Ghugni recipe | Ghugni recipe Bengali | How to make ghugni | Matar ghugni

Though ghugni recipe is crazily popular in West Bengal, Orissa and few other subcontinents of east India, but many of us are not aware of the dish ‘Ghugni’.

What is Ghugni?

Ghugni is a simple whole yellow pea or Matar (Motor) curry where yellow pea is soaked overnight and then boiled before preparing the curry. It is a semi liquid curry which is neither too watery nor too dry in texture with intact boiled matars. Ghugni is one of the staple breakfast or snacks recipes in Bengal, Orissa and it can be prepared in myriad ways.

Types of Ghugni

Usually, ghugni recipe is prepared in two different ways. One is mangsher ghugni or keema ghugni and another type is niramish ghugni. In niramish ghugni, it is subdivided into two different types. One by is niramish ghugni with onion and garlic and another is niramish ghugni without onion-garlic.

How to serve Ghugni?

Ghugni recipe is served in many ways for breakfast or as evening snacks. Sometimes, it is simply served with some chopped onions, chopped green chillies, some lemon juice and a pinch of bhaja masala as snacks in disposable shaal leaves bowl.

Sometimes, it is simply served with muri or puffed rice which is also known as murmura.

Luchi-ghugni is a nostalgic breakfast recipe for any Bengali since ages. It is sold in every corner of Kolkata by thousands street vendors, sweet stalls and canteens.

Other than these, ghugni chaat can also be prepared by simply topping some imli ki chutney, green chutney, chopped onion, chopped green chillies and some sev on ghugni recipe bengali.

All the above-mentioned combinations are sold by the street vendors. Other than these, homemade ghugni can also be paired up with rotis and chapatis for dinner. In short, ghugni recipe is a super versatile mildly spicy curry which can get fitted any time in our diet.

Whenever I talk about ghugni recipe bengali, it always makes me feel nostalgic. As a bong, I have grown up eating this delicacy and have never got bored of it yet. I still remember my college days when I used to go to our regular street food vendors with my friends for evening snacks and how we used to devour that with immense pleasure.

In fact, it was one of the most popular snack recipes in our student life. The main reason behind this was that it was cheap, but the portion was enough to kill your hunger for couple of hours.

Today, I am going to share the ghugni recipe with onion and garlic with you. Honestly, the whole trick to prepare a perfect ghugni mainly depends on two things.

Other than these, preparing ghugni recipe at home is a super easy task. It is a simple recipe which gets prepared very quickly without investing much time. The best part of the recipe is you can double or triple the amount without investing any extra time or effort. All the ingredients to prepare the ghugni recipe is very common and easily available in any Bengali kitchen pantry.

Ghugni recipe with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instruction’ section of the recipe. If you follow each step of my recipe precisely then you will get ghugni matar with perfect flavour and consistency which will even taste better than the market bought ones. I have included all the tips and tricks below to prepare a perfect ghugni.

Tips to prepare perfect Ghugni

What is bhaja masala?

Bhaja masala recipe aka Bengali bhaja masala is one of the most important spices of Bengali culinary. It is the spice mixture of few different types of whole spices which are dry roasted and then ground to a fine dust after cooling down. This spice blend creates a magnificent aroma. Bhaja masala is one of the key ingredients of flavouring Ghugni, mangsher ghugni, phuchka, vegetable chop, Bengali singara, Niramish alur dom, aam pora sarbat, aamer achar, kuler achar and many more. Countless recipes have been enhanced with this magical spice mix.

How to make Ghugni?

To prepare the ghugni, first soak the yellow peas for 8 hours or for overnight in a large bowl with enough water. On the next day, drain the water and wash the soaked peas for couple of times.

Transfer the peas in the pressure cooker and add salt, turmeric powder, water into the cooker and give a stir. Close the lid of the cooker and pressure cooked it in medium flame for 2-3 whistles. Then allow the pressure cooker to release its pressure. Preserve the stock and boiled peas separately for later use.

On the other hand, add some ginger chunk, green chillies into a jar of a grinder and pulse it to a smooth paste. Add water if required.

Now put a pan on flame and add mustard oil into it. Once the oil is hot, add dry red chillies, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cumin seeds into the pan and let them crackle.

