My obsession with mushrooms...

Ever since I came to Mumbai, I have become obsessed with mushrooms.. I guess mushrooms are a substitute for fish according to my taste buds. Also, one of the very few things I really enjoy in veg food.

My love for mushrooms dates back to those childhood days when real mushrooms were widely available in my home town Goa. These mushrooms would grow only in rainy season during July August months. The memory of those ladies sitting near Old secretariat in Panjim selling mushrooms is still quite fresh in my mind. 

During my college days, I met a boy who has exact food choices like me and today he is my husband. The best part of our love story is we have same food obsessions and we never have a fight over what to cook for dinner or what to order in a restaurant. 

Our love for mushroom started off with regular Mushroom Bhaaji which is made in two ways. One is my mom's style and other is my mother in law's style.

Mushroom Bhaaji (mom's style)

Ingredients: 

Onion: 2

Tomato:1

Mushroom (1 packet)

Garlic:3-4 cloves
Ginger-garlic paste: As per taste
Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
Garam Masala: 3 teaspoons
Salt: as per taste
Coriander: For garnishing
Oil: As per requirement

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and add garlic cloves (finally chopped or crushed) and finely chopped onions.
• Once the onions turn slightly brown, add chopped tomato.
• Saute till tomatoes are thoroughly cooked.
• Now, add salt, ginger garlic paste, turmeric and garam masala. 
• Add, sliced mushrooms and stir.
• Cover the pan and let the mushrooms cook. Stir in between so that the bhaaji does not stick to the bottom.
• Once cooked, open the lid and let the excess water evaporate.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

Mushroom Bhaaji (mom in law's style)

According to my mom in law, for a dish to be tasty, it has to be spicy and oily. So, this mushroom bhaaji is tastier and spicier. proceed with caution.

Ingredients: 

Onion: 2

Mushroom (1 packet)

Garlic:3-4 cloves
Green chilies: 4
Ginger-garlic paste: As per taste
Asafoetida: A pinch
Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
Salt: as per taste
Coriander: For garnishing
Oil: As per requirement

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and add garlic cloves (finally chopped or crushed) and finely chopped green chilies.
• Saute for 2 minutes and add chopped onions (thin slices).
• Once the onions turn slightly brown, add salt, ginger garlic paste, asafoetida and turmeric. 
• Add, sliced mushrooms and stir.
• Cover the pan and let the mushrooms cook. Stir in between so that the bhaaji does not stick to the bottom.
• Once cooked, open the lid and let the excess water evaporate.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

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Me and husband are very much fond of Chinese cuisine, chicken Manchurian and chilly chicken being our favorite. Mushroom chilly, soya chilly and idli chilly are the vegetarian variants. On one of the Tuesdays when we are strictly veg, my husband thought we should try making mushroom chilly.

Mushroom Chilly 

Ingredients: 

Onion:  1 large (cut in 1 inch square piece)

Mushroom (1 packet)

Garlic:3-4 cloves
Ginger: 1 inch
Green chilies: 4
Capsicum: 1 large (cut in 1 inch square piece)
Pepper powder: 1 teaspoon
Salt: as per taste
Sugar: As per taste
Soy sauce: 2 tablespoon
Green chilly sauce: 2 tablespoons
Tomato sauce: 4 tablespoons
Spring onion: few twigs of spring onion
All purpose flour: 6 tablespoons
Cornflour: 3 tablespoons
Oil: As per requirement

Method: 

• Firstly, lets get the mushrooms ready. Cut mushrooms in two halves.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper powder. Add one tablespoon each of Soy sauce and green chilly sauce. Mix well. 
• Now, add cornflour and all purpose flour to the mushrooms. Mix well so that the mushrooms are well coated with the flours.
• Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry the mushrooms till they are golden brown and crispy. Transfer  to a dish covered with tissue paper so as to soak extra oil. keep them aside.
• Heat oil in a pan. Keep on high flame.
• Add finely chopped ginger, green chilies and garlic. Saute for a minute.
• Add half a teaspoon sugar, salt as per taste and a teaspoon of pepper powder. Saute.
• Now add onions followed by capsicum. Saute till the sides becomes brownish and start to curl.
• Add the remaining soy sauce, green chilly sauce and tomato sauce. Stir well.
• Add fried mushrooms and mix. cook for about  minutes.
• Garnish with spring onion.

Note: For gravy, simply add cornflour paste.

My first try at mushroom chilly was so good that every Tuesday without telling husband started going vegetable shopping. Saved me some time..

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When I was in staying in hostel, I had a roommate who was also a mushroom lover. I wouldn't call her obsessed because she was not like me. She taught me mushroom crispy rava fry.

