Kadai Mushroom | Restaurant Style Kadai Mushroom recipe | How to make Kadai Mushroom

There is no dearth of rich recipes with mushroom right? Almost any dish you make with them, they taste great and rich. And I'm talking about people who like mushrooms,okay. If you do not like them, no matter how yummy or rich it is made, it is difficult to appease them. And today's dish is kadai mushroom which is both easy to make as well as yum and rich and definitely not heavy :) 

It is a simple prep with sauteed onions and pureed tomatoes and an instant homemade masala. Of course a dollop of cream makes it more smooth and balances the taste. It tastes great with phulkas or rotis or plain parathas. I had it with palak paratha and you do not need anything else. This in itself makes a complete meal :) And that's what I like the best about mushrooms. They do not need an elaborate meal but just phulkas would do and that makes a complete and satisfying meal, agree? So let's see how to make them.

My other recipes with mushrooms are Mushroom Dry Fry, Mushroom Do pyaza, Restaurant Style Mushroom Pepper Fry & Sauteed Mushrooms

Recipe Source: Adapted from here

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

 

Serves : 3-4 persons

I Used:

For the Masala

Red Chilly	-	2 nos
Coriander seeds	-	1 tbsp
Cumin seeds	-	½ tsp
Pepper	-	1 tsp
Cinnamon	-	1 inch piece
Clove	-	2 nos
Cardamom	-	1 no
Bay leaf	-	1 no

For the Gravy

Oil	-	2 tbsp
Mushroom	-	200 gm - sliced
Capsicum	-	1 medium sized - de-seeded & diced
Onion	-	1 medium sized - chopped finely
Tomato	-	2 medium sized - chopped
Ginger garlic paste	-	1 ½ tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Kasuri Methi	-	1 tsp - crushed in your palms
Cream (optional)	-	2 tbsp
Garam Masala (optional)	-	¼ tsp

The Way:

1. Clean the mushroom by removing the stalk & peeling off the skin as shown in the photo below. Clean all the mushrooms in the similar manner. 

2. Then rinse them in water twice or thrice and pat them dry immediately using a clean towel. Do not soak them in water for long, rinse them and remove them from water immediately else they will suck and retain water.

3. You can slice the mushrooms and cook as well. Slice or cut them as per your choice. You can use the stalks as well. Cut them into an inch piece in length and a quarter an inch in thickness.

4. De-seed the capsicum and cube them. Rinse the tomatoes and chop them roughly. Keep aside. Chop the onions finely and keep aside

5. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add the cleaned and sliced mushrooms to it. Saute them

6. The mushrooms will release water. After a while the water will evaporate. Saute them till the mushrooms get slightly browned. Once done, remove them and keep aside

7. Similarly, add the diced capsicum also to the same pan. Add a little salt if you like and saute them. I find the capsicum bland in the gravy sometimes, so I add a little salt while sauteing itself so that it does not feel very bland

8. Once they turn slightly soft (3-4 mins), remove them from the pan and keep aside

9. In the same pan, take all the spices for the masala - coriander seeds, red chilly, peppercorns, cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves & cardamom

10. Dry roast them in a low flame till they are fragrant. Do not burn them

11. Once they are roasted well and turn fragrant, switch off the flame and allow them to cool. Once cool, take the spices in a mixer jar and grind them to a smooth (if preferred coarse) powder. Keep aside

12. Now add the roughly chopped tomatoes in the same mixer jar and grind them to a smooth paste. Keep aside

13. In the same pan used earlier, heat another 2-3 tbsp oil. Add the finely chopped onions and salt and saute

14. Keep sauteing. Once they start turning brown, add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for another 2-3 minutes or until the raw smell of the paste goes off

15. Now add the tomato puree and saute till they start to leave oil off the sides

16. Now add the turmeric powder and the ground masala and give a nice stir. Saute for another 2-3 minutes till they blend in well

17. Add little water (around ½ cup) and give a nice stir. Bring the gravy to a boil on low flame

18. Then add the cream and mix well. Then add the sauteed capsicum and mushroom to it. Give a stir

19. Finally add the crushed (between your palms) kasuri methi and garam masala (if using, i don't) give a gentle stir

20. Switch off the flame. Garnish the kadai mushroom with some chopped coriander leaves and serve warm with hot phulkas/rotis

Notes:

• Capsicums are optional. If not available or not preferred, you can omit them

• You can add garam masala in the end if needed. Since my ground masala already contains most of the garam masala ingredients, I do not add extra garam masala in the end

Cheers,
Chitz

Restaurant style Mushroom Pepper Fry | Pepper Mushroom | Kaalan Pepper Fry

Mushroom & Capsicums sauteed with onions, freshly ground pepper and fennel powder

Updated with more pics on 25-Sep-2018

I am a huge fan of mushrooms ! By now, you all must be knowing that as mushroom recipes seems to make it's way out here often ;) The lesser the ingredients used in a mushroom recipe, the more I'm happy.. It's like that :D This recipe also falls in that category. No tomatoes, less ingredients, it's more of a saute or stir fry with some pepper powder and very few Indian spices ! This side dish is more of roti/phulka type and lesser of a rice accompaniment. But if you are an ardent mushroom lover, that will not stop you, will it? Now off to the quick and easy recipe.. 

