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Home » Breakfast Recipes

How To Make Ghugni: One Pot Spiced Mushy White Peas

Published: Mar 11, 2022 by Chef Tripti · This post may contain affiliate links

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Ghugni is a popular breakfast dish, but it can also be served as a snack, side or even a main dish. This dish is typical of Calcutta, where I grew up. It is a popular street food cooked with soaked dried white/yellow peas in a mildly spiced broth-like gravy with very few spices. My recipe is slightly different from the usual Bengali style ghugni, which is brothy and uses potatoes to thicken the sauce.

If you like hot savoury breakfasts like this ghugni, try my smoky beans, dalia upma or bread pakora.

Ghugni mashed white peas garnished with herbs, in a shallow brown dish.
Ghugni

The origins of my recipe are from my food memory. This ghugni was a treat that my father and I would share when I was a child. A local street vendor would sell ghugni, boiled eggs, and a potato dish. He would go from door-to-door every evening, with a loud voice announcing his arrival saying, "Ghugni, Ghugni!" His ghugni was the best and, together with the boiled eggs, was a real treat we looked forward to having. He would put a spoon of the Ghugni on a Sal leaf and make a scooping spoon with another sal leaf and hand it to us.

After my father passed away in my early teens, we never came across this vendor again, but the memory of his Ghughni lingers in my mind. I wanted to recreate the taste of this ghugni as I remember it; however, it has taken a lot of recipe testing. I want to share a bit of my childhood food nostalgia with you in this post.

Ghugni is a prevalent dish in eastern India. As often happens in India, the same dish will have many recipe variations. For instance, in some places, chickpeas replace white peas. Some recipes even use mutton. The spices are usually the same; however, some people use tamarind instead of tomatoes. Mustard oil is also a preferred oil versus any other oil. In this recipe, I use olive oil. You can use cucumber and red onion or puffed rice as a topping.

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • How To Video
  • Substitutions
  • Variations
  • Equipment
  • Storage
  • Top tip
  • 📖 Recipe
  • Food safety

Ingredients

Ghugni ingredients samples prepared and laid out in shallow dished in two columns. Labeled with ingredient name
Ghugni Ingredients
  • Dried white peas
  • Ginger
  • Tomato
  • Cumin powder
  • Corainder powder
  • Tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
  • Turmeric powder
  • Red chilli powder
  • Olive oil
  • Kala namak
  • Baking soda

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

For this recipe, you will need to soak the dry white peas. Place the peas in a bowl of water and leave overnight.

Two bowl containing white peas. One bowl contains dry white peas, the other bowl contains white peas soaked overnight
Dry White Peas and Soaked White Peas

After soaking overnight, drain the peas and add them to a saucepan with fresh water. Add the baking soda and bring to a boil and cook for about ten minutes. Remove any scum that forms on the water with a spoon or ladle.

While the peas are boiling, prepare the other ingredients.

Finely chop the ginger.

Slit the green chilli down the middle, but don't cut it in half.

Roughly chop the tomatoes.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the tej patta, green chilli and ginger. Saute them for two minutes.

saucepan of finely chopped ginger, green chilli and tej patta sautéing in olive oil.
Sauteing The Ginger, Green Chilli and Tej Patta

Next, add the cumin powder and coriander powder and fry for about one minute so that the spices can release their flavours.

Add the chopped tomatoes and saute for two minutes; follow this turmeric and chilli powder and continue to cook for two minutes more until the tomatoes soften.

Ghugni tomato base mix with spices cooking in a saucepan.
Ghugni Tomato Base Mix Cooking

Add the boiled white peas, water and Kala namak. Bring to a rapid boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for twenty minutes. The peas will become soft. Using the back of a spoon, crush half of the peas against the side of the pan and give the contents a good mix. Crushing half the peas will thicken the sauce.

saucepan containing cooked ghugni after half the peas have been crushed to thicken the sauce. A spoon is held above the saucepan containing some of the ghugni
Cooked Ghugni Showing Thickened Sauce After Crushing Half of The Peas

Garnish with chopped coriander.

A delicious breakfast is this ghugni served with a toasted burger bun or brioche.