Mushroom Rava Fry

Ingredients:

Mushrooms: As required
Salt: As per taste
Turmeric powder: As per taste
Red Chilly powder: As per taste
Ginger garlic paste:  1 teaspoon
Lemon juice: As per taste
Rava: As per requirement
Oil: For frying

Method: 

• Cut mushrooms in two halves
• Add rest of the ingredients except rava.
• Once mushrooms are coated properly, roll in rava and shallow fry in a frying pan.
• Take off the heat once mushrooms become crispy and reduces in size. Serve hot.

Note: Perfect combination is dal rice and mushroom rava fry.

Our Tuesdays go well when there are mushrooms in the fridge. On one such Tuesdays, my creative husband came up with the thought of frying mushroom is besan (Gram flour) like bhajiyas. And put that thought into reality but we were not very happy with the outcome, so mushroom bhajiyas not on our favorites' list.

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Mushroom Pizzzzaaaaa

Pizzas are divine when they have extra toppings and extra cheese which should drip when u eat a slice. Cheese & butter are the most important items in my fridge. So, always stocked.
Cheese and mushroom go very well so thought of trying DIVINE mushroom pizza and it came out DIVINE.



Ingredients:

Mushroom: 1 packet
Butter: 2 tablespoon (Preferably garlic butter)
Cheese slices: 3
Pizza base: Regular
Garlic cloves: 4
Pepper powder: As per taste
Mixed Herbs: As per taste
Salt: As per taste
Cheese cubes: 2
Tomato sauce: 2 tablespoons


Method:

• Heat butter in a frying pan. Add chopped garlic cloves. Saute.
• Add sliced mushrooms and sprinkle salt, pepper and mixed herbs.
• Saute till mushrooms become translucent.
• Cover with a lid till mushrooms are cooked. 
• Open the lid and let the excess water evaporate.
• Let the mushrooms cool.
• Take the pizza base and apply butter followed with tomato sauce.
• Place Cheese slices on the base and add the mushroom mixture.
• Now, sprinkle grated cheese on the pizza.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C for about 20 minutes or till the cheese starts melting.
• Garnish as required. (chilly flakes/ oregano/)

Note: Onions can also be added to the mushroom mix.

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Cream of Mushroom soup

Cream of mushroom soup is one of the tastiest delicacies from mushroom. As an afterthought, everything that has mushroom in it is tasty.
I have never tried cream of mushroom soup in restaurant. I just knew about it. One fine evening, I thought of trying it out. It turned out so well that now my husband listens to whatever I say if its in exchange for the soup. (Some brownie points for good food)
So let us see how I made cream of mushroom soup.

Ingredients:

Mushroom: 1 packet
Butter: 1 tablespoon (Preferably garlic butter)
Garlic cloves: 4
All purpose flour: 1 teaspoon
Onion: 1 small
Milk: 1 cup
Water: 1 cup
Cream: 3 teaspoons
Pepper powder: As per taste
Mixed Herbs: As per taste
Salt: As per taste
Coriander: For garnishing


Method:

• In a frying pan, add butter and allow it to melt.
• Once melted, add chopped garlic cloves and finely chopped onion.
• When onions turn soft, add thinly sliced mushrooms.
• Mushrooms are cooked when they reduce in size and turn brownish.
• Let all the excess water evaporate.
• Now, add all purpose flour and mix properly.
• Add milk followed by water while stirring continuously.
• Also, sprinkle pepper powder, mixed herbs and salt according to your taste.
• The soup will start to thicken at this stage. Now, add cream and stir. 
• Add milk depending on how thick you want the soup to be.
• Add finely chopped coriander for garnishing.

Note: Serve it hot because its very creamy yummy.

You can add vegetable stock or chicken stock instead of water to make it tastier. But water works just fine.

Replace pepper powder with crushed peppercorns for better taste.

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Mushroom Pasta

Pasta that we prefer is macaroni or penne in white sauce. I'm fond of Italian food and I made my husband fall in love with pasta. We had gone to one restaurant as I had craving for pasta. There, we had macaroni in white sauce with mushrooms. My husband became pasta boy from that day. So, here I made my own pasta.

