Ghugni: The Bengali Street Food Made With Chole Has Our Heart

Chaats are the most loved street style snack which is loved by not only Indians but people all over the globe. There are varieties of chaats available like aloo tikki, papdi, raj kachori, samosa chaat and one made of kabuli chane.

Here is a chaat recipe shared which is made of matar (white peas). Also called as ghughni, this dish is famous in the states of Bengal, Bihar, and UP. These white peas are boiled and cooked with species which leave their aroma making it appetising. The main ingredient of this ‘Bhaja Masala’, which is a Bengali masala made of grounded garam masale. These ghugni could be eaten as chaat or could also be paired up with pooris or luchis. 

Curry cooked with peas or chickpeas is known as ghugni in Bengali or in the regions of Bihar or ghuguni in Assamese and Odia. A variety of peas or chickpeas are used in the meal, including black gram, green peas, and white peas. It is an indigenous Indian snack that is particularly well-liked in Bangladesh, the Indian provinces of Assam and Tripura, and the eastern regions of Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. It is served with hot onion pakoda or bhajiya and puffed rice (kurmura). Dhuska, a fermented rice-lentil dish, is frequently served with ghugni and is also frequently eaten with puris in Calcutta.

Here’s the recipe for Ghugni.

Ingredients:

For boiling:

• ½ cup dried white peas dried
• ¼ piece onion 
• 1 green chillies 
• 2½ cups water 
• Salt, to taste
• ½ tsp turmeric 

For bhaja masala:

• 3 green cardamom 
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds

For masala:

• 3 tbsp mustard oil 
• 2 dried red chilli 
• 5-6 green cardamom 
• 1-inch cinnamon
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 4 cloves
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• ½ cup onions (thinly sliced) 
• 1 tsp green chillies (chopped) 
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• ½ cup potatoes (small cubes)
• 1 tsp turmeric 
• 1 tbsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder 
• 1 tbsp coriander powder  
• 1 cup tomatoes (diced) 
• Salt, to taste 
• 1 green chilli (slit)
• 1 pinch of bhaja masala
• A pinch of sugar
• 2 tsp ghee

For garnishing:

• 4-5 tbsp tamarind water 
• Onions (chopped)
• Green chillies (chopped)
• Coriander (chopped)
• A handful of sev
• ½ lemon juice

Method:

• Add the soaked white peas to a pressure cooker. 
• Add in a quartered piece of onion and green chilli. 
• In the water, and seasoning and turmeric. 
• Seal the lid of the pressure cooker and cook over a high flame till the first whistle, then reduce the flame and cook for another 4-5 whistles.
• While the white peas cook, you can move onto making the bhaja masala or bengali garam masala. 
• In a small pan, add the masalas and roast over a low flame. 
• As the masalas get fragrant and dry up, transfer into a masala grinder and grind to a fine purée.
• Once the white pea goes through the whistles, take the pressure cooker off the heat and keep on the side to cool. Check the texture and keep on the side.
• Now, in a kadhai add the mustard oil and cook and swirl the oil in the kadhai to reduce the oil’s pungency. 
• Next, add in the whole red chillies, green cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves and cumin. Give a quick stir and add the onions.
• Stir the onions a bit and add in the chopped green chilli and ginger garlic paste and stir for a few seconds.
• Next add in the cubed potatoes. We will now bhuno or roast this while stirring in the kadhai. Once the onions become lightly browned we add in the powdered masalas.
• Add in the turmeric, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. give a quick stir to cook the masalas, but be careful not to burn them. 
• Then, add in the tomatoes along with salt and bhuno or roast while stirring for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Now add in the boiled peas avoiding the water it was cooked in. 
• Roast while stirring in the kadhai for 3 to 4 minutes after all of the water has evaporated.
• Once the bhunai is done, add in about a ladle of the white pea cooking water to make the dish saucy.
• Add in some bhaja masala and sugar to balance the dish and finish with aromatic ghee. 
• Mix to stir, check the consistency and transfer into a plate.
• To garnish add in a tablespoon of imli water. 
• Top it off with chopped onions, green chilli, coriander, sev and add a slice of lemon and serve.
• This delicious Bengali street-style ragda chaat called ghugni is ready to be served.