Ghuguni chaat - Indian street food

Ghuguni chaat - A popular northeastern chaat from the states of Bengal and Orissa. A flavourful yellow peas mixture that is eaten as a chaat and can also be had as a side dish.

Normally when we talk about Indian street food the first thing that comes to mind is Chaat and when we think of Chaat it is always Bhel puri, pav Bhaji or pani puri. But the eastern states of India also have their... As Mumbai is famous for its chatpata chaat so is Kolkata equally popular for its street food. From kathi rolls to Frankies to Jhal muri to this ghuguni Chaat, they have a huge variety for us to enjoy.

Normally street foods do not fall under the healthy food category. But this particular dish, made of lentils and spiced up with regular Indian spices, is nothing but healthy. Dried yellow or white peas is the star ingredient which strongly imparts a distinct flavour which is the key to making a successful ghuguni. So the spices and onion-tomato Masala is kept to a minimum.

This dish is from the Odia cuisine. If you want to know more about this wonderful Odia cuisine, you can read this post. It is a new series that is running on the blog where I do a small interview with the native people. They talk about their family customs and traditions and give us an overview of their culture.

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Ghuguni chaat

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

A popular northeastern chaat from the states of Bengal and Orissa. A flavourful peas mixture that is eaten as a chaat and can also be had as a side dish. 

Course: Appetizer, Chaat

Cuisine: Indian, Orissa

Servings: 4

Author: Nisha

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry yellow peas

To grind

• 2 cloves garlic
• ½" ginger
• 1 cardamom
• 1 half inch cinnamon stick
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 1 medium-sized tomato

Rest of the ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 green chillies, slit lengthwise (Indian or thai variety)
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• Few coriander leaves for garnish

To serve the chaat

• Finely chopped onions
• Date-tamarind chutney
• Green chutney ( a mix of coriander, mint and green chilli)
• Coriander leaves
• Chaat masala

Instructions

1. Soak the peas overnight, minimum of 8 hours. Pressure cook them (about 2-3 whistles) or cook them in a pan with enough water until the peas are tender. 

   Grind everything mentioned under to grind to a smooth paste. Keep aside. 

2. Heat oil in a kadai or a pan. Once the oil is hot, add the bay leaf and cumin seeds. 

3. Once the cumin seeds splutter, add the green chillies and the ground paste. Keep stirring and fry them for a couple of minutes. Then add the turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and chilli powder. 

4. Mix them well and fry them for about 10 minutes or so, until the moisture content is completely evaporated from the paste and it thickens. 

5. Now, add the cooked peas and 1 cup of water. Mix well. Add salt. Let it come to a boil. Turn off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves. 

Serving the Chaat

1. While serving: Add ghuguni in a bowl. Top it with finely chopped onions and coriander leaves, a little bit of date-tamarind chutney, the green chutney and some chaat masala on top. You can also squeeze a bit of lime. 

2. The toppings of the chaat can be added as per your taste preference

Recipe Notes

The peas mixture thickens on cooling. Add little more water before serving. 

This post is a part of the Blogging marathon and this week's theme is Street food. So the three posts this week are going to be about popular Indian street foods.  

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#83