If you’re looking for a quick and tasty meat free (vegan/vegetarian) dish banging with exotic flavors, look no further. This Masala Mushroom is guaranteed to deliver, without being overly bold with spices. And it works great with basic button mushrooms, which can be very affordable.
You’ll Need…
2 lbs mushrooms (cleaned and cut in 1/2)
3 tablespoon coconut oil (divided)
1 teaspoon salt (divided)
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
5-7 cloves garlic (smashed)
1/4 Scotch Bonnet Pepper (sliced)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium tomato (diced)
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (geera)
1 teaspoon Anchar masala
1 1/4 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped finely)
Notes! May I recommend that you follow along with the video below as much more about the recipe is discussed there. Additionally you may make this as spicy (hot pepper) as you can tolerate and the Anchar Masala can be found at your local West Indian grocer or online.
Prep the ingredients as necessary.
Place a wide frying pan on a med/high flame with 1/2 of the coconut oil, then add the mushrooms and stir well.
Add 1/2 the salt and cook on the high heat for about 8-10 minutes. The mushrooms will shrink, let out moisture (this is why we need a wide pan) and take on color, as that liquid evaporates. We need that color to happen as explained in the video. Set the mushrooms aside and get a saucepan on a medium flame.
Add the remaining coconut oil, onion and garlic. Turn the heat to low and cook gently so we don’t burn the garlic, for about 3-4 minutes.
After which you’ll add the Scotch Bonnet, black pepper and cumin (geera) seeds and continue cooking. Four minutes later add the curry powder and Caribbean Green Seasoning and stir well. Continue cooking on a low heat.
Now add the remaining salt, turn up the heat to medium/high and add the water. Bring to a boil, then add the Anchar Masala and diced tomato. Cook on a medium heat for about 4 minutes.
At this point I used my stick blender to puree everything to give me a sort of thick sauce or gravy, before adding the previously cooked mushrooms to the pot. This step is optional, but I like the overall texture of the gravy by doing so.
Bring it back up to a boil and all it needs now is a couple minutes to heat through the mushrooms and for them to absorb that lovely curry goodness we created. Taste and adjust the salt to your liking and as you turn off the stove, add the cilantro (or Shado Beni).
