SHAHI MUSHROOM MASALA / SPICY MUSHROOM CURRY RECIPE

 

Yuhoooo…. !!!   It’s THE  WEEKENDDdddd  !!!

Err !! Atleast in this part of the world where I live 🙂

And on weekends, I see this lady barge into the veggie isle of the supermarket, trying to dig out some real gold from the farthest end of the  Mushroom racks (thinking there would be new fresh packets that’s hidden there,LOL ) . she has been literally pulling out each of the nicely packed blue boxes of The white buttons , tilting the box a few times, keeping it back and heading out for the next. So this goes on until she finds the most appealing ones, the ones with the least black marks, the ones with the least punch marks and the whitest for sure. Finally she settles down for two of these blue boxes and puts them into the shopping cart with a grin to her hubby, as if she has got some treasure to take back home. ( He would be telling her, all are the same however you check them, but how could she listen to him when she is a sucker for these white beauties ! )

Yeah, that lady happens to be me  🙂 (Grin)

I just can’t resist them anytime I go to a grocery, if they are spotted fresh on the rack, it is meant to be on my plate the next day ,LOVE is for the way I look at them ❤

Just let some of these love into your life right now, okay? And you won’t regret!

I’ve always loved the north Indian cuisine and my food senses will always steer me in the direction of a north restaurant when it’s that glorious time to do my favorite thing of all time which is called Go Out to Eat. It is so creamy, buttery, spicy, sweet..ah!what not…I like them better than the south Indian vegetarian curries ,if not for a lavish SADHYA !! ( for you,who do not know what a sadhya is – sadhya is the large wholesome meal served in kerala for lunch on  a celebration where you get not less than 21 types of curries and sides, along with a dessert ( payasam) not less than 3 in number ,,whoa ! that’s real good food from gods own country <3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the recipe here is ‘Shahi Mushroom’. I mostly do a Chinese dish with mushroom since I want them easily available to gorge on with less sauce when making them as a side dish, else they go into everything from omlete,quince,pasta,pizza,literally anything I make, But never attempted to cook them the Indian way . But once I settled down to make this gravy and fell in love with them. It is spicy, with all the flavors’ of an Indian curry and ‘ mushroomy’ too( I cant get a better word to tell you how flavorful mushroom is) .it cook up very quickly and soak up flavors beautifully, making them a fast and easy side dish. They are full of antioxidants and nutrients too J . The best thing to get the most out of mushrooms is to cook them as soon as possible, once you bring them home. I do not advocate using canned mushrooms for this curry. Fresh is the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enough of praise for this star lets cook it up now. This is how I make it,

 

INGREDIENTS

1. Whole Garam masala ( 2 cardamom pods,1 inch cinnamon,1/2 teaspoon of cumin,1 small bay leaf,5 pepper corns )
2. 2 teaspoon of chopped ginger
3. 2 teaspoon of chopped garlic
4. 2 slit green chilies
5. ¾ cup of onion chopped
6. ½ cup of tomato chopped
7. 2 teaspoon coriander powder
8. 2 teaspoon chilli powder
9. 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
10. ½ teaspoon cumin powder
11. ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
12. 200 grams Mushrooms (diced)
13. 1 cup water or more
14. 10 almonds and cashew nuts (soaked in hot water to grind)
15. 2 tablespoonS cooking Cream ( optional)
16.  ½ teaspoon kasuri methi ( optional)
17. Cooking oil
18. Salt to taste

 INSTRUCTIONS

1.  In a pan ,add the whole garam masala to oil, let the cumin splutter.
2. Add in the ginger and garlic, sauté for a minute. Now add onion, and cook until soft and mushy.
3. Throw in the chilli, turmeric, coriander, and cumin powder and sauté until fragrant.
4. Add tomato to the pan and cook until soft and mushy OR till they come together.
5. At this point, you can grind the mixture to a paste or leave it as it is. I did not grind it here.
6. Add enough water to this, let it boil.
7. Now add in the diced mushroom. Cover and cook until done in medium high heat.
8. In the mean time, grind almonds and cashew nut to a paste. Add this paste and cream(if using) and cook for 3 more minutes.
9. Finally check for seasoning, add garam masala and kasuri methi.
10. Serve with phulka, kulcha, naan or rice.

NOTES :

The amount of spices can be decreased or increased to suit your taste.

LOVE

SARANYA ❤