MUSHROOM PEPPER FRY

By now, you will know that Mushroom and Paneer are a staple at our house.

When we go to restaurants, I see so many dishes with mushroom in them, yet at home I’m always confused as to what to cook with the box of mushrooms and even then each week I find myself buying mushrooms again.

This time, I decided to make a batter fried dish with the mushrooms and though I had decided to pair  it with instant noodles, I made a desi style Mushroom Pepper Fry.

 I have tried to make batter coated mushrooms earlier and they’ve always ended up with the batter forming a gloopy, chunky mess and sliding off the mushroom and after a little research on the internet I realised where I was going wrong.

a.      You need to deep fry the batter coated mushrooms and not shallow fry.

b.   You need to drop the mushroom one at a time into the hot oil and not just dump everything in one shot.

c.      The batter shouldn’t be too thick.

Once the mushrooms are deep fried, you can either follow the recipe for ChillyPaneer and make Chilly Mushroom or make this simpler one instead.

The mushrooms are crunchy and peppery. The curry leaves add a great flavour to this dish. We enjoyed it with our noodles. This would be an ideal dish to serve as an appetiser.

This is my own recipe and I’ve added quantities of ingredients to suit our taste. Feel free to alter the quantities.

MUSHROOM PEPPER FRY

Ingredients:

For the marinade:

Button Mushroom  – 250 gms

Flour (Maida)- 1 heaped tbsp

Cornflour – 3 tbsps

Ginger – garlic paste – ½ tsp

Soya sauce – 1 tsp (optional)

Salt – 1 tsp

Pepper- 1 tsp

Water – enough to make a paste

For the dish

Onion (finely chopped) – 1 medium sized

Ginger-garlic paste- 1 ½ tbsps

Curry leaves – 8- 10

Pepper – about 2 tbsps

Salt – to taste

Method:

1.      Make a thin paste of the ‘marinade’ ingredients.

2.      Chop the button mushrooms and coat them in the ‘marinade’ ingredients.

3.      Deep fry the coated mushrooms and set aside.

4.      In a pan, add a little oil and fry the curry leaves for less than 30 seconds.

5.      Remove the leaves and set aside.

6.      Add onions to the pan and fry till then turn crunchy.

7.      Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell is gone.

8.      Add the mushrooms.

9.      Add pepper and give the mushrooms a good mix.

10. Add salt to taste and curry leaves.

11. Done.

Recipe notes

·        The curry leaves will turn crisp once you take them out. Don’t wait for them to turn crisp while frying.

PASTA IN ARRABIATA SAUCE

SP was my neighbour at Mysore and also my very good friend.  We’d plonk ourselves at each others’ house, talking for hours together. Food would be one of the prominent topics but never cooking. We entered the kitchen only in search of food back then. What a pity! Now that we are in two different cities, we send each other pictures and recipes of food we’ve cooked; admiring and drooling and whining at the same time. We are always hungry and the pictures are always sent when we are the hungriest!

SP had sent me the recipe for Pasta Cooked in Arrabiata Sauce last year and she claimed it was “super yummy”. I had saved the recipe in some random folder knowing I’d never cook this as none of us at home likes red sauce.

Skip loves Pasta so Mamma has given me two packets of uncooked Pasta with strict instructions to cook it for her “little Prince”. *eye-roll*

Last Friday, I got back home a bit early, in a mood to get a Chop Chop Chow dish ready. Skip was at home, so I decided to cook Pasta. I remembered SP’s recipe and for a change decided to make a red sauce. I went through the ingredients; the list looked so simple, I wondered if the sauce would end up tasting like tomato puree.

I’ve made minor changes to the original recipe and even after I was done, was sceptical of the dish. So I added grated cheese on it (one can’t go wrong with cheese) and we all sat to eat.

SP, you were right! The dish is “SUPER YUMMY”. And this is coming from people who dislike red sauce. The dish was light (unlike the one cooked in white sauce), the sauce tastes fresh and bursting with flavours of oregano, tangy and sweet tomatoes, cheese and garlic. The dish is healthier as compared to the white sauce that has generous portions of butter, flour, cream and cheese.

Sky insists that I henceforth cook pasta with red sauce. I have added red bell pepper and mushroom to the pasta. Feel free to add olives, baby corn, zucchini, broccoli or other crunchy vegetables to it.

