When it comes cooking stuffed paratha we have many option to choose from. From Paneer, to Onion to Potatoes to others. Today, I tried cooking one of traditional dish of my state. While dish is popularly known as Litti-chokha, I cooked it in Paratha for today breakfast. Especially the stuffing constituent is what matters most. So named it Sattu Paratha. Essentially, it's a traditional Bihari (eastern india) food with deep cultural roots in the state.
Sattu paratha is famous in Bihar because "sattu," the key ingredient in the paratha, is considered a staple food in the region, particularly among the working class and farmers, due to its high nutritional value, being rich in protein and fiber, and having a low glycemic index, making it a filling and healthy meal option. You can savour yhis either with tea, chutney or pickle.
The main item that goes with the dish is Sattu. It is said to be poor man food. Sattu in our region is a flour made from dry roasted and ground pulses and cereals, usually chickpeas. Sattu is a popular ingredient in vegetarian cuisine in many parts of India, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and UP. It's high in protein and fiber, and contains nutrients like magnesium, iron, and calcium. In our markets it is easily available. I have take a cup (50 grams) for my cooking in a plate.
In Sattu parattha, it is is important to make the stuffing as savoring as possible. I made use of :
- Chopped onion (2 small pieces)
- Green chillies (2 pcs)
- Lemon juice
- Salt to taste
- 1 spoon mustard oil
- Little drops of water (for mixing)
I chopped onion and chillies as fine as possible.
I put all the ingredients on the plate of Sattu. Including mustard oil, lemon juice, salt.
I have added little quantity of hone made mango pickle , for some tangy flavour to my dish.
The next step in the preparation involves mixing all the mixture properly. We keep the mixture dry. Mixing is important to mix the mustard oil and lemon juice to sattu. Being dry in nature, i made use of my hand to mix them.
Many people like to make it looks like dough by adding water. But it lost the authentic taste of sattu. Our stuffing mixture is now ready.
Next step is to make wheat flour dough. Making dough is a common process whihh involved mixing water to the flour until it becomes like dough. I have take 2 cup of wheat flour for my paratha and mix water to make it dough.
I have added little Ajwain (carrom seeds) while making dough. Ajwain is used in Ayurvedic and Siddha medicine to treat a variety of issues, and it is importsnt part of indian kitchen. Everything ready to prepare our Parattha.
Further process involve stuffing the mixed sattu ingredinets to wheat flour, and then pressing them with a roller.
We must make sure that the stuffing should be cloaed properly. Once we roll the stuffed material, we put them in pan to cook. We need to bake it both side and may make use of Ghee or refined oil.
This is all like cooking chapatti. Once both side is baked properly, we take out them in a plate. Our Sattu Parattha is ready to be served. We can make use of multiple option. But in winter, I like to have it with hot cup of tea.
It is good to have a healthy breakfast , and in winter this is a easy meal option for every home. As it does not require any special item. Most of item are readily available and the cooking method is not so complex.
Sattu is considered a "poor man's protein" due to its high protein content (cheakpeas) and other essential nutrients. Sattu is believed to have originated in the Magadh region of Bihar. It is very popular at many state of India.
