Litti Chokha – Indian roasted vegetables and ghee buns

Litti Chokha is a typical, traditional dish from Northern India. Litti or Baati are small rolls, Chokha is a porridge of roasted vegetables. The special feature is that both litti and chokha are originally prepared in the embers of burnt cow dung.

Actually, this 12th-century specialty was eaten by Indian farmers as a cheap, healthy and invigorating meal, but because it was so tasty, Litti Chokha has conquered other parts of the country and social classes. Another advantage was that this Indian food could be prepared without any crockery and, moreover, it could be kept for several days.

The vegetables for Indian Chokha are cooked directly in the fire

I did not stick to the authentic original recipe for this Litti Chokha recipe. I also would not have known where to get dried cow dung in the city at once. Nevertheless, the preparation of this Litti Chokha was comparatively complex, because you have to be careful that the rolls and vegetables do not burn completely (some rolls did not make it ^^)

If you want to take some effort, you will conjure up a really authentic Indian menu with the Litti Chokha and an Indian lentil dal as a side dish.

Ingredients for Litti Baati Chokha

Preparation of the Litti Chokha

1. First melt the ghee (this is Indian clarified butter) and mix it with the other bread roll ingredients to an initially crumbly dough. Then add some water until you get a smooth dough that you can shape into balls the size of a golf ball. Set the litti balls aside for resting.

The dough is still crumbly

Baati balls ready for the grill

2. Now it’s time for the fire. Ignite in addition to the grill, a fireplace or wherever it is accordingly SAFE, a fire. I have used my ceramic grill, which has been tried and tested many times. Wait until the coals turn grey and then add the potatoes, tomatoes and de eggplant on the side.

Aubergine und Tomaten in der Glut

3. Die Kartoffeln brauchen zum Garen erfahrungsgemäß am längsten und die Schale wird dabei komplett verkohlen. Aubergine und Tomaten brauchen nicht solange und ihr könnt sie nach etwa 5-10 Minuten aus der Glut nehmen, sobald sie von allen Seiten schwarz sind. Stellt die Auberginen und Tomaten zunächst zum Abkühlen zur Seite. Die Kartoffeln brauchen etwa 10 Minuten länger, bis ihr diese auch aus der Glut nehmen könnt.

Take care that nothing burns on the grill

4. In the meantime, you can prepare the Litti rolls on the grill. If the embers are still very hot, you should roast the Litti on the grill. If the embers have already cooled down a bit and turned more to ashes, you can also put the balls under the ashes and cook them through. This leads to this delicious stick bread aroma from childhood days. But you have to be careful that the bread rolls do not burn you. Unfortunately, I burned some rolls in a careless moment.

Baati balls on the grill

Litti and potatoes in the hot embers

5. Now peel the vegetables and remove the black spots and the soot layer.

6. While the Litti rolls are now baking on the grill, you can mash the roasted vegetables together with chopped chili and coriander into a thick Chokha paste and stir.

Mix roasted vegetables with herbs for the chokha

7. Take the baked rolls out of the ashes or from the grill and remove the remaining ashes. Brush the rolls with some melted ghee and serve them together with the Chokha and a delicious lentil dal. Bon appetite ^^

Yummy Indian Vegetable Chokha

A delicious Indian menu of Litti Chokha and lentils Dal

Litti Chokha – My conclusion

To be honest, on our first attempt, I really messed up this Litti Chokha. Especially peeling the charred tomatoes was a bit of a mess because they still lose a lot of water. I also let the one or other Litti roll burn a bit.
But the work was more than worth it in terms of taste. The taste of the grilled rolls reminded me of my childhood and stick bread at the campfire. The Chokha has a very own, interesting and super delicious taste. So I would definitely take on the work again to prepare this rustic, typical Indian food.

Would Litti Chokha be a dish for you, which you would prepare for barbecue in summer for example? What experiences have you had with various Indian and grilled dishes?

You can find more suitable recipe ideas here:

• Indian Recipes – Delicacies of the Indian cuisine
• Cooking Indian food – From spices to food culture
• Indian Dal – Lentils prepared a little bit differently
• Indian Garlic Naan – Recipe for the yummy garlic bread