ghugni recipe #bloggersdurgapujo, a vegetarian Bengali recipe

Ghugni :a step by step pictorial recipe.

ghugni : Durga pujo staple at home

If there is one food I associate with Durga Pujo , other than pujor bhog ofcourse, it is Ghugni.

There are at least five good reasons why Ghugni should be on your menu; it a vegetarian dish, it is made from simple pantry staples like dried white peas, it is super tasty , it’s a great party snack in canapés, it is an authentic Bengali street food dish so you can boast to friends that you know a Bengali dish which doesn’t involve fish.

But, I am getting ahead of myself. I need to tell you why I love ghugni so much.

During Durga Pujo we binge on a lot of non veg. we love to eat out from the numerous stalls, and its an unending menu of kosha mangsho, chicken roll, chicken lollypop, chowmien, and prawn chops.

But, on Ashthami we fast.

And then after pushpanjali prayers, we eat fruits.

And then the rest of the day we eat vegetarian.

That’s the only part my dad has ever been strict about; no non veg on Ashthami. Now , given that the street stalls are all teeming with mouth watering delicacies. It made sense that we eat at home, before we ventured into Pandal hopping on Ashthami.

Thus, came the ghugni eating prior to setting out from home.

We would eat a bowl of ghugni chaat, before we set out for our evening pujo protima outings. For lunch we had bhog, which is always veg, and we were sorted, but for dinner… we always had ghugni.

And that was not the end of it.

On Vijaya Dashami, which is Dussehra in most parts of India, we have guests home after Visarjan. And that day we have lots of amazing food at home, which does include mutton and also an elaborate table of Bengali Mishti’s ranging from rosogulla, to kheer kadam. But we also have Ghugni. Why? Because it pairs really well with indian food, its vegetarian and we might have vegetarian friends over for food, and also because ghugni is an anytime snack. Someone comes home in the afternoon, or early evening, or late in the night, ghugni practically can be had anytime.

That’s not all!

we even had it for people visitingus for Diwali aswell . It has always been our fool proof 'guests dish' for vegetarian guests, and people who love non-veg, relish it too.

Ghugni is a popular street side food as well, and you can get it on your train journeys in the Bengal UP trains.

And that’s why I love it; street food, which is also travel food, which is also festive food, which is also ‘guests at home ‘food. How does one dish go from so many different occasions? How is it so well accepted from the hands of a street side vendor, as well, as from the hands of a homely  mum?

This is the wonder of this simple staple. How to make ghugni you ask ? 

Well, here is the recipe. 

Its pictorial , so just follow along

1.       Take dried white peas/ vatana and soak in water over night.

2.       Boil the overnight soaked peas with a little salt, and a little hing.

3.       Grate one onion, one tomato, and a teaspoon worth of garlic and ginger.

4.       Keep ½ teaspoon of turmeric , red chilli powder, jeera powder, coriander seed powder, garam masala powder. Ready.

5.       Now fry the onion in some oil first.

6.       Then add the ginger garlic paste.

7.       Then add the tomato, only once the onion and ginger garlic are cooked well.

8.       Add all the powder masalas, and cook the onion-tomato paste till it is dangerously deliciously dark.

9.       Then add the creamy boiled peas.

10.   Now add salt to taste

11.   Add pulp of tamarind (soak tamarinds in some hot water) use said water along with the tamarind pulp.

12.   Let cook on low heat, until most of the water evaporates.

13.   You can either serve it quite dry , or a little watery if you plan to have it with chapatti or rice. We generally have it without any accompaniment.

14.   Fry off some slivers of coconut in coconut oil. To add that textural crunch, and milt sweetness of coconuts.

Ghugni is spicy, salty, tangy, and creamy from the boiled peas, and crunchy from the fried coconuts and the toppings, and just served with chopped onion, or crunchy sev, and even pomegranates if you feel like, add roasted peanuts if you feeling like it, squeeze of lime if you don’t mind and extra tang, sprinkle chopped coriander and mint on top to make it look pretty and more herby.
don't hesitate to substitute dry mangoes for the tamarind, or chaat masala, or use pre soaked tinned peas, or coconut flakes instead of pieces, in short, play around, and make this recipe your own.

Ghugni is what will make all your vegetarian dinners a hit, you never again need to worry what to serve your vegetarian friends.

Ghugni : bengali vegetarian dish with white peas.

At home , I started making it for special occasions only. and then it escalated to us having ghugni every week. I am guessing you will be making this every week as well. it's that simple, fast and addictive. 

This year too, like last year, I am celebrating Durga pujo, not just with my family, but my blogging family aswell. Last year we were 4 bloggers participating, and this year we are 19 bloggers strong, sharing Pujo memories, nostalgia, pujo from around the country, fashion, food and everything in between.
Come join us by following the hashtag #bloggersdurgapujo on Fb, twitter, and instagram. and if you havent already to join my bengali language mini crash course by searching #bongtalk on facebook and instagram. :)

List of Participating Bloggers

Dr. Amrita Basu (Misra): https://healthwealthbridge.com

Anupriya Gupta: https:////www.mommytincture

Esha Chakraborty: https://bookhippo.wordpress.com

Indrani Ghose: https://isharethese.com

Kapila Rattan Bhowmik: www.everylittlethinghappiness.com

Dr. Kuheli Bhattacharya: http://www.thefoodietrails.com

Moumita Sen: https://www.socialconnoisseursblog.com

Nehal Roy: http://www.easyhomeremedies.co.in

Paromita Biswas: https://goodtimestrails.com

Rahul Basu: https://bongfooodie.com

Sayanti Mahapatra: http://bingeonbasics.com

Shalini Magdel Das: http://lostloveadventure.com/

Shamik Byabartta: http://www.mixedflavorsblog.com

Sharmishtha S Ghosh: https://letstalkjhaalmishti.wordpress.com

Shruti Dugar: http://webofwords.in

Siya Bose: https://bestylechic.wordpress.com

Sonali Chauhan: https://sonalichauhanreviews.wordpress.com

Sonia Chatterjee: https://soniasmusings.com

Soumosri and Utsab https://happilyfoodies.wordpress.com/

Vasundhara Sarkar: https://vasundharasarkaris.wixsite.com/thesassyshimmer/blog