Mushroom Theeyal

Ingredients

1. Fresh Mushrooms (Any Variety) – 1 lb/16 oz  (Approx 1/2 kg)
2. Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
3. Diced Onions – 1 medium
4. Slit Green Chillies – 2 (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
5. Curry Leaves – A  few
6. Tamarind – Gooseberry sized ball / Tamarind Paste – 2 tbsp
7. Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
8. Black Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
9. Meat Masala Powder – 1 tbsp (Optional – I used Eastern Meat Masala Powder)
10. Home Made Garam Masala Powder – 1 tsp
11. Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp
12. Oil – 2 tbsp
13. Salt – to taste
14. Water – as needed

For dry roasting and grinding

1. Grated Coconut – 1 cup
2. Garlic – 2 small cloves
3. Shallots – 2 to 4
4. Curry Leaves – A few
5. Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
6. Coriander Powder – 2 tbsp
7. Red Chilly Powder – 2 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
8. Home Made Garam Masala Powder – 1 tsp

Preparation Method

1. Wash and drain the mushrooms and cut it into bite sized pieces. Rub little salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder on the mushrooms and keep it aside.
2. Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup warm water for some time and extract the juice and keep aside.
3. Meanwhile dry roast coconut, shallots, garlic and curry leaves on medium-low heat. Keep on stirring continuously until the coconut turns into a dark brown color. The coconut should be thoroughly roasted till it’s almost burnt.
4. Reduce heat and add turmeric, coriander, red chilly and garam masala powders and continue roasting for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow it to cool.
5. Grind everything to a smooth paste along with 1/2 cup water.
6. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan and splutter mustard seeds.
7. Saute onions, slit green chillies and curry leaves until the onions are translucent.
8. Reduce heat and add ginger garlic paste. Saute until the raw smell disappears.
9. Next add 1 tbsp meat masala powder and 1/2 tsp black pepper powder and stir fry for a minute.
10. Add the marinated mushrooms and mix everything well. Cover and cook for around 5-7 minutes. The mushrooms would have let out water by now.
11. Add the ground coconut paste to the pan along with more water and salt. Simmer on medium flame for 5 minutes.
12. Add tamarind juice and bring everything to a slow boil. Sprinkle more garam masala if required.
13. Reduce flame and simmer until the gravy thickens. This Mushroom Theeyal goes well with Rice.

Note

• You can alter the consistency of the gravy by increasing or decreasing water content.
• If using tamarind paste, adjust the sourness accordingly.
• The color of Theeyal depends on how well you roast the coconut and spices.
• If you have Ready Made Coconut Varutharacha Gravy like Saras brand, you can make this curry easily.

Mushroom & Egg Stir Fry

If you are looking for a Low Calorie, Low Fat, Low Cholesterol and Low Carb dish, then you can’t get wrong with mushrooms. Mushroom Egg Stir Fry is so tasty and you will fall in love with it at the first sight. My husband even mistook it for Beef Fry before taking the first bite.

Ingredients

1. Mushrooms (any variety) – 1 lb/16 oz
2. Egg – 1
3. Diced Onions – 1 medium
4. Diced Tomatoes – 1 medium
5. Slit Green Chillies – 2 to 4 (Alter, according to your spice tolerance)
6. Dry Red Chillies – 4
7. Minced Garlic – 4 small cloves
8. Minced Garlic – 1 tbsp
9. Curry Leaves – A sprig
10. Garam Masala Powder – 1/2 to 1 tsp
11. Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp (Alter, according to your spice tolerance)
12. Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
13. Black Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
14. Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
15. Cumin (Jeera) Powder – 1/2 tsp
16. Salt – to taste
17. Oil – 1 tbsp
18. Lemon Juice – 1 tsp (optional)

Preparation Method

1. Clean the mushrooms well by washing it in water. Gently, squeeze out as much water as possible from the mushrooms and drain it onto paper towels. Trim the stem if required and quarter the mushrooms and keep it aside. Don’t slice it into very small pieces.
2. Beat and egg with salt keep it aside.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non stick pan and saute onions, red chillies, green chillies and curry leaves till the onions become translucent.
4. Add minced garlic and ginger and saute for a few more minutes.
5. Throw in the diced tomatoes and allow it to cook until soft and pulpy.
6. Reduce heat and add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp red chilly powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp pepper powder and 1/2 to 1 tsp garam masala powder. Saute for a minute or two.
7. Add the marinated mushroom pieces along with salt to taste and saute on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes.
8. Cover the pan and cook the mushrooms on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Do not add water while cooking.
9. After 8-10 minutes, the mushrooms would have let out water. Remove the lid and stir fry for another 3-5 minutes so that the water evaporates.
10. Push the mushrooms to the sides of the pan and add the beaten egg. Start scrambling the egg when it begins to set.
11. Mix everything well and stir fry thoroughly for a few minutes before removing from stove top.
12. You can sprinkle little lemon juice for a nice taste. (optional)
13. Serve this tasty Mushroom Egg Stir Fry with Rice.

Mushroom Thoran

Though I have often read that mushrooms should not be soaked in water, I am uncomfortable with the thought of just wiping the mushrooms with a towel. After all, how clean can it get by simply wiping the mushrooms. Earlier, I used to peel the outer skin of mushrooms. These days, I keep the skin and it tastes the same. I wash the mushrooms and then gently, squeeze out as much water as possible and then drain it on to paper towels.

Mushrooms greatly reduce in quantity after cooking. So always keep that in mind. Do try out this great recipe for Mushroom Thoran.

