Before sattu is a flour it is a gathering. Across Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh the roasting is not done at home but at the bhad, a stove dug into the ground and worked by a bhunjwa, the roaster. Households carry their black chickpeas to him and sit around while he works; he keeps an agreed share of the roasted grain as his payment and hands back the rest, which is milled, skins and all, into sattu. That is why the flour tastes of smoke and why it belongs to a village rather than a brand. Stuffed into wheat dough with nigella, carom, raw mustard oil and a spoonful of masala scraped from the pickle jar, it becomes the paratha that goes to the fields, onto the train, and into the lunch tin — the filling needs no cooking, holds for hours, and gets sharper as it sits.
INGREDIENTS
- 300 g wholemeal wheat flour (atta)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- water (to knead)
- 200 g sattu (roasted black chickpea flour)
- 1 small onion (very finely chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- 2 green chillies (finely chopped)
- 2 cm ginger (finely grated)
- 2 tbsp mango pickle masala (finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp pickle oil from the jar
- 1 tsp nigella seeds (kalonji)
- 1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- a handful of coriander leaves (chopped)
- ghee (for the tawa)
METHOD
- Rub the oil and salt into the flour, then knead with water to a soft, pliable dough. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
- Mix the sattu with the onion, garlic, green chillies, ginger, pickle masala, pickle oil, nigella, carom, mustard oil, lemon juice, salt and coriander.
- Press a handful together. It should clump and then break apart cleanly. If it stays powdery, add water a teaspoon at a time; if it smears, add a little more sattu.
- Divide the dough into eight balls. Roll one into a disc about 10cm across, cup it in your palm, and spoon in a heaped tablespoon of filling.
- Draw the edges up over the filling and pinch them shut, then flatten the sealed ball gently with your palm.
- Dust with flour and roll out to about 18cm, working from the centre and turning as you go so the seam does not split.
- Cook on a hot tawa for about a minute a side, until brown spots appear.
- Spoon ghee around the edge and press the paratha down with a folded cloth so it puffs and crisps. Turn once more.
- Serve hot with curd, aloo chokha or more pickle.
