Summer season comes with gust of hot winds and scorching heat that leaves us dull and dehydrated. And thus, it is also the season when all sorts of cooling foods and drinks, right from nimbu paani to aam panna, is stocked at home. But there are many other foods that one can include in diet for a cooling effect on the body. Sattu, for instance, is no stranger to people from Bihar, MP, UP or Punjab at the peak of summer. Made from roasted Bengal gram, sattu is known for its cooling effects on the body, besides being the 'poor man's protein', loaded with health benefits.
While traditionally it is made with dry roasted Bengal gram, which is sieved and made into a powder with flour-like consistency, the ingredients vary in different states. Some people add chickpea to it, lending a unique flavour, while in Punjab it is usually made with barley. Owing to its immense popularity, one can buy sattu flour from the market too, where you also get a mix of wheat, barley or sorghum (jowar).
A great source of energy, the process of making sattu, dry roasting, keeps the nutritional values in place. Besides this, it is a good source of fibre, iron, manganese, and magnesium while being low on sodium and low glycaemic index. Basically, it benefits everyone from those looking to shed weight to those with diabetes or high BP. No wonder it is termed as a superfood now!
Here are 5 ways you can include sattu in your diet:
1. Sattu Sharbat
One of the most popular ways to have sattu, this sharbat can either be sweet or salted. All you need is some powdered jaggery, lemon juice and chilled water to mix with sattu powder. To make it salted replace jaggery with some salt and chaat masala!
2. Sattu Laddoo
One of the easiest ones to make, sattu laddoo is made by mixing honey, ghee, and sattu together and shape them into balls! Yes, that’s it. It is that ridiculously simple.
3. Sattu Paratha
Quite a staple in Bihar, sattu paratha has the dough stuffed with sattu, coriander, cumin, ajwain and green chilli among other spices. It is rolled into a paratha and cooked until crisp! Smear it with some ghee on top and pair with your choice of sabzi.
4. Sattu Litti
The traditional litti chokha from Bihar has the littis made with wheat casing, which has sattu mixed with green chillies, roasted cumin seeds, finely chopped ginger along with a host of spices and chillies.
5. Sattu Cheela
A wholesome and delicious breakfast recipe, cheela can be made with a batter of besan mixed with just about anything. So, you can experiment with veggies and spices along with about 5-6 tsp of sattu powder tossed in.