· By ODM Masala
How to Use Sattu: Drinks, Litti & Paratha at Home
Sattu is used in two main ways: whisked into cold or salted drinks, and mixed with spices into a dry stuffing for litti, paratha and stuffed vegetables. Because it is already roasted, sattu needs no cooking — you simply mix it, which is why it works so well in summer drinks and quick meals.
Also known as: sattu is roasted gram flour in English (sometimes written as roasted chickpea flour or roasted bengal gram flour). In Hindi and Bhojpuri it is simply sattu or chana sattu; in Bengali households you may hear chhatu. It is a proud everyday staple of Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
What exactly is sattu, and how is it different from besan?
Sattu is made by dry-roasting whole bengal gram and then stone-grinding it. Besan is milled from raw split chana dal. That one step — roasting — changes everything about how you cook with them.
- Sattu is ready to eat. Mix it with water and drink it. No cooking needed.
- Besan must be cooked. Raw besan tastes bitter and pasty, so it goes into batters and kadhi that get heated through.
- Taste: sattu is nutty and toasty; besan is mild and slightly raw-smelling until fried.
So if a recipe says “mix and serve”, it wants sattu. If it says “fry until golden”, it usually wants besan.
How do you make sattu sharbat (the drink)?
This is the most common use, and the ratio is what people get wrong. Use 2 heaped tablespoons of sattu to 1 glass (about 200 ml) of cold water. Any more and it turns pasty.
The trick to a lump-free drink is to add the water in two stages: first pour in just a few spoons and whisk it into a smooth paste, then add the rest and stir. Adding all the water at once is what creates lumps.
From there you can take it two ways:
- Salty (namkeen): add kala namak, roasted jeera powder, a squeeze of lemon, chopped green chilli and mint.
- Sweet (meetha): add jaggery or sugar and a pinch of cardamom.
How do you use sattu as a stuffing for litti and paratha?
For stuffing, sattu should stay crumbly and just moist — never a dough. For roughly 1 cup of sattu, mix in:
- 1 tablespoon mustard oil
- 1 teaspoon ajwain and 1 teaspoon kalonji
- Chopped garlic, ginger, green chilli and coriander
- Lemon juice, salt, and a spoon of pickle masala if you have it
Rub it together with your fingers until it holds loosely when pressed. If it feels wet, it will tear the roti; add a little more sattu. Stuff it into whole-wheat dough for sattu paratha, or into balls of dough for litti.
What else can you cook with sattu?
| Use | How |
|---|---|
| Stuffed vegetables | Fill parwal, bhindi or karela with the same litti stuffing |
| Sattu ladoo | Mix with warm ghee and jaggery, then shape |
| Breakfast bowl | Whisk into curd or milk with a little jaggery |
| Roti dough | Replace up to one-quarter of the atta for a nuttier roti |
How should you store sattu?
Keep it in an airtight steel or glass jar, away from the stove and from sunlight. Because it is roasted, sattu carries natural oils that can turn stale in a warm, damp kitchen. Always use a dry spoon — a single drop of water invites clumping. In peak humidity, the fridge is the safer place for it.
FAQ
Can you eat sattu raw?
Yes. Sattu is already roasted, so it is meant to be mixed and eaten without cooking. This is the main thing that separates it from besan.
How much sattu should you use in one glass of water?
About 2 heaped tablespoons to 200 ml of water. Whisk a little water in first to make a smooth paste, then top up the glass.
Is sattu the same as besan?
No. Both come from chana, but sattu is roasted before grinding and besan is not. They are not interchangeable in recipes.
ODM sattu is stone-ground from carefully roasted bengal gram, with no artificial colours, no fillers and no preservatives — so it tastes the way sattu is meant to taste. If you would like to try it in your own kitchen, our Chana Sattu is a good place to start.