and still get that slightly smokey flavour)

Ghee (Clarified butter or any other cooking oil) - 1 generous tablespoon 

Salt - to taste

Prep :

Soak kala chana for at least 4-5 hours

Grind it into a coarse paste - try not to make a too fine paste, this is a rustic dish, all the different texture of chana adds to the flavour

Chop up 1  1/2 onion finely

Use remaining half onion, ginger and garlic and make a rough paste.

Now heat ghee in a pressure cooker, add bay leaves, black cardamom and red chilli, sauté for half a minute 

Add the onion, garlic and ginger mix , sauté for further 2 mins , add the chopped onion , turn down the heat to low and let the onion sweat completely , mixing this masala every couple of minutes.

After about 8-10 mins when the onion becomes all soggy , add cumin, coriander and turmeric powder , keep the heat low and sauté for further five mins.

Into this mix add the kala chana mix, sauté for again 10- 15 mins, you don't have to mix constantly just every couple of mins, ensure the heat is at the lowest level so it doesn't burn or sticks.

Cut potato into 4/6 piece add it into the pressure cooker , mix well.

Add salt, garam masala powder and 3-4 cups of water.

Cover and cook on medium heat for 3-4 whistle.

Serve with hot plain rice, plain onion and a dollop of ghee...pure bliss

Bharwa karela (Stuffed bitter gourd)

While there are various version of stuffed bitter gourd,  i usually end up making this version cuase its light and takes less time to cook.

So here is the recipe

For stuffing

Onion - 1 medium finely chopped
Ginger - 1/2 inch , chopped/ grated / paste
Tomato - 2 small size, finely chopped
Chaat masala / Amchoor powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt - per taste
Chilli powder - per taste
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
Garam masala powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cooking oil


To prep the karela, clean them thoroughly and make a slit length wise to open it up , scoop out the inside pulp & seed and keep aside for stuffing (discard if its mostly seed)

Rub some salt all over and inside these karelas and leave aside till you prep the stuffing - rubbing of salt takes out the bitterness and makes them slightly tender. Don't leave for more than 30 minutes else it be too soggy.

Now to the stuffing

Heat oil, add onion , saute for couple of minutes till it becomes slightly golden. Add the inside pulp from karela if using.
Add Tomatoes , further saute for couple of minutes.
Add chilli powder, turmeric, chaat masala and cover and cook for 3-4 minutes .
Since there is no water added be careful about the masala sticking to the pan or better still use a non stick pan.
Once all masala mixes well, add salt and remove from heat

Now clean karelas  carefully so all the salt is removed. Stuff this mix in the karela. If you are feeling a little 'gourmet' you can use a cotton thread to truss it else stuff tightly and roll over so the mixture does not spill.

Pour  a little bit oil on top and sprinkle garam masala. You can now cook this stuffed karela over stove in the pan or like me bake it oven for 30 mins. If using microwave use the convection setting 15 mins.

Best served as side dish for roti / naan/ paratha 

From mum's kitchen - Kele ka kofta

I had some family members coming over lunch this sunday. There was a quiet a bit of spread, chicken pepper fry, chana dal, chicken tikka curry, pualo and kele ka kofta. Since i learnt to make kele ka kofta from mum very recently and is quiet a hit with husband, thought will share with you all.

Ingredients :

For kofta  

Raw bananas - 3/4

Garam masala powder 

salt to taste 

finely chopped green chillies (quantity depends on tolerance of heat, if you serving to kids, skip this)

finely chopped 1/2 inch ginger 

1/2 tbs amchoor or chat masala powder 

posto dana (optional) 

oil for frying

For curry 

Bay leaves -2/3

Cardamom -1 crushed

2 medium size onion, finely chopped or roughly grounded 

ginger garlic paste - 1 tbps 

Cumin powder -1 teaspoon

Dhaniya powder -1.5 teaspoon

Turmeric 

red chilli powder 

Salt to taste 

2 tbps Oil 

Preparation:

• For kofta, using a large pressure cooker , cook raw bananas (with skin on) for 2 whistles. Take off from heat, let it cool (10-15 mins)
• Once cool, peel the bananas, mash properly , add  chillies, ginger, salt, chaat powder, garam masala and roll into small balls.
• Spread posto dana on to a small plate and roll these koftas on to it, remove excess.
• Heat oil in kadahi and fry these koftas till they nicely browned all over.
• Remove and keep aside on a kitchen towel to drain extra oil.

For gravy.

• In hot oil   bay leaves and single crushed cardamom.
• Add onion, fry for 2-3 mins till it becomes slightly brown / golden.
• Add ginger - garlic paste and fry for 3-4 minute till it mixes well
• Add cumin, coriander, red chilli and turmeric powder , fry for 2-3 mins , add water if this masala sticks.
• Cover and let it cook for 5 mins on low heat.
• remover cover, add salt (be careful, as there is salt in koftas too) and water to form the gravy base.
• Let it come to boil
• Add half tea spoon of garam masla
• Cover and cook till gravy cooks completely(3-4 minutes) , turn off the heat

For serving 

Couple of minutes before serving layer koftas in the serving bowl , add gravy on top , check for salt, serve piping hot with rice / pulao.