1-in-3 Mushrooms

Mushrooms

Its been a while since I devoted my time to 1-in-3 series. This time I chose an ingredient that you either totally love or dislike completely. I hope with these three recipes of mine will help people from Hate it camp move to Love it side.

Mushrooms are fruited body of fungi that contain spores, which act like seeds. They contain no chlorophyll, but they obtain their nutrition from breaking down and eating dead plants. The fungi stores these nutrients, and when conditions are right, they start to fruit – produce mushrooms.

If I had known this before trying them out for the first time, I wouldn’t have had ventured at all. Eating fungus does not sound that appetizing. But am glad that I did. The first mushroom dish I tasted should also be a reason for my liking – Mushroom Tikka Masala. Who wouldn’t love that?

There are umpteen number of mushrooms in the market, the common being the button mushrooms. But mushrooms which were wild are now being cultivated, meaning, we can get them in our local market at much lower cost. Mushrooms taste earthy, but each type has a distinct flavour. So play with them till you find those that suit your palette and the recipe on hand. Some types that I have tried are white, crimini, shiitake, portabella, oyster, chanterelle and porcini mushrooms. Follow the links for buying and storing tips.

The first of 1-in-3 is Mushroom masala. If you are trying mushrooms for the first time, then this is a good start. Because, the spices work perfectly together, downplaying the meatiness, which some people tend to dislike. Mushroom masala and Mushroom Chettinad are two of my most favourite mushroom recipes.

Ingredients

Crimini or button mushrooms – 2 packs, sliced
Onion – 1, big, sliced
Tomatoes – 2, sliced
Ginger – 1 inch, chopped fine
Garlic – 3 cloves, chopped fine
Green chillies – 2
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Cream – 2 tbsp
Sesame seed paste (tahini) or cashew butter – 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
Oil/butter – 2 tsp
Salt
Cilantro

Method

In a skillet, heat oil and/or butter, splutter cumin seeds and sauté mushroom slices until they start to brown. Add sliced onions, green chillies and sauté until onions are limp. Now add tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cumin powder, garam masala powder and salt. Cook on low flame till tomatoes are cooked, sprinkling water if necessary. Mix cream and tahini and heat through. Switch off the flame and serve curry garnished with cilantro.

Mushroom Masala

If you don’t have tahini or cashew butter on hand, roast sesame seeds or cashew nuts, per your preference, soak in warm water for 5 minutes and grind to a fine paste.

Manisha of Indian Food Rocks has given me Thoughtful Blogger Award. I am not sure whether I deserve this, being only 4 months old in the blogosphere. But I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation for thinking about me for this award. Thank you, Manisha!

45 comments:

Sharmi said...

I love mushrooms. while in India I was mad about chilli mushroom and mushroom munchurians. you recipe looks yum. great pics as always.

archana said...

Mushroom looks nice, but I don't eat them :)My family likes it :)

Raaga said...

I am a confirmed mushroom lover... and am definitely going to give this a try :-)

Priya said...

I love mushrooms...but my body has decided otherwise :(( :((

Viji said...

Lovely Suganya,as you said it will even inspire the people who hate mushrooms (like me:)Viji

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the award. Great recipe with those mushroooms.. i never cooked mushrooms... don't quite like them..

may be i will give this a try.

and Happy Independence Day !!


-Mythili

sra said...

That's a beautiful photo, suganya!

Unknown said...

Lovely Mushrooms... I love them!!
Congrats on the award!!
Happy Independence Day!!

Mamatha said...

Adding Tahini to m'room masala is novel - I'm guessing adding peanut butter instead of tahini/cashew butter wd also give it a nice flavor. This goes w/o saying - nice pictures.

Happy Independence Day!

Mamatha

Anonymous said...

What a great color. Gotta try this with tahini..

Bharathy said...

Happy Independence day..

Mushrooms go well with the chettinad prep..I love it... never knew they come in so many (edible) avatars!!
All we get here is Button and Milk variety.We get CHIPPY KALAN from our native farm,a bit chewy variety..I have tried only these 3..:)

CONGRAAAATS ON YOUR BLOGGER AWARD!!!!...Stick up that LOGO in ur next post...c'mon..:)

Hope you are over with your sarakku ;),and feeling better :)..

