Chotpoti

Ingredients

Peas

• 300 gdried white peas, soaked overnight
• 2potatoes, boiled and cubed
• 1 tspturmeric
• 2 tspground cumin, toasted
• 1 tspchilli powder
• 1 tspginger paste
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 litrewater

Tamarind water

• 100 gtamarind pulp
• 300 mlwarm water
• 1 tspsugar
• ½ tspblack salt
• ½ tsptoasted ground cumin

To finish

• 4hard-boiled eggs, grated
• 1red onion, finely chopped
• 2green chillies, sliced
• a handful of coriander
• 8fuchka shells, crushed
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Soak the peas overnight, then boil them with the turmeric and salt for about 45 minutes, until soft enough to crush but still holding their shape.
2. Add the potato, cumin, chilli powder and ginger paste and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
3. Mash about a quarter of the peas against the side of the pot to thicken the liquid, and leave the rest whole. Chotpoti is a loose stew rather than a purée and it needs both textures present.
4. Soak the tamarind in the warm water for 20 minutes, then squeeze and strain it, and season the liquid with sugar, black salt and toasted cumin.
5. Keep the tamarind water separate and add it to each bowl at the table rather than to the pot.
6. Stirred into the pot it dulls within minutes. The sharp cold sourness poured over warm peas is precisely the point of the dish.
7. Ladle the pea stew into bowls.
8. Top each with grated boiled egg, chopped raw onion, green chilli and coriander.
9. Pour the tamarind water over generously and crush fuchka shells across the top.
10. Serve at once with a lime wedge, while the crushed shells are still crisp.

Technique

• Some peas whole and some mashed, tamarind at the table, shells last. Those three keep it from turning into soup.
• Black salt in the tamarind water is not optional. Its sulphurous note is what makes it taste like Dhaka street food.
• It is better made an hour ahead and finished at the table than assembled entirely to order.

Substitutions

• Chickpeas in place of white peas, cooked the same way.
• Date and tamarind chutney thinned with water, if you have no tamarind pulp.

Variations

• Much hotter, with green chilli paste stirred through.
• Without egg, which is how it is often sold cheaply.
• The drier version served on a plate rather than in a bowl.

History

Dhaka street bowl of yellow peas with boiled egg and tamarind water, usually topped with crushed fuchka shells.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chotpoti?

Chotpoti is a street food from Bangladesh: tangy pea-and-potato stew topped with grated egg and tamarind. Dhaka street bowl of yellow peas with boiled egg and tamarind water, usually topped with crushed fuchka shells.

How long does Chotpoti take to make?

Chotpoti takes 20 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Chotpoti?

Yes, within limits. Chickpeas in place of white peas, cooked the same way. Date and tamarind chutney thinned with water, if you have no tamarind pulp.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chotpoti?

Mash about a quarter of the peas against the side of the pot to thicken the liquid, and leave the rest whole. Chotpoti is a loose stew rather than a purée and it needs both textures present.