Mushroom Matar Masala

The word "mushroom" brings back sweet memories for me. Few decades back remember how people used to look forward to eating and relishing their seasonal favorites? Nostalgia connected with Mushrooms and Monsoon season go hand in hand for me. It's also called Alambi in the local coastal region and they are the yummiest ones. Shallow fry version used to be my favorite. My mom makes a kick ass mushroom curry :) [I will be soon featuring it here, I promise]

We are lucky that we find mushroom all year round now, though it kind of loses the special treatment and wow factor due to that  :) :) Mushroom Matar masala comes from the northern region of India. Usage of cream and cashews makes it a Mughlai style rich dish. What I have observed is children enjoy this kind of dishes.

So without any delay let's get to the recipe...

Mushroom Matar Masala

 Ingredients:

• 10 mushrooms cut into 4 parts each
• 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1pinch asafoetida (hing)
• 2 tsp oil
• 3 medium size tomatoes
• 10 cashews soaked in warm water for 10 min
• 1-inch ginger
• 2 green chillies (use as per your spice level)
• 1 tsp coriander seeds powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• handful cilantro chopped for garnish
• 1 tbsp cream (or 2 tbsp whole milk) 
• 5-6 black pepper, 1 inch cinnamon(dalchini) stick,  2 big(or small) cardamon(elaichi), 2-3 cloves(laung)
• 1 tbsp kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
• 1/2 cup water ( if u don't like it very thick) 
• salt as per taste

Preparation:

• Grind tomatoes, ginger, green chillies and cashew together and keep aside.
• Roughly grind whole garam masala- pepper, dalchini, elaichi, cloves.
• Heat oil in a pan and add jeera, as it splutters add hing and turmeric and pour the tomato mixture and stir. Cover the lid till it comes to a boil, keep stirring in between. 
• Then add kasoori methi, ground whole garam masala, chilli powder and mix everything together and cook till it leaves oil on top of gravy.
• Now add peas and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. 
• Add Cream or milk over the peas masala and bring to a boil quickly. 
• You can add water if you want the consistency of the gravy to be thin.
• While you simmer the gravy add mushrooms and salt to taste. [mushroom cooks fast and hence add it in the end]. Cook for around 4-5 minutes and shut the stove off. Garnish with cilantro.
• Serve with nan, roti, parathas, phulka or just plain rice. 

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Note: You can skip adding cream/milk if you are using cashews. I used both, correcting the ratio as per my requirement. Also, if the tomatoes you are using are not sour enough use 1 tbsp of tomato paste, you get good color and sourness in the gravy.

Based on recipe courtesy: www.Nisha Madhulika.com (changed measurements and few ingredients)

Health Benefits: Mushrooms are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free, gluten-free, and very low in sodium, yet they provide important nutrients, including selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D and more. They are a good source of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and help in weight loss. Only keep in mind you eat good quality fresh mushrooms.