Explore Uttar Pradesh With Diffrent Taste

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Food Culture of Uttar Pradesh

The cuisine of Uttar Pradesh is just as diverse as its geography. Ranging from simple every day fare to rich, elaborate banquets, the cuisine of Uttar Pradesh has absorbed and adapted a variety of cuisines to create an entire feast of wonderful dishes.

Many of the Hindu communities are staunch vegetarians and they have created a vast variety of vegetarian dishes ranging from the all time favourite 'puri-aloo' or potatoes and fried wheat bread to savouries and divine desserts and sweetmeats. The Muslims, Kashmiris, Kayasthas and Christian communities cook up a storm of non-vegetarian dishes including a delectable selection of breads, kababs, curries and biryanis.

The Muslim cuisine, of northern Uttar Pradesh is very different from the Mughlai food of Delhi. The Nawabs of Oudh were great gourmets and encouraged their master chefs to create new styles of cooking like the famous 'Dum Pukht' of Lucknow where the food is sealed in large pots called 'Handis', placed over a slow fire and left to cook in its own juices. When opened, these dishes release the most fragrant and delicious aromas.

Lucknow and its neighbouring towns were put on the culinary map of India thanks to these rich curries, melt in the mouth kababs, fragrant rice biryanis and pulaos and an eclectic variety of leavened and unleavened breads.

Recipe Of Litti Chokha

Litti Chokha is a traditional Bihari and Jharkhand dish that is quite similar to Rajasthani Baati but still very different. The litti is the bread made out of flour and is stuffed with sattu and chokha is the side dish made using eggplant, potato or tomatoes. 

Ingredients

For Litti

• 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1/8 tsp Cooking Soda

For the filling

• 1 cup Sattu
• 1 tbsp Mustard Oil
• 1 tsp Ginger Grated
• 1 tsp Green Chilli Finely Chopped
• 2 tbsp Fresh Coriander Finely Chopped
• 2 tbsp Pickle Masala
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder

For Baingan Ka Chokha

• 1 Brinjal Large
• 2 Tomato Medium
• 1/2 cup Onion Chopped
• 2 tsp Green Chilli Chopped
• 2 tbsp Fresh Coriander Chopped
• Salt to taste
• 3 tbsp Mustard Oil
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Instructions

For Litti

1. Add whole wheat flour, salt, ghee and cooking soda in a bowl and mix well.
2. Add water and knead to make a medium soft dough.
3. Cover the dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.

For the Filling

1. Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. Add some more oil if the filling is too dry.
3. You should be able to bind the filling in your fist. 

Assembling the litti

1. Take out a large lemon sized dough and make it into a ball.
2. Roll the dough ball to make a 4-5 inch circle.
3. Keep 2 tbsp of filling in the centre of the dough and bring the ends together.
4. Nicely seal the ends.
5. Make all the lit in the same manner.
6. Keep the litti covered with a cloth.
7. Pre heat an oven to 180 degrees C.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until browned from the top.
9. Flip the litti upside down and bake for another 10-12 minutes.
10. They should be evenly browned from all the sides.
11. Hold the litti with a tong and roast them over direct flame so that brown spots appears all over them.
12. Dip the litti in ghee and serve with chokha.

For Baingan ka Chokha

1. Roast the baingan and tomatoes over direct flame until nicely charred.
2. Remove them on a plate and let cool.
3. Remove the skin of the eggplant and tomato and mash them nicely.
4. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix well.
5. Serve hot with litti.