Ghugni

Coconut and tamarind go in the gravy, and it is eaten with puffed rice.

Vegan.

Ingredients

300 g white peas, soaked overnight
80 g coconut, grated
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
2 onions, finely chopped
2 green chillies, slit
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons ground red chilli
3 tablespoons mustard oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
20 g coriander leaves
puffed rice, to serve

Method

COCONUT AND TAMARIND GO IN THE GRAVY, AND IT IS EATEN WITH PUFFED RICE. Its article gives the gravy as a list and those two are the ones that place it: the peas are added to a gravy that includes COCONUT, ginger paste, garlic paste, cumin, TAMARIND PASTE and coriander, and it is then served with PUFFED RICE. Coconut and tamarind together make it sweet and sour at once, which is quite different from the tomato gravies elsewhere here -- there is no tomato in it at all.
THE PEAS ARE SOAKED OVERNIGHT AND BOILED SEPARATELY. Its article says soaked overnight and then boiled in water, before they meet the gravy. White peas take an hour and they must be soft enough to squash.
ITS ARTICLE ALLOWS THREE DIFFERENT PULSES. Black gram, green peas or white peas, depending where you are. They are not interchangeable in cooking time: green peas need a tenth as long.
THE COCONUT IS GROUND INTO THE GRAVY, NOT SCATTERED ON TOP. Grated and blended with a little water into a paste, then cooked out in the oil. Sprinkled over at the end it is a garnish and the gravy tastes of nothing.
THE TAMARIND GOES IN NEAR THE END. Ten minutes before it comes off. Boiled long it turns bitter and flat.
IT CAN BE MADE WITHOUT ONION OR GARLIC AND ITS ARTICLE SAYS SO TWICE. Leave both out and lean on the ginger and the coconut. It is a real version, not a compromise.
IT IS THICK, NOT SOUPY. A spoonful should hold its shape briefly on the plate, because of what it is served on.
THE PUFFED RICE GOES IN AT THE TABLE AND NOWHERE EARLIER. It has about a minute before it softens, which is the whole pleasure of the combination.
ITS ARTICLE NAMES WHAT ELSE IT IS EATEN WITH. Puri, as on its own page, Idli, as on its own page, or Chakuli Pitha, as on its own page.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes