Mushrooms in Almond Gravy

It is has been a while since I updated my blog.  I was under the weather for past few days.   I am gradually getting back to normal and guess what, I lost 2 lbs 🙂   Isn’t that nice. I think that is the only good thing about falling sick 😮  These past few days, I did not cook much and what ever I cooked wasn’t very exciting to share with you all.  However, there is this one recipe I have been drooling over, ever since Harini posted the recipe for Mushroom Badaami.  Mushroom being one of my favorite vegetables, I couldn’t wait to try it out.  I followed her recipe with a minor changes to adjust to my liking and for convenience.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 3-5

• 2 tbsp Oil
• 1 medium sized Onion Chopped or ¾ cup Chopped Onion
• 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
• 1 tsp Coriander Powder
• 1 ½ tsp Chili Powder (adjust to taste)
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt to Taste
• 2 medium sized Tomatoes Pureed or 1 cup Tomatoes Puree
• 10 oz white Mushrooms diced
• 1/3 – ½ cup frozen Green Peas
• 12-16 Roasted Almonds
• Cilantro for Garnish

• Soak almonds for at least 15-30 minutes to remove the skin. One could use store bought blanced almonds. I ran out of blanched almonds and instead used roasted almonds . Grind the almonds to fine paste. If using pre-blanched almonds, make a fine powder of it.
• Blanch the tomatoes to make the puree. In boiling water add tomatoes and let them sit for about 1-2 minutes. Once the skin starts to peel off, remove from water and peel it. Be careful, while peeling the skin, tomatoes could be hot. Puree the tomatoes in a blender or a food process.
• Heat oil in a pan and saute onions until translucent.
• Add ginger garlic paste and saute for another minute until the raw flavor of ginger is gone.
• Add the coriander powder, turmeric powder, chili powder and salt. Mix until well incorporated.
• Add tomato puree and saute for about 5-10 minutes on medium – medium high flame until oil separates.
• Add mushrooms and green peas, cover and cook for few minutes until spices are well coated.
• Add almond paste/powder and mix well. Add water to required consistency and cook until mushrooms are fully cooked.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or roti or poori.

• Lately, I am using frozen Indian Green Peas that are available in Indian grocery stores. These peas taste similar to the peas we get in India and are not very sweet, unlike the peas that we get at regular grocery stores.
• I made tomato puree from scratch but one could substitute chopped tomatoes instead.