Versatile sattu: Ready-to-eat wonder food

Pushpesh Pant

SATTU ground parched gram and barley has been the staple sustenance for the abjectly poor in north India for generations. Those embarking on a journey carried this food with them tied in a gamcha that also served as a towel, belt and headgear. It is only in recent times that city folk have woken up to the exceptionally nutritious properties of sattu. Dieticians don’t tire of recommending it to those who have a weight issue or diabetes or are coping with non-romantic heart problems.

It is indeed a ‘ready-to-eat’ flour of many delights. It may need a little getting used to but once you acquire the taste, it can be addictive. One can enjoy it almost effortlessly in savoury and sweet dishes. Sattu can be easily incorporated in salads or added to drinks.

For a simple but satiating breakfast, it is enough to dissolve a few heaped spoons of sattu in water, add a pinch of black/rock salt, finely chopped onions, green chillies and diced tomatoes and substitute it for the fashionable smoothie. The sweet version fortified with chopped fruits, fresh and dried, along with nuts and seeds of choice and a trickle of honey is no less attractive. In summers, sattu ka gur wala sherbet not only quenches the thirst but also rehydrates the body. And when the pre-monsoon showers arrive heralding rains, one can indulge in makuni, a parantha packed with spicy sattu.

Our food-loving publisher friend Atiya Zaidi, who hails from Jaunpur, served an exceptionally refreshing sattu ka sherbet a couple of years back and Amarendra Singh, then serving as an IAS officer in Uttarakhand, treated us to makuni, which were lovingly shallow-fried at home in Dehradun. We share with our readers the two recipes, slightly changed, urging you to try these at the earliest.

By the way, the grateful people of Poorvanchal annually celebrate satuaan as thanksgiving to this time-tested friend.

Sherbet

Ingredients

Sattu 1/2 cup

Lemon juice 2 tbsp

Black rock salt A pinch

Fresh mint leaves for garnishing

Jaggery to taste

Method

Slowly dissolve sattu into some water in a bowl. Then add a jug full of chilled water. Add lemon juice and black rock salt and stir well. Crumble jaggery and add to taste. Stir again. If you prefer, you may substitute jaggery with a few drops of honey or molasses. Garnish with mint leaves.

Makuni

Ingredients

Sattu 1 cup

Wheat flour 1 cup

Onion (medium-sized) 1

Garlic cloves 6-8

Ginger piece 2 inch

Green chillies 4

Kalonji seeds 1/2 tsp

Ajwain seeds 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice 1 tsp

Fresh coriander 1/4 cup

Masala or oil of pickled red chilli 1 tsp

Black rock salt A pinch

Oil/ghee to shallow fry

Salt to taste

Method

• Mix sattu with salt in a bowl and add all the other ingredients. Slowly add water to avoid formation of lumps and keep this moist stuffing aside.
• Proceed to prepare the dough with wheat flour for parantha; the dough must be slightly stiff yet soft and supple; let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Divide into equal portions and shape into small balls. Flatten a little by pressing between the palms and make a hollow in the middle with a thumb. Place a portion of the sattu filling in it and reseal by firmly pressing at the edges. Reshape into small balls. Flatten & roll into small round discs with a rolling pin. Dust with dry flour as needed.
• Heat a tawa and line it with oil/ghee and place the stuffed makuni on it. Cook on medium flame, flipping it once and drizzling it with ghee/oil till the surface is evenly crisped and blisters appear on it.
• Serve with chutney or pickle.