My other recipes with mushrooms are Mushroom Dry Fry, Mushroom Do pyaza, Sauteed Mushrooms & Kadai Mushroom

Other mushroom recipes:
Mushroom Dry Fry
Sauteed Mushrooms

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

I Used:

Mushroom - 1 cup - cleaned and sliced Capsicum - ½ a capsicum - cut lengthwise Oil - 3 tbsp Onions - 1 medium no - sliced Green Chilly - 1 no - slit Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 2 tsp Garam Masala - 1 tsp Salt - As needed Curry leaves - A sprig Coriander leaves - To Garnish

To Roast & Grind:

Pepper	-	1 tbsp
Fennel seeds/Sombu	-	1 tsp

The Way:

1. Dry roast the pepper and fennel seeds/sombu for 2-3 minutes. Allow it to cool and powder it coarsely in a mortar and pestle or mixie and keep aside

2.  Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions, green chilly and salt and saute

3. When it turns translucent add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for 2-3 minutes till the raw smell goes

4. Now add the coriander powder and garam masala and saute

5. Add the mushrooms and give a stir. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes till the mushrooms are half-cooked. Do not add water. Mushrooms will start leaving water and will get cooked in that itself

6. Now add the powdered pepper-fennel masala and give a stir

7. Add the sliced capsicum and cook covered for another 4-5 minutes. Do not overcook. Let the capsicums be crunchy  

8. Add curry leaves and give a stir and switch off the flame

Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy with hot rotis/phulkas

Regards,

Chitra

Easy Capsicum Sabzi for Chapathi | Capsicum Stirfry | Kudamilagai Poriyal

I have been cooking and trying some really good recipes and bakes for a while now. But Dhruv and my Cuemath classes keeps me busy and away from the blog for a long while. I do regret that but when I think of the beautiful times and memories I'm making with Dhruv, I feel that's ok :) This time can never be retrieved and I do not want to regret that in my future. You do agree with me on that right :) 

So, you all know that I try on a lot of veggies and mostly sticky to 'easy to make' and 'tasty ones'! And in that regard, this is a very easy stir fry with capsicum and tastes absolutely awesome with phulkas or rotis. It is a bit sweet as sugar is added to retain the color of the capsicum. You can omit it if you do not like that taste. Easy to make and even one who doesn't eat capsicum is sure to like this simple sabzi :)

Recipe Source: Ma

Serves: 2 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

I Used:

Capsicum	-	1 no (medium - big sized)
Onion	-	1 no (medium sized)
Oil	-	2 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Cumin Seeds	-	½ tsp
Red Chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Sugar	-	½ tsp
Soya sauce (optional)	-	½ tsp (substitute with lemon juice if need)
Salt	-	As needed

The Way:

1. Rinse the capsicum in water and cut them into two. De-seed the capsicum and remove the white inner portion (optional). Then cut the capsicum into cubes. Also cut the onion into cubes

2. In a pan heat oil. Splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Take care not to burn the cumin seeds

3. Add the cubed onions and salt and saute for 3-4 minutes till they turn transparent

4. Now add the red chilly powder and turmeric powder and saute for 2-3 minutes till the raw smell of goes off

5. Now add the capsicum and saute. Leave it for a minute or two. 

6. Then add the sugar and give a nice stir. 

7. Close the pan and cook till the capsicum is done (another minute or so). It will not take long for the capsicum to cook. It is better to leave it crunchy as the flavor and taste is best then

8. Before switching off the flame, add the soya sauce (can substitute with lemon juice) and give a quick stir. The sabzi is ready to be devoured !

Cheers,
Chitz

Chicken Spring Rolls | Chinese Chicken Spring Rolls using Pastry Sheets

What's the first dish that comes to your mind when you hear 'Chinese' ? It must be 'Fried Rice' or 'Noodles', correct? Okay, now what's it that comes to your mind when I say 'Chinese Starter'. For me it's always 'Spring Rolls'. A visit to the Chinese restaurant is never complete without gulping this all time favorite of mine. And yes, not to for get the 'Sweet corn corn chicken soup'. I used to order this every other time, that my dad used to ask me, 'Why don't you try something new at least this time?' :D

My mom used to make these spring rolls for us at home. So I knew it was not a Herculean task, barring the vegetable chopping. I think that's the only time consuming factor in Chinese cuisine. Once that's done, the rest is very simple.  It is one of the all time favorites of Deeps too.. He simply loves them and would be in full praises when I make them. And he did come home very early from office yesterday. I am still not sure which one of these two is the reason, 'Not much work today' (as he said) or 'I am making spring rolls for evening tea today' (as I told him in the morn). Anyways we both enjoyed this little delicacies over a hot cup of tea.