Ingredients:

Mushroom: 1 packet
Butter: 2 tablespoon (Preferably garlic butter)
Garlic cloves: 4
All purpose flour: 1 teaspoon
Pasta: 1 bowl
Milk: 1 cup
Pepper powder: As per taste
Mixed Herbs: As per taste
Cheese: 2 cubes, 1 slice
Salt: As per taste
Oil: 1 tablespoon


Method:

• Boil water in a pan and add pasta. Allow the pasta to cook. Add oil and drain the water from the pasta. Keep it aside.
• In a frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter and allow it to melt.
• Once melted, add 2 chopped garlic cloves and sliced mushrooms.
• Mushrooms are cooked when they reduce in size and turn brownish.
• Let all the excess water evaporate. Keep mushroom aside.
• In the frying pan, add butter. When melted add remaining chopped garlic cloves.
• Now, add all purpose flour and mix properly.
• Add milk while stirring continuously so as to make a thick paste. 
• Now, add the mushrooms which we cooked prior.
• Also, sprinkle pepper powder, mixed herbs and salt according to your taste.
• At this stage, add pasta and mix it well so that the pasta is coated completely.
• Add grated cheese and cheese slice. Remove from stove.

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Stuffed Mushrooms

This again was a trial and as I said before, the combination of cheese and mushroom is so good that it tastes amazing however you put it together. Mushrooms can be stuffed with filling of your choice... I chose to make it all only mushroom and cheese..

Ingredients:

Mushroom: 1 packet
Butter: 2 tablespoon (Preferably garlic butter)
Garlic cloves: 4
Onion: 1 small (Optional)
Pepper powder: As per taste
Mixed Herbs: As per taste
Cheese: 2 cubes
Salt: As per taste
Oil: 1 tablespoon

Method:

• Clean the mushrooms, remove the stems and keep aside the cap. Make sure the stems are removed from the end making 
• Finely chop the stems and keep aside.
• In a frying pan, add butter. Once butter is melted, add finely chopped garlic cloves.
• Add finely chopped onion and cook till onions soften.
• Now add chopped mushroom stems and cook till mushrooms are soft n brownish
• Add salt, pepper powder and mixed herbs for flavor.
• Now, take the mushrooms caps and apply oil on outer side of mushroom caps.
• Once the mixture is cool enough, fill it in the mushroom cap.
• Sprinkle lots of grated cheese on top.
• Place on a tray and bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes in a preheated oven.

Note: Can be prepared in frying pan as well.

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Mushroom Pulao

Yet again a Tuesday came wherein my fridge had mushrooms and I was in no mood of making the entire dinner of dal rice bhaaji. So, I ended up making mushroom pulao. I followed the most basic way of making pulao without any kind of additions.

Ingredients:

Mushrooms: 1 packet
Rice: 1 bowl (small)
Whole garam masala: 4 black peppercorns, 2 cloves, 1 inch of Cinnamon, 1 star anise (dagadphool), 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 1 bayleaf
Salt: As per taste
Onion: 1 medium
Green chilies: 3
Garlic: 4 cloves
Tomato: 1 small
Ginger garlic paste:  1 teaspoon
Water: 2 cups
Oil: 2 teaspoons
Coriander: For garnishing

Method:

• Soak rice in water for about 20 minutes.
• Heat oil in a pan. Add whole garam masala and allow it to splatter.
• Now add finely chopped garlic cloves, green chilies and onions. Saute.
• Once onions soften, add tomatoes followed by mushrooms cut into 4 pieces.
• Let mushrooms cook for some time about five minutes.
• Now, add ginger garlic paste and salt.
• Pepper powder can be added if required. Turmeric can be added for colour.
• Drain the water from rice kept for soaking and add to the mixture. Mix well.
• Now add hot water to the rice and cover the lid.
• Check on the rice every 7-8 minutes and stir so that it does not stick to the bottom.
• When cooked thoroughly, remove from stove and garnish with finely chopped coriander. 

Mushroom pulao was made last Tuesday. So, for my next adventure and experiment with mushroom, we might have to wait for a few more days.

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Spicy Mushroom Fry

This is the easiest and fastest way to make mushrooms. And without a doubt..... it turns very yummmy.... This dish is inspired from Tandoori Mushroom which I had once and liked a lott...

Ingredients:

Mushrooms: 1 packet
Salt: As per taste
Kashmiri Mirchi powder: 2 tablespoon
Pepper Powder: 1/2 tablespoon
Garlic Powder: 1/2 tablespoon
Cumin Powder: 1/2 tablespoon
Cinnamon Powder: 1/2 tablespoon
Lemon Juice: 1 Tablespoon
Oil: 3-4 teaspoons

Note: Quantity of spices should be slightly higher to make it flavorful.


Method:

• Wash the mushrooms thoroughly. 
• Cut them into 2 halves if pieces are big. I prefer to use entire as they shrink once cooked.
• Apply salt and leave for few minutes. Drain the excess water.
• Apply rest of the ingredients except oil.
• Make sure mushrooms are well coated.
• Let them stand for some time.
• Heat oil in a pan. 
• Add the mushrooms and fry for about 5 minutes till all the water from mushrooms is evaporated.
• Serve hot.

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