Then add finely chopped onion into the pan and give a nice mix. Cook it over medium flame for 5-6 minutes. Add ginger-green chilli paste, garlic paste into the pan and give a nice mix. Cook it in low flame for 2-3 minutes until the raw smell goes away.

Add potato chunks into the pan and mix it. Cover the pan and cook it in low flame 4-5 minutes. Add tomato, salt, turmeric powder into the pan and mix it well. Cover the pan and cook it in low flame until all the veggies completely get cooked.

Add cumin powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder into the pan and mix it well. Add some water and cook the masala in lowest flame for a minute.

Add boiled yellow peas, green chillies into the pan and mix it well. Cover the pan and cook it for another couple of minutes. Add the boiled yellow peas stock into the pan and give nice stir.

Cover the pan and allow the gravy to boil. Then put the flame in low and add sugar, bhaja masala, garam masala powder into it and allow the gravy to simmer in lowest flame for few minutes. Then switch off the flame and put the pan down.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried white or yellow Peas
• 2½ cups Water
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt

• 1 large Potato, medium diced
• 1 large Onion, finely chopped
• 2 Inch Ginger, peeled and diced
• 2 green Chillies, for paste
• 1 teaspoon Garlic paste
• 1 large Tomato, deseeded and diced
• 2 green Chillies, whole or half slit
• 1 Bay leaf
• 2 dry red Chillies
• 1-inch Cinnamon stick
• ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon red Chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon Cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon Coriander powder
• ¼ teaspoon Garam Masala powder
• 1 teaspoon Bhaja masala
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 2 cups boiled Peas stock, for the gravy
• 2 tablespoons Mustard oil, for cooking
• 2 tablespoons Onion, finely chopped (For garnishing)
• 1 green Chilli, finely chopped (For garnishing)
• 1 pinch of Bhaja masala (For garnishing)
• 1 Lemon wedge, for serving

1. Take the dried peas in a large bowl and soak it with enough water for overnight or at least for 8 hours. The dried peas will increase in size after getting soaked. So, it is important to soak it in larger bowl as compared to the volume of the dried peas. Drain the water and wash the soaked peas nicely.
2. Shift the soaked peas into a pressure cooker. Add 2½ cups of water, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder one by one into the pressure cooker. Give a stir and close the lid of the pressure cooker.
3. Put the pressure cooker on medium flame and cook it till 3 whistles. Allow the pressure cooker to stand and release the pressure completely.
   Note: For a good ghugni, the peas should just get boiled and remain whole. Don’t overcook them or else you will not get the perfect texture.
4. Separate the boiled peas and the stock into two different utensils.
5. On the other hand, add the ginger pieces, green chillies into the small jar of grinder and pulse it to a smooth paste. Add little water if required. Keep it aside.
6. Put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Add 2 tablespoons Mustard oil into the pan and wait until the oil is hot.
7. Once the oil is hot, add 2 dry red chillies, 1 bay leaf, 1 inch cinnamon stick, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds into the pan and let them crackle.
8. Add finely chopped onions into the pan and give a nice stir. Cook it over medium flame for 5-6 minutes. Stir in between.
9. Add garlic paste, ginger-green chilli paste (Step 5) into the pan and mix it well. Cook it in low flame for 2-3 minutes until the raw smell goes away.
10. Add potato chunks into the pan and mix it. Cover the pan and cook it in low flame 4-5 minutes.
11. Add tomato pieces, salt, turmeric powder into the pan and mix it well. Cover the pan and cook it in low flame until all the veggies completely get cooked.
12. Add ½ teaspoon cumin powder, ½ teaspoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder into the pan and mix it well. Add 2 tablespoons of water and cook the masala in lowest flame for 1-2 minutes.
13. Add boiled yellow peas (Step 4), 2 green chillies into the pan and mix it well. Cover the pan and cook it for another couple of minutes.
14. Add the 2 cups boiled yellow peas stock (Step 4) into the pan and give nice stir. Cover the pan and allow the gravy to boil.
15. Put the flame in low and add 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon bhaja masala, ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder into it allow the gravy to simmer in lowest flame for another 2 minutes.
16. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.
17. Serve the ghugni in a bowl and add some chopped onion, chopped green chillies and a pinch of bhaja masala on the top.

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