Mushroom Masala

This mushroom masala is inspired by Bharathy's post.  I make mushroom masala/curry  similar to hers  but I do not use curry powder in my preparation.  When I saw her recipe, it reminded me of the curry powder in  my spice cabinet that is  seldom used.  Since then, I made it couple of times when we had some company and they loved it.  As I said, my version is lot similar to hers and here is how I made it.

Inspired by: Bharathy's Mushroom Masala
Total Time: 30 minutes
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ - 2 tbsp. Oil
• ½ cup Onion chopped or 1 small Onion chopped (I used one & a half medium onion and used ½ of it for the paste and the other half for sautéing)
• 2 tsp. Ginger Garlic paste
• Masala Paste (ingredients given below)
• 2 tsp. Coriander Powder
• 1 medium Tomato or ⅔ cup chopped Tomato
• 1 ½ tsp. Chili Powder (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp. Hot Madras Curry Powder (I use Rajah Brand)
• ½ tsp. Turmeric
• 1 ½ - 2 tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
• 10 oz. or 284gms. White Mushrooms
• 2 medium Green Chilies slit and cut into two
• ⅛ tsp. Garam Masala
• Cilantro to Garnish
• For Masala Paste
  • 1 ½ - 2 tsp. Oil
  • ½ cup Onion or 1 small Onion chopped (I used one & a half medium onion and used ½ of it for the paste and the other half for sautéing)
  • 1 Cardamom
  • 1 Clove
  • ½ tsp. Sahajeera /Black Cumin/ Caraway seeds (Can substitute cumin)
  • ¼ “Cinnamon

Preparation:

• We will first prepare the masala for the paste. Take a small pan or a skillet and heat some oil listed in masala paste. Add all the ingredients listed under masala paste and sauté the onion until golden brown. I normally like to sauté tomatoes along with the onion for the masala paste, but today I did not do so. If you wish to add tomatoes, add when onions become translucent. Continue sautéing until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. Cool the masala and grind to paste. Add water if required.
• While the masala cools, peel the mushrooms. This is not required but my athama (MIL) got us all into the habit of  peeling the mushrooms, 🙂 and now, almost everyone in the family peels mushrooms. To peel the mushroom, separate the stalk from the cap. Peel the membrane of cap. Wash the caps and the stalks. Dice the cap into 4-6 pieces depending on the size and the stalk to two. If the stalk is not firm, discard it.
• Cut the rest of the vegetables required for this preparation.
• Heat a sauce pan with oil; add onion and sauté until translucent.

  

• Add ginger garlic paste, masala paste and sauté for a minute.

  

• Add Tomatoes, salt and cook for 2-3 minute until it becomes soft and mushy. You can cover and cook it on medium high heat. Make sure it does not burn. If you add the tomato to the masala paste, skip this step.
• Add coriander powder, chili powder, curry powder, turmeric, salt (if you have not already added) and roast it for a few seconds.

  

• Add mushrooms, green chilies and stir until the spices coat the mushrooms. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring it in between. Mushrooms should become tender by now.

  

• Add 1 – 1 ½ cups of water, depending on how thick you want the gravy to be. Cover and bring it to boil.
• Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking it for another 5 - 7 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
• Taste the masala and adjust the spices,  if required. My masala was not spicy enough and I add some garam masala. I have included it in the ingredient list.
• Turn off the heat and garnish with cilantro.
• Serve it with rice, parathas, roti or jeera rice.

Note & Tip:

• When buying mushrooms, pick white firm ones. These taste lot better than the soft mushrooms.
• If you want to skip the masala making process, you can grind the all the ingredients listed under masala paste with out roasting them.  But I like the taste of the masala that is roasted and then ground to paste.  I usually make this masala paste in bulk and freeze it in small containers.  It stays fresh for 7-10 days in the fridge.  Also add little bit of turmeric and salt to the paste, if I am storing it.  I use this paste in all kinds of gravies.
• Curry powder can be skipped, if you do not have it in your pantry.  Instead, add more chili powder and garam masala to adjust the spice.

This goes to Priya's CWS: Caraway seeds.