Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Mushroom pepper curry - A village treat !

Mushrooms are always associated with rain . If you have lived in a country side , then you will think of  that spread of white mushrooms that bloom after a rain. (keep in mind that only a few mushrooms are edible and it needs some experience to identify them).
Mushrooms are my fantasies since childhood.I have always wondered and asked many people how these tiny soft umbrellas shoot up the next morning after a heavy rain. Our maid Lakshmi told me that the lightning brings the seeds of mushroom to earth (!) or it is the mysterious plant that live for a day indicating some fast life philosophy and a lot of stories....even thrillers too:)
I would get up in the morning after those lightning nights and run to our garden to see if any umbrella has sprung up. On seeing my love for them Lakshmi brought us a lot of mushrooms, which she collected in the woods. Mom, cooked it like a spicy curry as per Lakshmi's idea .Those were like treats to me. Nothing can beat the fragrance of those fresh hand picked mushrooms.
In course of time I learned that these are a kind of fungi that grows if the moisture / humidity reaches a saturation point along with some protein rich environment.Moreover all the mushrooms are not edible. Some are poisonous too.

Ok...Whatever the scientific fact it may be... even now I consider the mushrooms as tiny little gifts from heaven that travels through lightning:) I want it to remain that way only.

Mushroom pepper curry (village style)
:



Ingredients:
Button Mushroom - 20
coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
garlic paste - 1 tsp
tomato - 1
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tbsp
Red Onion - 1/2
fennel seed - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaf - 1 sprig
Green chilly - 2

To grind:
puffed channa dhal - 1 tbsp
Shallot onion - 4
black pepper - 1 tbsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Put the mushroom in a wide vessel and wash it in water thrice to remove any impurities.
Drain the water completely. Pat dry it with paper towel.Don't squeeze it.
Chop it in lengthwise and keep aside.
Grind the items given.
Heat oil in a wok.
Add the fennel seeds and let it get red in color.
Then add the chopped onion , curry leaf, green chilly and saute well.
Then add the garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
Now put the finely chopped tomatoes and saute till the oil separates.
Then goes the mushroom along with all the powders , salt and ground mixture.
Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Mushroom pepper curry is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with paratha, roti or any bread.
Goes very well with piping hot cooked rice too.

Facts:

The nutrient content is very high for all the edible mushrooms and they are considered as one of the natural medicines for cancer and heart disease.
Mushrooms helps in reducing our cholesterol level and boosts the immune system.
A Serving in alternate days will definitely help us keep a good health.
Cook the mushrooms as early as you buy bring them home. It will start to rot in one day after coming home.
There are some poisonous varieties also. So have a thorough knowledge before going for a mushroom pick-up.

An award:
Yesterday I received a cute award from Ramya of Simple vegetarian Recipes. I am speechless. Thanks Ramya ! Your award inspires me to do more.



The rules for this award are :
1. You must mention the person who has given you the award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

Well .. I don't know , if it will be interesting. Here are some facts about me.

1)We are living in USA and my mother tongue is Tamil. I love English movies, especially the documentary, cartoons and non-violent movies :)

2)Passionate to visit Churches . I am eager to know about all other religions too.

3)I love to learn different cultures and cuisines. Gardening and watching flowers , birds etc are my leisure time activities.

4)I like various hair cuts , exercise and keep myself updated.

5)My drawback is my fully developed taste buds that crave for all those fried items I see:)

6)I love blogging and the entire blogging community keeps me lively.

7)More concerned about ecology, environment , pollution, protecting fauna and flora of our Earth.

I want to pass this award to all, but as per the rules I have to select just 7 people....So passing these to the following friends .

1)Sashi of Sashi's Tasty bites.

2)SriLakshmi of AnnaPurna.

3)Ganga of My favorite foods.

4)Rebecca of Chow and chatter.

5)Suparna of Food Fascination.

6)Aysha of Life Today.

7) Kalyani of kalyani's kitchen.

Congrats Friends!

33 comments:

Kalyani said...

Thanks Viki for thinking & sharing the award with me .....

Srilakshmi said...

Congratulations on your award! and thank you for passing it to me :-) Great to know more about you.

chow and chatter said...

thanks Viki will leave one for you on my blog also, My husband is Tamil!, yeppadi errengu?? LOL Rebecca oh love your mushroom curry by the way

chow and chatter said...

in fact I will dedicate todays post to you check it out!!