Recipe from Ma

I Took:

Preparation Time: 40 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 12 nos

I Used:

Carrot	-	1 cup (refer notes)
Capsicum	-	1 cup
Beans	-	½ cup
Celery	-	½ cup
Chicken	-	1 cup
Soya Sauce	-	1 ½ tsp
Tomato Sauce	-	1 tsp
Chilly sauce	-	1 tsp
Worcestershire sauce	-	1 tsp
Sugar	-	½ tsp
Pepper powder	-	½ tsp
Ground paste	-	1 tbsp
Oil	-	For deep frying
Salt	-	As needed
Aginomoto	-	A pinch (optional)

To grind:

Ginger	-	1 tbsp
Garlic	-	1 tbsp
Chilly powder	-	1 tsp

The Way:

1. Chop all the vegetables. Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces (like chops)
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the chicken pieces. Add a little salt & pepper and saute for 3-4 minutes
3. Then add the ground paste and onion and mix well (Ignore the previous step for veg spring rolls)
4. After 2 minutes of sauteeing add carrot, beans, capsicum, celery and aginomoto and fry
5. Then mix in salt, soya sauce, tomato sauce, chilly sauce, worcestershire  sauce and the remaining pepper powder and saute in
6. The veggies should become crisp & crunchy. Do not over cook as they again have to be deep fried
7. The filling for the roll is ready. Allow it to cool and dry. Moisture content in the filling will make the wrapper wet which will suck in more oil during frying. Hence best to wait till the filling has cooled down with minimum moisture in it
8. Now off to the spring roll sheets. Defrost them to room temperature before using them. Use the sheets after defrosting as they will dry out & crack if left unattended 
9. Lay out one of the sheet. Place about a tbsp (depending on the size of your sheet) of the filling on one corner. Lesser the filling, the better. Over sized filling have a tendency to break apart in oil

1. Fold over that corner and roll in
2. Fold over both the left & right sides
3. Make sure there is very little or no air pockets when you fold in the sheet, as they can allow oil to get inside the roll
4. At this point you can freeze the rolls if required for future use. Make sure the rolls are placed one aside the other (not on top) & covered suitably to prevent drying while freezing
5. Heat oil in a kadai. Deep fry the rolls. Keep turning the over in oil till the turn golden brown evenly 
6. Place them over tissue paper to drain off the excess oil. Serve with tomato ketchup

Notes:

• You can include more vegetables like cabbage & cauli flower. I had run out of them. So did not use here
• Aginomoto is added to enhance flavor but comes with a list of side effects. So highly recommended to avoid

Linking this to 'Flavors of Chinese Cuisine' event at Julie's 'Erivum Puliyum'

Cheers,

Chitz

Capsicum Rice | Kudamilagai Sadam

One pot meal of Rice with Capsicum cooked along onions & specially ground Indian masala

I do not remember the history of this rice, but it was up in my list of fav lunch box dishes that my mom used to prepare for me and my sis.. So I have taken up that legacy and guess what, even Deeps loves it  So this one has been always cooking in my kitchen once every fortnight.  And you can fix this up in a jiffy. So an ideal treat in your busy morning schedules, once you have the masala ground and stored during the weekend. 

So without much ado, on to the recipe..

Recipe Source: Ma

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took:

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

I Used:

For ground masala:

Coriander seeds	-	3 tbsp
Red Chilly	-	6 no
Urd dal	-	2 tbsp
Channa dal	-	2 tbsp
Coconut	-	2 tbsp
Cinnamon	-	1 small stick
Cloves	-	3 no

For Rice:

Basmati Rice	-	1 cup
Capsicum	-	1 no(diced)
Onion	-	1 no (medium sized - diced)
Ground masala	-	4 tbsp
Oil	-	1 tbsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Dry roast separately all the ingredients mentioned under 'For Ground Masala'. Grind them together in a blender and keep aside
2. Cook rice separately with a spoon of oil or lemon juice so that the grains do not stick together. Keep this aside
3. Heat oil in a pan. Add onion and saute until they are translucent
4. Add the diced capsicum and saute till moist
5. Now add in the ground masala and mix well. Add the cooked rice and mix well

Serve with pappads and raita.

Cheers,

Chitz