sattoo-the quintessential bihari food

having lived in kolkata for many years,i developed a few bihari(state of bihar is bengal's neighbour) friends.during my frequent visits to kolkata,i meet them for a chat or to be precise for a little bit of 'adda',time permiting. and then they sing hosanas on their favourite sattoo.i decided to find out more about this powder that excites them so much.

the bihari's soft corner for sattoo is well known. i dare say,you can not separate a bihari from his sattoo. he would swear by it and would be prepared to live on sattoo alone for days and months. in fact, when there are severe floods like the recent one where the river kosi changed course, sattoo helped many stranded citizens to survive till food packets were air-dropped. i had heard of this chick pea powder in my young days and perhaps had it several times.after having heard praises galore,i decided to explore it further and examine its true value.

sattu is roasted bengal gram made to fine powder and added with black salt and a bit of jeera powder in a tall glass of water.it is a drink to die for.some though prefer to have it with jaggery or sugar.what does it contain? it has loads of folic acid,manganese,molybdenum and fibre.it has proteins and minerals like copper,zinc,magnesium and iron.it is a good food for diabetics. it helps lower bad cholesterol and improves blood sugar levels.

many biharis take it for breakfast in the form of small sattu balls which are fried in oil.some take it in the form of paranthas. green chillies,chopped onions and ajwain are also added to make a proper sattu dough for the paranthas.and garlic too if you like it.and garam masala, jeera and dhania powder. you can have burfi made out of sattu too! what more can you ask for from a humble chick pea? and some have it as a drink.

i decided to try out the sattoo drink.i had bought a 500gm packet of 'satyendra sattoo' in kolkata.it claimed that the drink would be wholesome,energetic and soothing.i took four teaspoonful of sattoo powder, diluted them in water to which i added a pinch of salt and a slice of lemon. for the last two days this drink has been my breakfast.it has kept me going till lunchtime without any hungerpangs in between.a 500gm packet costs rs 35 which is about 80 cents.and is supposed to be very helpful for gastric problems,constipation and acidity.it improves sleep and appetite.and keeps the stomach clean and cool.
it is cool.paisa vasool as the saying goes. "taste the wholesome,energetic and soothing drink in a natural 'n' healthy way".

have fun.have sattu.