MUSHROOM WITH GREENS- TAPAS

A wee-bit late and all I could buy was a kilo of huge button mushrooms that my usual vegetable vendor, at the wholesale market where I pick up my fresh vegetables, enticed me with. There were 29 of these beautiful but huge button mushrooms. Well, I could not pass them by. I just had to buy them especially when they were only 1/3rd of the price at the local vegetable stores.

So I had to cook mushrooms, mushrooms and more mushrooms through the week, not that my family and I were complaining. I had no choice anyway with these beauties having a life of just 3 days before the gills opened up.
They looked so beautiful that for once I did not want to share my mushrooms with anybody.  I showed them off to my friends but never once offered to make a party of it, for I was absolutely at my greedy best.

So over the week I created three new recipes.

mushroom with greens

Mushrooms are  very nutritious and adding greens to them adds to their nutritive value and fiber content.
I have talked about mushrooms in my previous posts Grilled Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms In Capsicum Coulis and Chili Mushroom.

Fenugreek leaves add a little bitter taste and loads of flavour to the dish, while spinach balances the bitterness from the fenugreek leaves.

Spinach leaves, as discussed in my earlier posts Spinach Chutney and Spinached brocolli, okra and bell pepper, contain a good amount of niacin, dietary fiber, vitamin A, C , E, K, B6, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, potassium, zinc, magnesium and copper. However, spinach has a high sodium content. It is very low in cholesterol and low in saturated fat.

Fenugreek leaves are bitter in taste but are packed with flavour and Iron, vitamin K and all the goodies that come with the greens and are known to be helpful in regulating the insulin levels in the blood. They are also known to help solve anaemia as they have a high Iron content. So a glass of juice of this fragrant leaf is what I like to have twice a week on an empty stomach, when in season, which is during winters.
Fenugreek seeds too have medicinal uses but I will talk about them in my later posts.


MUSHROOM WITH GREENS
serves 4

Ingredients:
.Large button mushrooms..............8 or 250 g.
.Fenugreek leaves.........................50g. or 1.5 cups, finely chopped
.Spinach leaves............................50g. or 1.5 cups, finely chopped

.Coriander leaves.........................2 Tbsp. finely chopped

.Olive oil.....................................1 Tbsp
.Ginger.........................................1 tsp

.cumin seeds................................1 tsp.

.Green chilies..............................1/2 tsp. finely chopped
.Coriander powder......................2 tsp.
.Red chili powder.......................1/2 tsp.
.Turmeric powder.......................1/2 tsp.
.Thick yogurt...............................4 tbsp.
.Salt.............................................to taste

Method:


mushroom with greens



.De-stem and peel the mushrooms. Gently wash them taking care that the gills don't get water logged.

.Place them gill-side down to drain all water from the gills.
.Meanwhile heat olive oil in a skillet.
.Place the mushrooms gill-side down and cook till well browned.
.Flip each mushroom and further cook till browned on the other side as well.
.Remove and set aside.
.In the same pan (in the remaining oil) add cumin seeds, ginger green chili and stir fry for 1 minute or
 till the cumin seeds are well toasted.
.Add the coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder and cook for 1 minute.
.Stir in well-beaten yogurt and cook further for 2 to 3 minutes.
.Add the finely chopped fenugreek leaves, spinach leaves and coriander leaves and mix well.
.Cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
.Add the prepared mushrooms and mix well.
.Cook further for 4 to 5 minutes.
.Serve hot.

Note:
.This preparation can be served as Tapas. Just fill in the prepared greens in the mushroom cavity and
 serve hot.
.Mushrooms will lose a lot of moisture before it starts getting brown. Keeping it gill-side down will
 ensure that any moisture filled in the gills while washing will be drained out.

TULIKA'S COLOURFUL CANAPÉS

As I said in my previous post that I created these canape`s to serve my Tangy Corn Salad, I thought I should share it with all now than later. I got really excited at the outcome and created Spinach flavoured and plain ones too. So beautiful did these canape`s look that all gobbled them excitedly.


Forgotten was my resolve to get at the men folk in my family with this dish (which I did eventually).
I even forgot to tell them that they had to eat it all in one single bite.

Though not for long.

I filled it with a tangy mouth-watering liquid preparation, Jaljira that I poured on my corn salad(without the yogurt). In one single bite these are tough to eat, especially if you make them slightly larger than the usual ones.

These lovely, colourful, light and crunchy canape`s, inspired by the Indian street food Pani Puri/ Golgappa/Puchhkaa, can be used for many other stuffings.

colourful beetroot, spinach and plain canape`s

COLOURFUL CANAPE`S (PANI PURI PURIS)
Ingredients:
For the maroon canape`s:
.Plain flour........................1/2 cup
.Whole wheat flour...........1/2 cup
.Semolina..........................1/4th cup
.Salt...................................1 smidgen
.Soda bi carbonate............1 dash(1/6th of a tsp.)
.Beetroot Puree.................6 Tbsp.

For the green canape`s:
.Plain flour........................1/2 cup
.Whole wheat flour...........1/2 cup
.Semolina..........................1/4th cup
.Salt...................................1 smidgen
.Soda bi carbonate............1 dash
.Spinach Chutney ..............6 Tbsp.

For the brown canape`s:
.Plain flour........................1/2 cup
.Whole wheat flour...........1/2 cup
.Semolina..........................1/4th cup
.Salt...................................3 pinches
.Soda bi carbonate............1 dash
.Water...............................6 Tbsp.

Method:
. Mix together all the dry ingredients.
.Add the liquid ingredient (beetroot puree/spinach chutney/water) and  bring together to make a dough.
.Cover with cling film and set aside for 1 hour.

.Frying these small canape`s can be tricky.

How to proceed:
.Knead the dough again for 1 minute.
.If using the canape`s to serve the salad you can take a Kidney bean sized ball of dough and roll it
 between your palms till there are no creases or cracks on the surface.
.Using a rolling pin roll out each dough ball into a thin circle about 2.5 inches in diameter.
.Roll 4 to 5 at a time and set aside.

colourful beetroot, spinach and plain canape`s

How to fry:

.Heat oil in a deep pan.

.Drop  little piece of the dough to check. If the piece comes up immediately the oil is ready.

.With the heat on high add one prepared dough circle at a time into the oil.

.IMMEDIATELY lower the heat to minimum while pressing down on the dough circle with a

 slotted spoon.

.It will fluff up into a ball in about 10-15 seconds.

.Immediately flip it over.

.Continue to flip over while cooking. This will ensure that it gets crisp and hard without burning.

.Press with thumb lightly. It should not give in to pressure(can crack but not dent).

.Remove and drain on a kitchen absorbant paper.

.Repeat with the remaining circles.

To fill the stuffing/filling:

.Gently tap on one of the sides to crack the canape`(usually on the thinner side).

.Make the hole large enough to fill in the filling.

.Fill it with the stuffing(salad) and serve immediately.

To store them:

.When cooled completely gently fill them in a large airtight jar or in a zip-locked plastic bag.

.They remain fresh upto 20 days.

Refresh them later:

.Heat the oven to 200 degree C.

.Lay the canape`s gently on a baking tray in a single layer and heat them in the oven for upto 10 minutes.

.It is very important to keep checking to see if they are crisp and hard and do not change colour.

Note:

.These are very delicate and can break easily.

.You can play around with the size if serving the salad alone but if serving a liquid along you need to

 size it according to ease of eating.(1.5 inches  for liquid stuffing).

tangy corn salad in beetroot canape`