Ingredients

1. Mushrooms (any variety) – 1 lb/16 oz (Button or Sliced)
2. Diced Onions – 1 medium
3. Slit Green Chillies/Crushed Dry Red Chillies – 4
4. Sliced Shallots (Kunjulli/Pearl Onions) – 6 small (optional)
5. Crushed Garlic – 4 small cloves
6. Curry Leaves – A sprig
7. Garam Masala Powder – 1/2 to 1 tsp
8. Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp
9. Black Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
10. Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp
11. Grated Coconut  – 1 Cup
12. Grated Cumin (Jeera) – 1/2 tsp
13. Salt – to taste
14. Oil – 2 tbsp
15. Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp

Preparation Method

1. Clean the mushrooms well by washing it in water. Gently, squeeze out as much water as possible from the mushrooms and drain it onto paper towels. Then dice it into small pieces.
2. Marinate the mushrooms with 1/2 tsp turmeric and some salt. Keep it aside for around 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mix together coconut, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp cumin and salt with your hands or you can coarsely grind everything together. Keep the coconut mixture aside.
4. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan and splutter mustard seeds.
5. Saute onions, green chillies and curry leaves till the onions become translucent.
6. Add the sliced shallots and crushed garlic cloves and saute for a few more minutes.
7. Reduce heat and add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp red chilly powder, 1/2 tsp pepper powder and 1/2 to 1 tsp garam masala powder. Saute for a minute or two.
8. Add the marinated mushroom pieces and saute on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes.
9. Cover the pan and cook the mushrooms on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Do not add water while cooking.
10. After 8-10 minutes, the mushrooms would have let out water. Remove the lid and stir fry for another 5-8 minutes so that the water evaporates and the mushrooms are cooked. Add extra salt only if required.
11. Next add the coconut mixture and combine everything together. Stir fry for a few more minutes until the thoran is almost dry and remove from stove top.
12. Serve this tasty Mushroom Thoran with Rice.

Mushroom Makhani (Mushroom Butter Masala)

Ingredients

1. Mushrooms (Peeled and quartered) – 3 cups
2. Diced Potatoes – 1 medium (optional)
3. Finely Diced onions – 1 medium
4. Crushed Ripe Tomatoes – 3 medium (You can alternatively use 1 can of store bought Canned Crushed Tomatoes or 1 cup of Tomato Puree)
5. Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp
6. Red Chilly Powder – 1 tbsp
7. Garam Masala Powder – 1 tbsp
8. Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
9. Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
10. Whipping Cream – 1 cup
11. Butter/Oil – 1 tbsp
12. Sugar – 1 tsp
13. Salt – to taste
14. Water – 1 cup
15. Coriander Leaves (Cilantro) – for garnishing

Preparation Method

1. Peel the mushrooms and quarter it or dice it into bite sized pieces.
2. Meanwhile, remove the stem from the tomatoes make an X (cross) slit with a knife on the rear of each tomato and add it to boiling water for a few minutes.
3. When the skin starts peeling off from the tomatoes, remove it from the boiling water and add it to a bowl full of ice .
4. Allow it to cool completely and then peel off the skin.
5. Crush the tomatoes thoroughly using your hands. You can also put the tomatoes in a blender and then strain to remove the seeds. Keep the crushed/blended tomatoes aside.
6. Heat butter in a non stick pan and saute onions until translucent.
7. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes.
8. Reduce heat and add garam masala powder, red chilly powder, turmeric and coriander powder.
9. Add the mushroom and potato pieces along with salt and saute for 2 minutes.
10. Throw in the crushed tomatoes or tomato puree and allow it to cook thoroughly till oil begins to show.
11. Add 1 cup of water along with sugar and mix well. Cover and cook on medium heat until the mushrooms and potatoes are cooked.
12. When the veggies are cooked, reduce heat and add whipping cream.
13. Allow it to come to a slow boil and remove from heat.
14. Garnish with cilantro.

Note

1. You can use store bought Crushed Tomatoes or Tomato Puree for this recipe.
2. Tomato Paste and Tomato Sauce should not be used instead of Tomato Puree or Crushed Tomatoes as the taste will change. Tomato Paste contains highly concentrated cooked tomatoes and Tomato Sauce contains lot of seasonings. Crushed Tomatoes and Tomato Puree generally contain uncooked tomatoes and we need uncooked tomatoes for this recipe.

Mushroom Curry

Ingredients

1. Mushrooms (Any variety) – 1/2 lb
2. Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
3. Diced Onions – 1 medium
4. Slit Red/Green Chillies – 3
5. Curry Leaves – A sprig
6. Finely chopped Ginger  – 1 tbsp
7. Finely chopped Garlic – 1 tbsp
8. Home Made Garam Masala Powder – 1 tsp
9. Chicken/Meat Masala Powder – 1 tbsp
10. Coriander Powder – 1 tbsp
11. Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp
12. Tomato Paste – 1/4 cup
13. Oil – 2 tbsp
14. Salt – to taste
15. Water – as needed

Preparation Method

1. Clean the mushrooms well and cut into small pieces. I peel off the skin from the mushroom and then wash it well. Some people prefer to keep the skin.
2. Marinate the mushrooms with 1/4 tsp turmeric and some salt. Keep it aside for around 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan and saute onions, chillies and curry leaves till the onions become translucent.
4. Saute ginger and garlic for a few minutes.
5. Reduce heat and  add 1 tsp chilly powder, 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tbsp meat or chicken masala powder and 1 tsp garam masala powder and saute for 2 minutes.
6. Add the tomato paste to the pan along with salt and 1/2 cup water. Bring it to a slow boil.
7. Wash the mushrooms and drain the water. Add the mushrooms to the above pan and mix everything well.
8. Cover and cook on low flame for 15-20 minutes till the mushrooms are cooked in the gravy.
9. Serve this spicy Mushroom Curry with Rotis.