Litti chokha, for some, is pure emotion, while many others immensely love indulging in the popular street food of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Now, on Instagram, Content Creator Vaibhav Boghani has given litti chokha a French twist, leaving foodies ecstatic. Known for blending different cultural flavours while respecting traditional roots, the recipe creator recently shared the recipe of his latest fusion dish, which is undoubtedly unmissable.
Vaibhav begins the video, saying, “If you're from Bihar, you might want to sit down for this. I made Litti Chokha, but French. Not fusion in the lazy sense.”
He continues, “I actually rebuilt it using the French technique. The Litti isn't Litti anymore. It's Pithiviers. French puff pastry pie, laminated dough, butter layers, the whole classical pastry situation. But when you cut into it, the filling is still sattu. A little brown butter to round it out, and ajwain for that nutty, earthy aroma. The flavour hasn't gone anywhere.”
For the chokha, instead of mashing everything together, he treated each part like it deserved space. “The potato became a pomme purée. Smooth, silky, but I steeped green chillies in the milk, so the heat still lingers instead of attacking you. The baingan (brinjal) is cooked in spices till it's smoky and soft. No shortcuts there. And the tomatoes, I confit cherry tomatoes with garlic, sugar, and salt in Unaam's yellow mustard oil. That oil brings it straight back home. It's mellow and soft and perfect for this recipe,” he explains.
In the end, he puts forward a real question: “If the flavours are loyal, but the technique is French, is this still Litti Chokha, or does changing the structure automatically mean disrespect?”
The chef also mentions that when he ate it, it tasted exactly like what he grew up with. However, the French-style Litti Chokha also “looked like it graduated from culinary school in Paris”, according to Vaibhav. “So now tell me, was this innovation or betrayal?” he concludes.
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The blend of French cooking and plating style, alongside the Bihari charm of litti chokha, simply won the hearts of many foodies online.
A user said, “Please call it Littè au Chauk.”
Another added, “It is no longer litti chokha, but you have created a beautiful dish, French in character, hence you can give a French name to your dish! Well done!!”
Someone mentioned, “This is very cool and exactly what fusion food should be!”
“Peak creativity. If only this could be delivered,” read a comment.
A person also hilariously stated, “Litti has a child who is not Indian but holding a French citizenship.”
A foodie wondered, “Looks fabulous. I'm sure it tasted good!”
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Check out the full recipe below:
Ingredients
For the Sattu Pithivier
- Puff pastry – 2 sheets (300 g)
- Sattu – ½ cup
- Brown butter – 3 tbsp
- Garlic – 2 cloves, grated
- Ajwain – ½ tsp
- Black pepper – 1 tsp
- Salt – ¾ tsp
- Milk – 1½ tbsp (seal)
For the Tomato Confit
- Cherry tomatoes – 2 cups
- Yellow mustard oil – ½ cup (I used @weareunaam )
- Garlic – 4 cloves
- Salt – ¾ tsp
- Sugar – ½ tsp
For the Green Chilli Pom Purée
- Potatoes – 5 medium
- Butter – ½ cup
- Cream – ⅓ cup
- Milk – ⅓ cup
- Roasted green chillies – 3–4
- Salt – 1½ tsp
For the Spiced Aubergine
- Aubergine – 2 medium, diced
- Unaam Yellow mustard oil – 3 tbsp
- Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
- Garlic – 2 cloves
- Coriander powder – 1 tsp
- Smoked paprika – 1 tsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
Preparation Of French-Style Litti Chokha
1. Mix sattu, brown butter, garlic, ajwain, pepper and salt.
2. Place small mounds of the mixture on puff pastry discs, cover them with slightly larger discs, seal and let them chill for 20 minutes.
3. Score lightly, then bake at 200°C for 22–25 minutes, until golden.
4. On the other hand, bake cherry tomatoes, garlic, salt, sugar and mustard oil at 100°C for 45–60 minutes until jammy.
5. Boil potatoes and mash them while hot.
6. Blend roasted chillies with milk and fold them into the potatoes with butter and cream until smooth.
7. Cook aubergine in mustard oil with cumin and garlic until soft and caramelised, then add spices.
8. Plate them with a swoosh of purée, scatter aubergine and tomato confit with a little mustard oil, and place the halved pithivier alongside.
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Voila, the scrumptious French-style Litti Chokha is ready to be savoured.