Litti Chokha

Before you start

• Sattu is sold already roasted, so it goes straight in. If you are standing in besan, dry-roast it over low heat for 8-10 minutes until it darkens a shade and smells like roasted grain, then cool it completely — unroasted besan tastes raw and pasty.
• Make the dough first and let it rest a full 30 minutes so it seals around the filling instead of tearing.
• Char the vegetables for the chokha while the litti bake, so both land hot at the same time.

Method

1. Rub 2 tbsp mustard oil and 1 tsp salt into the atta until a squeezed handful holds its shape, then add water a little at a time to make a stiff, smooth dough.Stiffer than roti dough. A soft dough splits open as the filling steams.
2. Cover the dough and rest it 30 minutes.
3. Mix the sattu with the garlic, ginger, 4 chopped green chillies, the ajwain, nigella, juice of half the lemon, 3 tbsp mustard oil and 1 tsp salt, rubbing it through your fingers.It should end up damp and crumbly, never a paste — wet filling makes a heavy, soggy litti.
4. Divide the dough into 10 balls. Cup each in your palm, press a hollow, pack in a heaped tablespoon of the sattu mix, then pinch the seam closed and roll smooth.Roll seam-side down and check for cracks; an open seam leaks filling and scorches.
5. Bake at 200C for 25 minutes, turning once at the halfway mark, until the litti are dry, cracked across the top and pale brown.
6. Meanwhile rub the brinjal with a little oil and hold it directly over a gas flame, turning, for 10-12 minutes until the skin blisters black and the flesh slumps. Char the tomatoes the same way for 5 minutes.The smoke is the whole flavour of chokha — take it to the open flame, not to a covered pan.
7. Boil the potatoes 15 minutes until a knife slides in without resistance, then drain and peel.
8. Peel the charred brinjal and tomatoes and mash them with the potato, chopped onion, remaining 2 green chillies, 1 tbsp mustard oil, the juice of the remaining lemon half and salt.
9. Fold in the coriander leaves and taste — chokha should be sharp with lemon and raw mustard oil, not bland.
10. Dip each hot litti in the melted ghee, holding it under for a few seconds so it soaks, then crush it open and serve over the chokha.Dip while the litti is still hot; a cooled one will not take the ghee.

Storage

Chokha keeps 2 days refrigerated and is good cold. Litti keep 2 days in an airtight tin — refresh them 6 minutes in a 200C oven and dip in fresh ghee before serving.