MUSHROOM TIKKA STYLE

As you know I have been totally smitten by the lovely gigantic button mushrooms that my vegetable vendor snuck under my nose and enticed me into buying. Those lovely mushrooms that my family and I have been enjoying over the week.
I wondered if I should divulge my secret recipe now or keep it for until later.
But my excitement over my new creation just wouldn't let me wait.

It would have been blasphemy to cut up these mushrooms to make a soup or a casserole or a curry or any other dish that would require cutting or chopping of my beauties. So naturally they had to be made whole.



mushroom tikka style

Mushrooms are low in calories, fat and carbohydrate and contain no vitamin C and sodium. They are a good source of the B vitamins niacin, pantothenic acid and riboflavin and essential minerals such as potassium, selenium and copper. Vitamin D2 is produced in them when exposed to ultraviolet rays. More about mushrooms in my previous posts Mushroom on Toast, Grilled Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms in Capsicum Coulis, Chili Mushroom, Mushroom with Greens-Tapas.

I love to combine my mushrooms with yogurt so yet again I started to think of yogurt as my base.

Here's what I came up with.

MUSHROOM TIKKA STYLE

Ingredients:

.Large sized white button mushroom.............16

.Red bell pepper...........................................1 large, cut into large sized dice

.Yellow bell pepper.....................................1 large, cut into large sized dice

.Japanese cucumer........................................1. halved vertically and cuy into large chunks

.Baby corn....................................................12, halved

.Olive oil......................................................2 Tbsp.

For the marinade:

.Yogurt..........................................................2 cups

.Red onion.....................................................1 large or 1 cup finely chopped

.Garlic...........................................................3 large cloves

.Ginger..........................................................2 tsp., finely chopped

.Red chili(bird's eye)....................................2 to 3 finely chopped(adjust to taste, but add all if you like

.Red chili powder.........................................2 tsp.

.Garam masala powder.................................3/4th tsp.

.Roasted cumin seed powder........................1 tsp.

.Turmeric powder.........................................3/4th tsp.

.Dry raw mango powder(amchur).................1 tsp.

.Pav bhaji masala..........................................1 tsp.*

.Dry oregano leaves......................................1/2 tsp.

.Carom seeds................................................1/2 tsp.

.Salt..............................................................to taste

.White vinegar..............................................1/8th cup

.Black salt....................................................1 dash

.Black pepper powder.................................1 dash

mushroom tikka style

Method:

Preparing the vegetables:

.Gently rinse the dirt off the mushrooms, peel them and gently rinse again, taking care not to get the gills
 water logged.(I prefer this step though you can choose to avoid it.)
.De-stem them if you like.
.Cut the baby corn into crosswise halves.
.Cut the bell peppers into 1 to 1.5inch dices.
.Cut the Japanese cucumber vertically into half and then cut into 1 inch thick pieces.

For the marinade:

.In a mortar and pestle, pound together onion, ginger, garlic and red chili to a rough paste.
.You can adjust the bird's eye chili according to your own taste, but add all(in the recipe) if you like it
 hot and spicy like I love.

.In a large bowl beat the yogurt to a smooth texture.
.Add to it all the ingredients of the marinade.

.Add the onion paste and mix well.

.Mix together all the prepared vegetables and the marinade till all the vegetables are well coated.

.Refrigerate for 6 to 7 hours or upto 24 hours.

How to proceed:

.Heat oven on grill setting .

.In a baking tray spread out the marinated vegetables and sprinkle the olive oil and grill till the

 vegetables start to colour.

.Here the vegetables will be seen cooking in the marinade and the juices from the vegetables. It

 may appear to be a little runny while being cooked.

.Flip all the vegetables using tongs or a spatula.

.Grill till the vegetables start to colour and appear a little charred at the tips and the liquid has almost
 dried up.

How to serve:

.Serve as a starter.

.Skewer them if you like.
   or

.Use it as a filling in a wrap.
   or

.Pasta it with Durum wheat Penne pasta. Do not let all the liquid of the marinade dry up.
 Mix it with the al dente pasta. Grill for 5  to 7 minutes until light charred marks begin to appear.
 Serve hot.

Note:
*You can get Pav Bhaji Masala at an Indian store. It is a blend of spices that I put in my rice, in my
 vegetables, in my kebabs and I always have it in my freezer (I keep it there to maintain maximum
 flavour as I do with my other blends like Garam masala).
.Grilling the yellow and red bell peppers makes them sweet. Green bell peppers do not grill well.

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.