PASTA IN ARRABIATA SAUCE (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

Pasta – 200 gms (I used Rotini)

Water - 2 cups

Pinch of salt, dash of oil

For the Arrabiata Sauce:

Tomatoes (small-medium sized) – 6

Olive oil- 1 ½ tbsp

Chilli Flakes – 1 tbsp

Chopped garlic – 8-9 cloves

Mixed herbs (oregano) – 1 tsp

Basil Powder/ Fresh Basil – 1 tsp

Sugar – 2 tsps (or as per taste)

Salt – as per taste

Pepper – ¼ tsp

Cornflour – 1 tsp

Cream – 2 tsp (optional)

Other Ingredients

Olive oil- 2 tbsp

Chilli Flakes – 1/2 tbsp

Mixed herbs (oregano) – 1 tsp

Basil Powder/ Fresh Basil – 1 tsp

Mixed vegetables- 1 cup (I used mushrooms and red bell pepper)

Cheese (grated) – ½ cup

Salt – as per taste

Method:

1.      Heat 2 cups water and once it begins to boil, add the pasta to it along with a tsp of salt and few drops of oil. Once the pasta is cooked (under 10 minutes), drain the water and keep aside.

2.      For the Arrabiata sauce: Boil the tomatoes in water. When they are cooked, the skin begins to crack open.  Remove tomatoes off the heat. Cool them and peel. Put the tomatoes in the blender. Add 1 tsp each of salt and sugar and blend it.

3.      Heat olive oil in a pan. Add the herbs, basil, chilli flakes and pepper. Sauté for half a minute. Pour the tomato puree into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes.

4.      Dilute 1 tsp cornflour in 3 tbsp water and pour it to the above puree.

5.      Add the chopped garlic and cook for a few more minutes until the sauce thickens.

6.      Add the cream and swirl the sauce slightly. (Taste the sauce at this point and add more salt and sugar if required)

7.      Turn off flame and keep aside.

8.      In another pan, heat olive oil. Add the herbs, basil, chilli flakes and pepper. Sauté for half a minute.

9.      Add the mushrooms and cook on high flame until the water is evaporated.

10. Add the bell pepper and sauté for a minute or two.

11. Pour the red sauce to the above pan with veggies and give it a good mix.

12. Add the cooked pasta and give it a good mix.

13.  Remove from pan and pour the pasta into the serving dish.

14. Sprinkle the grated cheese on the pasta.

15. Done.

Recipe notes:

·        The quantity of sugar and salt would vary depending on taste of the tomato sauce. Sugar is added to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Use red, ripe tomatoes and not greenish, sour ones.

·        Quantity of the olive oil may be further reduced.

·        Instead of dried chilli flakes, you may also whole red chillies. Boil it along with the tomatoes and grind in blender.

·        Quantity of spices can be altered as per taste.

·        I haven’t added onions to the sauce. Bob adds finely chopped onions to it.

MUSHROOM OMELETTE

We all love eggs at home and I love experimenting with different ingredients while making an omelette or scrambled eggs.

This is a simple recipe for an omelette. Mushroom is a common ingredient added to eggs, but what makes this recipe different is the addition of garlic. I have never before added garlic to eggs. This omelette has a strong flavour of garlic. If you don’t enjoy that too much, you can reduce the quantity of  garlic but I would recommend not skipping this ingredient.

I am never able to flip 2 egged omelettes. So what I do is, I take a large plate and cover the pan with it once the egg is cooked at the bottom. I flip the pan onto the plate, so the uncooked side of the omelette falls on the plate. I then slowly slide the omelette onto the pan from the plate.   

Skip hates mushrooms. When he saw the omelette, he demanded to know the ingredients. I said it had cheese and other yummy stuff. He gobbled up his share and said he enjoyed it very much, though the next time I should simply just tell him about the mushrooms.

Something fishy? 

MUSHROOM OMELETTE

Ingredients:

Eggs – 2

Mushrooms (chopped) – 200 gms

Garlic (coarsely crushed)- 8-9 cloves

Onion (finely chopped) – 1 (medium sized)

Oregano – 1 tsp

Salt, pepper – as per taste

Green chilly (finely chopped ) – 1 (optional)

Cheese (grated) – ¼  cup (optional)

Oil – as required

Method:

1.     Beat the eggs until frothy. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Keep aside.

2.  Heat a pan, add oil and then add onions. Sauté them until they turn pinkish brown.

3.  Add the chopped mushrooms and on high flame, sauté them until the moisture evaporates and the mushrooms are browned.

4.     Add the garlic, oregano, green chilly, salt and pepper and sauté for half a minute.

5.    Spread this mixture to form a circle and pour the beaten eggs into the pan onto the above mixture. Cook on both sides.