Vikis Kitchen said...

OMG ! Rebecca, u are speaking Tamil. I am so happy to hear that your hubby's language is Tamil. Your Tamil is pretty good too. Nalla irukken.or nantraga irukiren (I m fine). Thanks dear for mentioning about me in your blog. This means a lot to me. Hugs, viki.

Mangala Bhat said...

Wow! congrats on ur award ..nice to know about u ! Hey Yummy looking recipe:)

Ann said...

Congrats on your Award Viki :)) Mush' curry sounds too good.

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Congrats on ur award viki u truely deserve it . I always love ur intro u give for each dish. The mushroom curry is really temping one. i love mushrooms so much.. Melum melum award vaanga yenudaya vazhthukkal viki.. keep going

Ann said...

I dont know why.. while reading the Point 1 about you.. makes me giggle..I think its because I too fit in that point.

Padma said...

Congrats on your award Viki... and was nice reading about you .... mushroom pepper curry looks delicious n spicy ... 2 more days left for my event and am excited about posting the round up and also little tensed...

Unknown said...

Congrats on u'r award..u totally deserve it..Mushroom pepper curry looks yummy..Hav etried making mushroom masala..This is a diff recipe..

Sashi said...

Congrats Viki, Thanks for sharing award with at the first visit itself. I am so excited. This is the first time I'm interacting with other blogger, So i do not know anyone else other than you. :)

ARUNA said...

congrats on ur award dear!!!

Faiza Ali said...

Congrats viki for the well deserved award and keep rocking !! Happy to know more about you :)

Vrinda said...

Congrats on ur awrad..thats a delicious curry with mushrooms..

Varsha Vipins said...

wow..Thata truly my type of curry dear..will try this soon..:)..n yeah congratss 4 the deserving award..:)
..n thanks for the comment n support dear..don say sorry n all da..hugs to u..:)

Anonymous said...

Same pinch on the childhood note..even I was wondering there on how they make a sudden appearance from under the earth..haha..and there were traditions like you dont speak while you pluck mushroooms and all..haha..and there will be lot of people aroud the same.
They used to drop them in turmeric water anyway and prepare a curry using garam masala which resembled me of mutton masala..after this much years,i didnt see and taste any mushrooms coming somewhere near to the taste they evoked..bad luck...
the curry is definitely spicy and brought back many memories with it !!
Congrats on your award..enjoy !!

Poornima Nair said...

Congrats on ur awards...it was great reading about u...
mushroom curry looks yumm...would be perfect with rotis.

Suparna said...

hi Viki,
WOW..that was a very interesting read and a little funny too :) it's so true that as kids we are so fascinated by the tiniest things around :) the stories woven around the true facts are so interesting :)these are required to keep the reasoning alive :) :)
I loved the read viki, and as for the meme...Its really good to know how truly u are concerned about the environment and surroundings :)
Congratulations on the well deserved award!!
Thanks for nominating me dear I am truly honoured :)
Enjoy the week ahead!!
TC

Prasukitchen.blogspot.com said...

Viki Congrats on ur award . and also congrats to all the nominees .
loved the dish viki

Sanghi said...

Yummy mushroom curry..!

Sushma Mallya said...

looks delicious viki and congraz for the award....

Raks said...

Thats a very new dish to me and sounds so spicy!

Sonia said...

Hi Viki,
I have recently posted a few recipes on my blog. Please find time to visit so to inspire.

Parita said...

Nice read :) the curry looks yummy!

Saritha said...

Congrats viki :)

Purva Desai said...

I agree with you Viki....comes the Rainy season and you will find wild Mushrooms growing all over the places....It reminds me that when we were kids I and my friends used to imagine these mushrooms as small kitten house.... :)
Curry looks appetizing and congrats for your award

Sonia said...

I bought mushrooms today just to try this. Would try this soon.Mushrooms are a favorite of mine all time

Anonymous said...

Love mushroom dishes...tnx for sharing...u have a gud collection recipes Viki...

lissie said...

Congratulations on your well deserved Award!
loved your spicy mushroom curry :)

Lissie
http://saltandspice.org/

Aps Kitchen said...

Viki.....mushrooms ar my all time fav nd tht u have posted a selicious recipe of tht m sure i m going to try them soon thanks....:)

Usha said...

Congratulations on your award...mushrooms are so versatile and yum, this curry sounds interesting !

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Congrats on the award and the gravy is so rich

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