Mushroom Curry

Mushroom Curry
Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 250 grams button mushrooms
• 1-2 green chillies, slit (deseed to reduce spice if you are using the very spicy variety)
• 1 fat clove of garlic, minced
• 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
• oil for frying
• salt to taste
• chopped coriander to garnish (optional)

For the masala:

• 4 long red chillies (I used a mix of Bedgi & Kashmiri chillies, all deseeded)
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1 marble size ball of tamarind
• approx 1/4 – 1/2 cup grated coconut (adjust according to the desired amount of gravy)

Method:
1. Wash the mushrooms well, remove a layer of the skin if they are discoloured. Cut them into quarters and keep aside.
2. Grind all the ingredients mentioned under ‘For the masala‘ to a fine paste using 2-3 tablespoons of water. Remove the the masala into a bowl and rinse the mixer jar with approx 1/4 cup of water and reserve this masala water
3. In a heavy, wide based wok/kadhai heat the oil and fry the slit chillies for a couple of seconds. Then add the garlic and onions and fry until the onions turn light golden. Toss in the mushrooms, salt to taste and saute on a medium heat till the colour changes from white to a musky/dull white. Cover and cook for a few minutes and then remove the contents out onto a plate.
4. In the same kadhai, heat some more oil and fry the ground masala on a medium heat till the well fried and the oil separates – this could take a few minutes but don’t skip this step as the masala needs to be fried really well to get rid of the raw taste.
5. Now add the fried mushroom mixture and mix. Add the reserved masala water in parts to achieve desired thickness of the gravy. Check salt to taste. Cover the pan and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat
6. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with chapathis or rice

Notes:
Instead of mushrooms you can make this dish with eggs ( hard boiled and slit) or potatoes too