How To Video

Here is a video guide to making ghugni.

How To Make Ghugni

Substitutions

You can replace the white peas with chickpeas if you don't have access to white peas. Cooking times will be similar; however, you may omit the baking soda. If using canned chickpeas no need to pre-boil.

Replace tej patta with a bay leaf if necessary

You can use tinned chopped tomatoes instead of fresh ones. Use the same quantity.

Variations

There are many variations to this recipe; as I always say with most recipes, be bold and give it your stamp. It is common for some people to add lamb, goat meat, or even potatoes.

Instead of brioche buns, you can even enjoy this ghugni with a paratha.

Equipment

If you have a pressure cooker or an instant pot, you can reduce the cooking time. I tailor my recipes, bearing in mind that everyone may not have access to specialist equipment.

Storage

Store ghugni in an airtight container in the fridge for three days.

You may also portion the ghugni and freeze for up to three months. Defrost it in the fridge overnight and reheat thoroughly before consuming. You may need to add some water while reheating if reheating in a pan.

Top tip

When cooking the ghugni, make sure you have everything ready at hand; the cooking process is fast; any delay may result in ingredients getting burnt.

📖 Recipe

Ghugni garnished with herbs in a shallow dish

Ghugni

Chef Tripti
Ghugni. Spiced mushy white peas. Popular street food from east India
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Boiling time for peas 10 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine Indian

Equipment

  • Digital scales

Ingredients
  

  • 200 gms Dried white peas
  • 160 gms Plum tomatoes
  • 25 gms Ginger
  • 1 Green chilli optional
  • 1 Tej patta
  • ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon Red chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
  • 1 tsp Kala namak
  • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 350 ml Water
  • 1 teaspoon Baking soda
  • 4 Brioche or burger buns
  • ½ Cucumber ( diced ) optional
  • 50 gms Red onion ( diced ) optional

Instructions
 

  • Soak the white peas overnight or atleast for a minimum of six hours. This process reduces cooking time and also reduces bloating.
  • The following day, drain and rinse the soaked white peas. Transfer to a pot of fresh water, add the baking soda, and bring to a rapid boil. Reduce the heat and boil for about 10 minutes. Remove any scum that forms with a ladle or spoon. This also helps to reduce bloating.
  • While the beans are boiling, peel and finely chop the ginger and slit the green chilli lengthwise.
  • Roughly chop the tomatoes with the seeds.
  • Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and add the tej patta, green chilli and chopped ginger and saute for 2 minutes.
  • Add the cumin and coriander powder—Fry for about one minute to allow the fragrance of the spices to release.
  • Now add the chopped tomato and saute for two minutes. Then add the turmeric and chilli powder and cook for another two minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
  • Add the boiled white peas, water and kala namak. Cover and bring to a rapid boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
  • When the peas are soft, crush half the peas with the back of a spoon by pressing them against the side of the pot. This will thicken the gravy. Give it a mix.
  • Once the peas are ready, serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander along with brioche or burger buns.
Keyword comfort food, healthy, vegan
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Food safety

In a professional kitchen, food hygiene and safety is a top priority, and from the very beginning of training, I practised good habits and routines. Of course, it is also very, very important to practice good food hygiene and safety at home. Here are some fundamental practices to adopt in the kitchen

  • Wash your hands regularly while preparing, handling and cooking food
  • Wipe down counter tops and high contact points regularly
  • If you cook meat and fish, do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat. Use separate chopping boards for meat and fish. Wash your chopping boards immediately after use.
  • Thoroughly cook food to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
  • Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods (more than 2 hours)
  • Store food correctly

For more details of food hygiene and safety in the home, visit the UK Government's Food Standards Agency webpage.

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Comments

    5 from 1 vote

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  1. Antara says

    March 23, 2022 at 3:17 pm

    5 stars
    This was amazing! I just tried it for breakfast, finished the entire pot

    Reply
Blog author behind lavender plant
Chef Tripti

Hi! Tripti here. I am a Michelin-trained chef with over 20 years of experience in the industry. My mission is to help you cook fresh, nutritious food with simple recipes that deliver creativity and taste—food with heart and soul.

More about me →

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