Sattu & the Bihari Identity

The Biharis have long relied on sattu as a superfood in their diet. Yashnashree shares 3 simple recipes to introduce this ingredient into your kitchen.

If there is a superfood I did not discover on the pages of a cookbook or an international food publication, it is sattu. I am Bihari and I grew up eating this modest ingredient in many different forms at home. My earliest memory of sattu is drinking it as a kid, before rushing to school, on days that I woke up too late to eat breakfast. My mom or dad would quickly stir up a sattu sharbat, and I would gulp it down in one go.

This super-quick liquid meal is protein heavy, nutritious and hydrating; in Bihar we believe it protects the body from sunstrokes, and the infamous loo, the hot and dry summer wind of the north.

Sattu Sharbat

Sattu Sharbat Recipe

• Mix two tablespoons of sattu in a glass with 50 ml of cold water.

• Whisk to form a smooth paste, with no lumps.

• Fill the glass with water and stir well.

• Add a pinch of salt, cumin powder, chaat masala and lemon juice.

Sattu is roasted Bengal gram flour, a key ingredient in several dishes in Bihar and Jharkhand. Colloquially known as the poor man’s protein, sattu is a powerhouse of nutrients with multiple health benefits. It is rich in minerals, proteins and fibre, and has a low glycemic index. Eating sattu on a daily basis keeps blood sugar levels under control and also regulates blood pressure. And this is something the Biharis have known for ages, without explicitly calling it a ‘superfood.’

When it comes to sattu, there isn’t one single origin story. The consumption of sattu in Bihar can be traced back about five centuries. In his book Indian Food Tradition: A Historical Companion, K.T. Achaya references a 16th century text that describes sattu as food of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. However, Bengal gram or chana, finds a mention before that, in Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta’s travelogue of his trip to Mecca. Colleen Taylor Sen’s book Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India, says that chana came to the Indus Valley from Western Asia in the fourth millennium BCE, and something akin to sattu made with pulverized barley was popular in the Vedic period. Given its versatility, its high nutritional value, and relatively low price, sattu played a pivotal role in feeding armies, becoming an integral part of diet on long journeys for travellers and traders. In Bihar, sattu was the food of the farmers and working class.

I spent my childhood eating and drinking sattu in more ways than one. To say it is a staple in the Bihari household is an understatement; sattu is quintessential to the Bihari identity and experience. For non-Biharis, a first tryst with sattu is typically Litti Chokha (the star ingredient of which is sattu). Litti is stuffed wholewheat dough balls, and chokha is the mashed relish served alongside. Chokha can be made with roasted eggplant, boiled or roasted potatoes, and roasted tomatoes. It can be made separately, or all three can be combined to make one mega-chokha. But I am not here to share yet another recipe of the most well-known Bihari dish. There are a variety of other dishes to explore – from savoury parathas and kachoris, to healthier options like sharbat and laddoos, sattu’s versatility is quite incomparable.

Even though the culinary vocabulary of the region is similar, every household in Bihar has its own special take on sattu. From the simple chokha to the stuffing that goes in the paratha, you will find variations throughout the state, while the taste profile remains largely intact. Sattu lends itself to elaborate parathas (sattu stuffed flatbreads) and dhuskas (deep fried street snack), to no-fuss dishes like chokha (a savoury side dish) and laddoos (balls of sattu, jaggery and ghee). But here is the most simplest recipe to start with – sattu chokha, which doesn’t require any cooking, yet, as any Bihari will tell you, ranks high on the comfort food scale. In my house, we usually pair sattu chokha with khichdi.

Sattu Chokha Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup sattu
2 tsp mustard oil
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1-2 green chilies
1 small onion
Salt, to taste

Procedure
Chop the onions, green chilies finely
Mix sattu with salt and mustard oil
Add finely chopped onions, green chilies and freshly squeezed lime juice into sattu
Knead well. Add some water if required – just enough to make smooth balls of the sattu chokha

Every April, when the harvest festival is celebrated across the country, Bihar welcomes the season with Satuaan also known as Satuaa Sankranti. On Satuaan, it is customary to eat a meal that revolves around sattu. The festival typically marks the onset of summer, and with sattu’s cooling properties, it would seem the tradition stems from great logic.

I for one, only understood the underrated charm of sattu when I moved to Mumbai. When my colleagues learnt of my Bihari origins, they raved about litti chokha; I wondered what they would think of the lesser known (perhaps more modest) sattu parathas. When my mom came to visit, and she packed me a lunchbox of sattu paranthas, and piqued everyone’s curiosity. They were an instant hit. I now have a friend who now starts his day with a glass of sattu sharbat, and another one who swears by my mother’s sattu paratha recipe. It is a different kind of joy to introduce people to something you love, and them loving it in return, right?

What fascinates me is that these are dishes I have grown up knowing and loving, and most people are not aware of this everyday ingredient, so easily available (yes, even in Mumbai). I made it a point to learn these recipes from my mother so that I could bring a few Bihari flavours to the big city, that I decided to call home in my 20s. Bihari or not, I’ve found that even the most discernible palate can be won over by sattu’s distinctive flavour.

Sattu Paratha.

Image credit: Cook’s Hideout

Sattu Paratha Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
1 tsp begetable oil/ghee per parantha
1 ¼ cups sattu
1 tbsp mustard oil
Salt, to taste
½ inch piece fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic
2 green chillies
1 red onion
Fresh coriander
1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
1 tsp garam masala
Water, for kneading the atta, and binding the stuffing

Method
Knead the atta as you would for chapatis. Keep aside for 20 minutes.

For the stuffing, put sattu in a bowl. Add ajwain, salt, garam masala, grated ginger, finely chopped garlic, chillies, onion and coriander. Add mustard oil and mix well. Add some water to make the filling moist.

Make balls out of the dough for making parathas. Roll out to make parathas and fill a portion of sattu in the middle. Enfold the filling properly and make flat balls for rolling it again.Roll out the paratha in gentle, even strokes

Heat a flat pan and cook the paratha from both sides on medium-low flame.

Apply a spoonful of ghee or vegetable oil over both sides and cook until golden brown in colour.

Serve hot with chutney, curd or pickle.

Yashnashree is a freelance writer currently living in Mumbai. Dogs, tea, books, cinema, road trips, and single malt are some of her favourite things - in that particular order. You can follow her storytelling journey here.

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