Ragada

 

Ragada forms the base of many popular chaat recipes such as Ragada Pattice, Ragada Samosa etc., and some places even serve just ragada and pav, without anything else. Most street food stalls that serve chaat and snacks would be sure to have ragda on their menu. My recipe will help you make this ragada easily at home and it will taste just as delicious as you will get anywhere outside. Let us have a look at its recipe -

Ingredients (4 servings):

• Dried white peas (Safed Vatana) - 250 g
• Potatoes - 1-2
• Onions - 2
• Tomatoes - 1
• Green chillies - 2-3
• Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic - 4-5 cloves
• Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
• Salt to taste
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Oil for frying - 4-5 tbsp
• Powdered Spices - Chaat Masala - 1/2 tsp, Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp, Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp, Dhanajeera powder - 1 tsp, Sambar powder - 1/2 tsp, Garam masala powder - 1/4th tsp
• For Green Chutney - Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup, Mint leaves - 1/4th cup, green chillies - 5-6, Garlic - 1-2 cloves Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/4th tsp, Lemon juice - 1tsp, Sugar - 1/4th tsp, Salt to taste
• For Sweet-and-Sour Chutney - Tamarind - marble-sized, Sugar - 2 tbsp, Kashmiri chilli powder - 1-2 pinches
• For Sprinkling on top -Finely chopped Onion - 1 big, Finely chopped Tomato - 1, Finely Chopped Coriander leaves - 1/4th cup, Masala, Chaat Masala - 1/2 tsp, Nylon sev - 4-5 tbsp, Puri (the one used in sev puri or pani puri)- 10-12 

Method :

• Soak the dried white peas overnight or for 7-8 hours.
• Heat oil in a cooker and add finely chopped garlic to it and let it fry for a few seconds.
• Add cumin seeds and finely chopped green chillies to it and let it fry for a few seconds.
• Add finely chopped onions to it and let it fry till they turn soft.
• Add salt, sugar and ginger paste to it and let it fry for another few seconds.
• Add finely chopped tomato to it and let it cook till it turns absolutely soft.
• Add the powdered spices to it and fry them till the oil separates from the mixture.
• Add the soaked dried white peas and potatoes (chopped into cubes) to it, mix it thoroughly and let it cook in open for around 5 minutes.
• Add 1 and a half-2 glasses of water to it and pressure cook it for 4 whistles and 20 minutes on low flame. 
• Once the pressure from the cooker is released, mash it lightly. (It should not be mashed totally)
• In the meanwhile, prepare the green chutney by mixing all the ingredients in a mixer, adding a little water to it.
• Now, prepare the sweet-and-sour chutney by finely grinding tamarind with a 2 tbsp water in a mixer. Now, add sugar and Kashmiri chilli powder to it and grind it again in the mixer, adding 1/2 cup water to it.
• To serve the Ragada, put the required quantity onto the plate, add the required quantity of green chutney and sweet-and-sour chutney over it and top it up with the items listed for sprinkling.