6.     Sprinkle grated cheese on the omelette.

7.     Done.

Recipe Notes

·        Do not fry the garlic for too long as it gets cooked along with the eggs as well.

·    Once the egg is cooked on one side, I drizzle a little oil on the sides of the egg, before flipping it.

·        You could substitute the oil with butter or ghee.

MACARONI IN MUSHROOM SAUCE WITH GARLIC BREAD

Every time we take Skip out for a meal, it’s Pasta, Noodles or Curd-Rice for him depending on the cuisine being offered. Skip loves Pasta and I enjoy making it because it’s so simple and quick.

Court vacations have begun and I decided to take the first day off and stay at home with Skip. Since it was just Skip and I for lunch, I thought I’d whip up a quick meal instead of having the usual fare of rice, curd, curry and a vegetable stir-fry. Skip wanted to have noodles for lunch but I needed a Pasta recipe for the blog and Skip didn’t mind Pasta either.

 Here is another “Chop-Chop Chow” recipe – Macaroni in Mushroom Sauce with Garlic Bread.

It took me less than an hour to prepare this dish and this in inclusive of the time it took to click pictures in this sweltering heat!

Ghee-Garlic mixture 

I usually buy Penne but for a change had picked up Macaroni, the last time I went grocery shopping. Though I prefer baked Mac n Cheese, I prepared the stove-top version and instead of just cheese made a mushroom sauce to go along with the Macaroni. The garlic bread too has been prepared on stove top. I ran out of butter so instead of the usual garlic-butter spread that I prepare for the oven toasted Garlic Bread, I used a simpler concoction made with Ghee (clarified butter).

MACARONI IN MUSHROOM SAUCE WITH GARLIC BREAD (Serves 2)

MACARONI IN MUSHROOM SAUCE

Ingredients:

Macaroni – 2 cups

Water -  3 cups

For the Mushroom Sauce:

Butter – 2 tbsp

Olive oil- 1 tbsp

Sliced mushrooms – 2 cups

Chopped onions – ½ cup

Chopped garlic – 2 tbsp

Maida (all purpose flour) - 1 ½ tbsp

Milk +Water – 2 cups

Cheese – ½ cup

Cream – ¼ cup (optional)

Salt, Pepper, Oregano

Method:

1.   Heat 3 cups water and once it begins to boil, add the macaroni to it along with a tsp of salt and few drops of oil. Once the macaroni is cooked (in less than 10 minutes), drain the water and keep aside.

2.     For the mushroom sauce: heat the butter in a large saucepan, add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions soften and turn pink.

3.     Add the mushrooms and cook until they brown.

4.     Add the olive oil to the mushrooms and give it a quick stir and then add the flour and keep stirring it for a minute.

5.  Add the milk and water mixture gradually, mixing well to make sure that no lumps form.

6.      Add the cheese and stir until the cheese melts.

7.      Once the sauce begins to boil, add the salt, pepper and oregano.

8.     Turn off the heat and add the fresh cream.

9.     Add the cooked macaroni into the sauce and let it cook for a minute or two.

10. Done.

GARLIC BREAD

Ingredients:

Bread- 2 slices

Butter/Ghee- 2 tbsp

Crushed garlic – 1 tbsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Pepper – ½ tsp

Method:

1.      Before you begin preparing the Pasta, in a bowl, add the butter/ghee, salt pepper and garlic and heat it either in microwave or on a pan and set aside.

2.   Once the Pasta is done, spread the above melted butter-garlic mixture on to the bread it and toast it.

3.     Done.

Recipe notes:

·         Upon draining the boiled Pasta, pour cold water on it and srain it once again. This way the Pasta doesn’t get stuck to each other.

·         You can also separately sauté veggies (capsicum, broccoli, zucchini), shredded chicken, olives, sun dried tomatoes and add these to the finished Pasta.

·         While making the Pasta, you can adjust the amount of milk+water mixture depending on your taste. If you like your Pasta runny, increase the amount of the liquid.