Before every visit to the Indian Grocer, I make a humble attempt to have a quick glance through the provisions so that I do not forget to pick up something really essential for the upcoming week or ignore any particular lentils already at home. During this customary control, I found a packet of dried green peas , sneaking from the transparent box, stacked over the shelf. Its normally around Sept - Oct , for Navrathri ,is when I cook them up to a tasty sundal, that everyone enjoys .
This time I couldn't hold myself that long .. instead I decided to cook them up in to a Green peas masala..
But before that, the habitual photographer in me, decided to try my hands on picturing them.


Gorgeous day light was falling on the lentils and it was the day to shoot these resplendent Peas. I thoroughly enjoyed the experiment and the learnings that went in to this, that I couldn't resist sharing with all my virtual friends on Facebook.

After all the brain storming on what to and how not to transform these drop dead peas and all the heart warming comments, I finally decided to make Ghugni. Thanks to Chandrima for the recipe.
Yes !! I haven't forgotten the Mutter Chat ,Masala Puri and Green Peas Korma to try .. Thank you to all the splendid friends I have made over the years ...



The moment I mentioned I am making Ghugni for Friday dinner, the bong connection in H was super thrilled. He was transported to his growing up days. Just as usual, during an informal conversation, I was mentioning about Ghugni being referred to as chat in many places and I was in the same misconception. His eyes popped out and said - Ghugni was never a Chat. Its a street food !
And after that he placed his request for Luchi along with Ghugni.. Well its on hold for now and we will make it on some another occasion. We had them with some Roti's , Pulav and more yummilicious curries that my friends brought along for dinner.


I won't hold you too long , introducing the delectable distinctive humble curry- Ghugni with Bengal roots. Often Ghugni is made with Dried White Peas also referred to as Vatana . Its easy to make and easy to please the palette's.

GHUGNI | DRIED GREEN PEAS CURRY INGREDIENTS:  For Curry 1 1/2 Cup – 1 3/4 Cups  Dried Green Peas  1.5 Large Onion sliced finely 1 Large Potatoes diced into wedges 1 Tbsp.  freshly grated Ginger 2 Garlic pods grated finely ½ Tsp Turmeric Powder 1 Tbsp. Cumin Powder ½ tsp Garam Masala ¼ Tsp Pepper Powder ¾ -1 tsp Sugar Salt to taste 2-3 Tsp of Sunflower Oil For Tempering 2 Bay Leaf 2-3 Dried Red Chillies , broken 1 tsp Cumin Seeds For Garnishing+ Serving ½ finely chopped Onions 2-3 Green chilles finely chopped 1 lemon , ready to be squeezed DIRECTIONS: Soak dried green peas in sufficient water to sink them for alteast 5-6 hours or leave it overnight.. Pressure cook the dried peas / ghugni  with water atleast a couple of inches more than the legume , a little more than how you would cook your regular lentils. So adjust the whistles accordingly. Open the lid after pressure has reduced. Peel the potato skin and cut them into wedges . Heat oil in a non stick pan and fry them until golden in color. Season with salt after draining them onto a kitchen towel , if you like.     In the remaining oil, add the tempering ingredients and wait for cumin seeds to crackle.  At this stage add sliced onions with a pinch of salt, fry  them on medium flame until light brown in color.  Add ginger and garlic puree and saute for a few seconds until the rawness disappears.  Add chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, cumin powder and the required salt. Cook on medium flame until they are all blended well and oil begins to separate. Pop in  cooked green peas and fried potatoes and give it a good stir , until the gravy , green peas and potatoes are all mixed well. Add ¾ - 1 Cup of water and mix well. Continue to stir, in order to avoid burning at the bottom of the pan. Allow the mixture to cook for approximately 10 minutes in total.    In between this, add sugar, black pepper and garam masala and mix well. Garnish with chopped green chilies and chopped onion, followed by a generous drizzle of lemon juice on top while serving. Enjoy it hot. I served my Ghugni with Roti’s/ Phulka’s and some Pulav. You may enjoy it just on its own. NOTES : Ghugni can be made with Dried Yellow Peas or Dried Green Peas. You may use Red Chilli powder , if you like to make it more spicy. I somehow enjoyed adding green chillies at the end , as the kids could enjoy the curry before the addition and they loved it too. To enjoy on its own, you may add some Tamarind Chutney and green chutney , sprinkle some chat masala and serve. Well its upto you  how you would like to make it chatpatta.