Mushrooms have always been exciting to my palate. I do not know too many people who like them – I’ve heard pure vegetarians find the texture of mushrooms to be meaty – but my family absolutely loves them! I have a fabulous cook for a mom and she has cooked many a delicious preparation with Mushrooms, but now since she’s not in town and I have taken over the cooking department for my dad and I, I’m the one who accompanies dad to the market, gets excited about fresh vegetables and fruits and decides what yummy dish to serve up next.
So a few days ago, we picked up a pack of fresh white button mushrooms, and ever since I put them into the refrigerator, I’ve been tense about what to cook with them. You see, I had never cooked mushrooms before. As always, when I have kitchen woes, I called up my mum and asked to give me her recipe, and she in turn guided me to look for a recipe in a cookbook she had lying on a shelf here. This led to me hunting down the cookbook and spending the next two hours gawking at all the delicious recipes while my stomach did somersaults and back-flips!
This Kashmiri style Mushroom gravy is absolutely delicious – the strong flavors of the fried cumin seeds and black peppercorns and the sweet aroma of the cardamom pods uplift the dish, the crispy onions add texture while the tomatoes give the gravy the much needed sourness – and as the mushrooms cook in this gravy and soak in all the flavors, the end product is well-spiced and rich in flavor.
This is what you’ll need:
- Vegetable Oil – 2 tbsp
- Cumin seeds – 2 tsp
- Black Peppercorns – 1/2 tsp
- Cardamom pods – 6
- Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp
- Cumin Powder – 2 tsp
- Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
- Garam Masala Powder* – 1 tsp
- Onions – 2 (finely chopped)
- Garlic cloves – 3 (chopped)
- Ginger – 1 inch piece (finely chopped)
- Green Chilly – 1
- Tomatoes – 2 large ( diced)
- Salt – to taste
- White Button Mushrooms – 450g
- Coriander leaves – for garnish
*Garam Masala powder is a spice that you will find in every Indian home. It is a blend of turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, black and white peppercorns and other hot spices and just a pinch of this in a dal or vegetable gravy is enough to make the dish a star.
Here’s how you cook this gravy
- Heat the oil in a wok and fry the cumin seeds, black peppercorns, cardamom pods and turmeric for two minutes.
- Fry the onions till golden brown. Stir in the cumin, coriander and garam masala powders and fry for another two minutes.
- Add the chilly, garlic and ginger and fry, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook on low flame for five minutes until the tomatoes mush up.
- Add the chopped mushrooms, then cover the wok and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
- Serve hot with chapati, parathas or naan. Personally, I love this gravy with a clove and raisin flavored Pulao.
Go on, mix things up in the kitchen and try this recipe out – it’s not everyday you get a delicious Mushroom dish to enjoy.
The Foodscape 