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–+ servings

Litti

Jyoti Behrani
Avocado Litti – is a stuffed roasted dough ball, cooked on low heat and served with some chokha or mashed vegetables. Traditionally, ghee is used to bind the litti dough. Here, I am sharing a recipe for avocado litti, uses avocado to bind the dough instead of ghee. Thus, making these litti VEGAN, LOW-FAT.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Bihari, Indian
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

FOR LITTI DOUGH

  • 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 small ripe avocado
  • ¼ teaspoon AJWAIN
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
  • water as needed, for kneading

FOR LITTI STUFFING

  • ¾ cup SATTU (roasted gram flour)
  • ½ inch ginger, chopped or grated
  • 1-2 green chili, chopped, adjust to taste
  • 1-2 teaspoon lemon juice, adjust to taste
  • 2-3 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Mustard or Olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon pickle masala, adjust to taste
  • salt to taste
  • 2-3 tablespoon green garlic (Optional), fresh or frozen, white and green part both
  • 1-2 tablespoon water as needed, to form, soft, crumbly mixture

For Basting

  • 1-2 tablespoon melted ghee or oil (For VEGAN, use plant based oil)

Instructions
 

HOW TO MAKE DOUGH FOR LITTI

  • In a mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients - flour, ajwain, baking soda and salt to taste. Mix well to combine all the dry ingredients. Keep it aside.
  • In another mixing bowl, add the avocado, using a fork mash the avocado to a smooth consistency.
  • Add the mashed avocado to the dry ingredients and mix well.
  • Take some flour into your hands and gently rub the flour mixture between your hands to form a breadcrumbs like texture. This is a important step, this makes the crust for litti flaky or “khasta”, as we call in Hindi.
  • Gradually, add water, as needed to form into a stiff dough . Do NOT over knead the dough. 
  • Cover the dough with a plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, to prevent it from drying. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

HOW TO PREPARE STUFFING (PITTI) FOR LITTI

  • In a mixing bowl, add SATTU (roasted gram flour), ginger, green chili, lemon juice, fresh cilantro, green garlic (optional), oil, pickle masala and salt to taste.
  • Mix all the ingredients, to form into a semi-soft, crumbly texture mixture.
  • If the mixture is too dry, add few tablespoons of water and mix to form a semi-soft, mixture.
    Note: The stuffing mixture is not too dry or too wet. It has a semi-soft, crumbly texture.

HOW TO FOAM LITTI

  • Drizzle a teaspoon of oil on the rested dough and kneed the dough for couple of minutes.
  • Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Roll the dough into small lemon size balls. Keep it aside.
  • Divide the stuffing mixture into 12 equal portions, make small balls with it. Keep it aside.

FIRST METHOD - HOW TO FOAM LITTI

  • Take a ball of dough, and using your fingers flatten the dough, into a circular shape, around 2 inches in diameter.
  • Shape it into a shallow cup, thin on the outer edges and slightly thick in the center.
  • Now place a ball of stuffing onto the flatten dough.
  • Bring the edges of the dough towards the center, while pressing the stuffing gently, seal the ball. Roll the ball between your palms to smoothen it.
  • Cover the litti with some plastic wrap or clean kitchen towel, to prevent the litti from drying.

SECOND METHOD - HOW TO FOAM LITTI

  • Sprinkle some flour on a rolling surface. Take a ball of dough, and using the rolling pin, roll the dough into a circle, around 2 inches in diameter.
  • Now place a ball of stuffing onto the flatten dough.
  • Bring the edges of the dough towards the center, while pressing the stuffing gently, seal the ball. Roll the ball between your palms to smoothen it.
  • Cover the litti with some plastic wrap or clean kitchen towel, to prevent the litti from drying.

AIR FRYER / INSTANT POT LITTI USING MEALTHY CRISPLID

  • You will need MEALTHY CRIPSLID, PARCHMENT PAPER, TONGS
  • IMPORTANT: Completely UNPLUG the Instant Pot unit, before proceeding with this recipe.
  • Line the crispy basket with some parchment paper. Place the litti in the crispy basket. Using a pastry brush, apply some oil on top of the litti. You can place around 6-8 litti.
  • Place the trivet (that comes with crisplid) inside the inner pot of Instant Pot. Place the crispy basket on top of the trivet. Now place the mealthy crisplid on top of the inner pot. Plug the crisplid and lower the handle.
  • Bake litti at 350 degree Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes, turn them half way through, apply melted ghee or oil on the litti and continue to bake until the outer crust is nice and light brown in color.
  • Check if the litti are done. If required add few more minutes of cooking time in the increments of 1-2 minute(s).
  • Continue with the process, and finish making the remaining litti. This recipe yields around 12 litti.

OVEN BAKED LITTI

  • You will need 9*13 inches BAKING SHEET, PARCHMENT PAPER, TONGS
  • Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Line baking tray with some parchment paper.
  • Arrange the litti onto a baking tray. Using a pastry brush, apply some oil on the litti.
  • Place the baking tray on the middle rack, bake for 25-30 minutes, turn them half way through, apply melted ghee or oil on the litti and continue to bake until the outer crust is nice and light brown in color.
  • Check if the litti are done. If required add few more minutes of cooking time.
    Note: Please use timing as a guideline. Cooking time may vary depending upon the size of the litti and also different ovens, have different temperature settings. It took me around 26 minutes to bake these litti.

STOVE TOP LITTI USING ROTI GRILL

  • You will need ROTI GRILL, TONGS
  • Place the roti grill on a stove top. Arrange the littis on the roti grill, and roast the littis on a medium to low heat.
  • Using the tongs, flip the littis every couple of minutes for even cooking.
  • Cook the littis from the side by holding the littis with the tongs at an angle so the sides get cooked.
  • Continue cooking the littis until it is cooked through and you see charred spots on littis. It will take around 8-10 minutes for the littis to cook.

OPTIONAL

  • Apply some melted ghee over the litti. For VEGAN, use vegan butter or plant based oil.
  • For Oven baked or Instant Pot litti, if you like charred spots on the litti, you can roast these litti directly on some flame (stove top or grill) for couple of minutes. This give litti a nice charred spots and a smoky flavor.

Notes

  1. Apply some oil on your hands while handling the dough to prevent it from sticking.
  2. PRO TIPS FOR THE BEST LITTI - please refer to the post earlier.
  3. CAN I MAKE LITTI WITHOUT USING AVOCADO - Yes, substitute 2 tablespoons of ghee or butter to bind the dough. Follow rest of the recipe as discussed earlier. For Vegan Litti, substitute vegan butter or any plant based oil instead of avocado.
  4. Traditionally, litti stuffing is made with mustard oil, as it has a nice pungent flavor and adds a nice flavor to the litti. 
  5. HOW TO SERVE LITTI - Litti is traditionally served with some BAINGAN CHOKHA, TOMATO CHOKHA, DHABA (RESTAURANT) STYLE DAL, GREEN GARLIC CILANTRO CHUTNEY and some salad. Enjoy!!

Disclaimer

Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

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