Kajal said...

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh....my mouth is open my dear after see your beautiful palet with Mashrom curry...Mouthwatering...:))

Srivalli said...

suganya...that looks very tempting....


Srivalli
www.cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com

Richa said...

mouth watering :)
i've almond butter with me, shud work, right?

FH said...

Chettinad anything attracts me! Looks beautiful as usual,the photo I mean.Mushrooms are almost like meat,aren't they?:))
Happy I day.Enjoy the award, hugs.

Aruna said...

oh My My!!! I am not a mushroom lover but seeing the dish(or should I say Pic!!!) I am allmost tempted to try it :-)

Do u think I could use the white cello mushrooms instead, will they spoil the taste ??

Tee said...

I love Mushrooms! This looks awesome!!! will try it soon.Congrats on your award!!

musical said...

Great mushroom recipe, Suganya. I love mushrooms!

musical said...

ooh, and Congratulations for the award!

Saju said...

they look so tasty, I am going to try this.

Dee said...

This is such a wonderful recipe, comes by easy on a hard day!! we love mushrooms

Neelam said...

We love mushrooms too...lovely pictures as always! Congrats for the award too!

Cynthia said...

I'm a lover :)

Suganya said...

Nice to know you mushroom lovers (& haters too) out there :)

Kamini said...

HI ,
Just wanted to thank you for leaving a comment on my blog http://bubbling-cauldron.blogspot.com/.
you have a fabulous blog and very nice pictures...

Prajusha said...

congrats for the award.mushroom recipe looks nice.

Laavanya said...

Great looking mushroom curry Suganya. I just used 2 packs to make ravioli. So, maybe next time.

Lata said...

Hi Suganya,

The dish looks awesome. I was talking to my friend about you yesterday and I got a dream that some couple of girls went out for lunch and there I met a girl called Suganya, I asked her if she is the one who has Tasty Pallets site...and she said yes. I was very excited to meet you in person (in dream of course).

Happy I-day to you. Forgot to see you yesterday.

Bong Mom said...

I love mushrooms these days and such stunning pics

Bong Mom said...

Hey Congrats for the award...you definitely deserve it

Swaruchy said...

I 1don't eat mushrooms..but my husband does....the dish looks really good...will give it a try atleast for him :-)

Susan said...

Well, I AM a mushroom lover. Bring them on! Nice new header, Suganya.

Padma said...

Hey congrats on the award...and 1-in-3 mushroom series is already awesome, looking for more on this from you. Great recipe!

Suganya said...

Aruna, I have not tried cello mushrooms yet, so i really cannot answer that question.

As for using other nut butters, that depends on yr taste. But I wouldn't add peanut butter nor almond butter here. Its just not my preference.

Suganya said...

Was I good looking in yr dream, Lata? ;)

SeeC said...

Congrats !!! You deserve it.
There should be more for your pictures too.

Love to try this.

Anonymous said...

I love mushrooms. Waiting for the mushrooms season to be in so that we can go pick mushrooms with our little ninja :)

Seema Bhat said...

Suganya, I love mushrooms and your 1 in 3 recipes are making me fall in love with them all over again. Love the rich color of the dish.

Anonymous said...

i love this version.i will try it. r they natural mushroom like we get in villages.does they taste same.for now i use baby mushrooms.the pics r beautiful.

Suganya said...

Ramya, I assume that your question is whether these are wild mushrooms, as all mushrooms I have used are natural. Except button mushrooms all others were wild. But now they are also cultivated due to increasing demands.
I have never seen mushrooms in villages, so I cannot answer that question. Hope this helps!

Viji said...

Looks very good.I love all ur pic's.Can i know which camera u use?And U know something,I have something waiting for u in my blog.

Tee said...

Hey Suganya, i tried out your Mushroom Masala and it turned out amazingly delicious and it did not take too long to make too! Only, mine did not get that deep red colour...was a little brownish, maybe due to the colour of the cayenne pepper. :)

Suganya said...

I am so happy that you like it Tee. Colour of the chilli powder plays an important role. I wonder how this dish would look like with kashmiri chilli powder.

SMN said...

I love mashroooms.. that luks so creamy yumyy..

veggie belly said...

Great recipe, I love the shot of the mushrooms!

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