Ghughni is the region’s everyday chickpea curry — black kala chana, soaked and simmered in a mustard-oil gravy of onion, tomato, ginger and warm spices. Eaten with roti, paratha, rice or beaten rice, it is street snack and home meal alike.
A simple method: soak black chickpeas overnight; in mustard oil temper bay leaf, cinnamon and pepper, fry onions, then add the chickpeas with tomato, ginger-garlic, turmeric and cumin; season and pressure-cook till tender; finish to the gravy you like and scatter with coriander. Hearty, cheap and beloved across Mithila.