Sattu is a type of flour, mainly used in India and Tibet. It consists of a mixture of roasted ground
pulses
In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the ...
and
cereal
A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more foo ...
s. The dry powder is prepared in various ways as a principal or secondary ingredient of dishes. Sattu is used in vegetarian cuisine as it can be a source of protein.
Etymology
The
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
word ''Sattu'' is derived from
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
word ''Saktu'' meaning coarsely ground parched barley meal. References to ''Sattu'' ''(Saktu)'' can be found throughout
Ayurvedic
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population repor ...
literature such as the
Caraka-saṃhitā,
Aṣṭāṅgahṛdayasaṃhitā and the
Suśruta-saṃhitā.
History
The Origin of Sattu is
Magadh Region of Bihar.
The process of preparing sattu is ancient
[Harkesh Singh Kehal. ''Alop Ho Riha Punjabi Virsa''. Pub. Lokgeet Parkashan. .] and is popular over a wide area of Northern India, particularly
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
and
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
.Sattu is also famous in telangana done as prasadam or Nivedyam for
Batukamma.
There is One Drink Make from Sattu Called "Sattu Ghol" in Magadh.
Uses
Sattu is used in regional cuisine to varying degrees. In
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
,
Uttrakhand,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
and
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...
the use of sattu is extensive in various dishes. In Bihar, it is commonly served cold as a savory drink during intense heat waves in summer or as a porridge or soft dough. Sweet dishes combine sattu with fruit slices, sugar and milk. In savoury dishes, sattu may be flavored with green chili, lemon juice and salt. It is a popular stuffing in
parathas. In Bihar, sattu is prepared with toasted
gram flour
Gram flour or kadala maavu is a pulse flour made from a variety of ground chickpea called Bengal gram or ''kaala chana''. It is a staple ingredient in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, including in Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nepali ...
as well as toasted
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley ...
, or a mixture of both. Sattu mixed with a little mustard oil and some spices is used as a stuffing in the traditional Bihari food .
In
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
, it is used as a cold drink to mitigate heat and dehydration effects. The traditional way is to mix it with water and (
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
) (
jaggery
Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, an ...
). Here sattu is a mix of toasted, ground barley, while some variants are also prepared by grinding roasted
grams.
In Odisha, it is a popular breakfast and also called . Though there are many different ways to prepare , also known as sattu. It is generally mixed with ripe bananas, cottage cheese (), yogurt or milk.
Sattu made from ground barley can also be mixed with salt and
turmeric
Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast ...
and rolled into balls. Alternatively,
millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets ...
and
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn ( North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. ...
grains are also used.
Ingredients
Sattu is prepared by dry roasting grains or grams, most often
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley ...
or
bengal gram. In Odisha, Sattu or Chatua is made by dry roasting cashew, almond, millet, barley and chickpea and grinding to a fine flour. The traditional way of preparing sattu involves the use of an iron vessel in which the grains or grams are roasted in sand. Afterwards they are sieved and then ground into a fine flour.
Geography
Sattu is common in the states of
Magadh Region of Bihar ,
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
.
[Kumar Suresh Singh, Anthropological Survey of India (2008)]
''People of India'', Volume 16, Part 1
p. xxix. "However this term of opprobrium ignores the fact that the sattu is nutritious and has sustained the Bihari..."
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . ...
and Some other Regions of India Spreaded from
Magadh
Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was rule ...
like
Purvanchal Region of Uttar Pradesh ,
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital city, capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar, and Rewa, India, Rewa being the othe ...
,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...
.
References
{{reflist
External links
Manufacturing of sattu
Indian cuisine
Bihari cuisine
Odia cuisine
Jharkhandi cuisine