Sattu — flour milled from dry-roasted gram — is one of Mithila’s most versatile and democratic foods, nourishing and famously cooling in the fierce summer. It is the filling at the heart of litti, a stuffing for parathas, and above all a drink.
Sattu sharbat: whisk two spoons of sattu into a glass of chilled water; for the savoury version add black salt, roasted cumin, a squeeze of lemon and chopped coriander; for the sweet, stir in sugar or jaggery. Smooth, filling and instantly reviving, it is the working person’s drink across the Mithila plains.