Matar Ghugni (Spiced peas)

Do you have any childhood stories of time spent in the kitchen? I have tons! Whether it was helping people, tasting food or just watching – I spent a fair bit of time wandering in an out of the kitchen.

My sister and I did one thing a LOT! Peeling (and eating) fresh peas. We would happily plonk ourselves down with a big bowl of peas and peel them for whatever dish was being cooked that day. I must say, we ended up having to peel a lot more than was needed because we ate at least a third of what we peeled! Fresh, sweet peas are amazing 😍

This dish is a super easy way to use peas and was a staple in our house (and in many bihari households).

Peas are super versatile and can be used to add texture and sweetness in many dishes (like matar paneer), in soups, as a sauce with lamb, plain as is, in pulao or simply stir fried with some spices.

This recipe takes about 15 minutes if you’re using frozen peas (which is what I do now since I don’t have a lot of time) and around 25-30 minutes with fresh peas.

All you need : peas, green chilli, cumin seeds and some spiced. Easy Peasy!

The cumin and the chilli set the tone for this dish. It is punchy yet aromatic and flavourful.

Add the peas and then the spices. That’s all there is to it! The peas become soft but not mushy, are spicy yet tangy, sweet yet salty – this dish is a winner 🙂

You can have this plain as a snack or with chapati/rice/Dal or with chura (fried beaten rice) the way we biharis do 🙂 All acceptable, all delicious, all easy!