Chilly Mushroom

Okay, this is now becoming a habit. Husband cooks, I click and update this blog ;-)
Well, on the sunnier side, his culinary attempts spare a lot of time for me on weekends and that is the very reason I get time to update the blog. So, I shouldn't be complaining. And especially since he is turning out to be a master chef almost, I really really am not complaining.

We had a packet of mushroom that would have ended in a Mushroom Kurma or Biryani that my cook normally makes during the weekdays for dinner. But our man suddenly wanted to experiment. And lo behold, his version of the chilly mushroom.

Mushroom Biryani

This is a combination of the Malabar Egg Biryani recipe I'd posted earlier (which itself was taken from Mishmash's post Egg Biryani Finally Makes It to the Hall of Fame ) and the Brinji Rice that my cook makes when we are out of other options. I made a variation of the elaborate biryani masala (in a not so elaborate way). Here is how I made this afternoon's mushroom biryani.
For the Rice 


Ingredients:

• Basmati Rice - 2 cups
• Water - 3 cups
• Coconut Milk - 1 cup

(Add water/coconut milk in a 1:2 ratio; if the coconut milk is too thick, adjust the water accordingly)

• Shajeera - 2 tsp
• Bayleaf - 2
• Cloves - 3-4
• Star Anise - 2
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
• Chilly Paste - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste 
• Yellow Food Color - a pinch 
• Ghee - 3tbsp

Method:

• Wash the basmati rice well and soak it in water for 20 mins.
• Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan (I used my pressure cooker itself)
• Splutter the shajeera (you could use normal jeera if you dont have this), add the bay leaf, cloves and star anise and fry for 30 seconds. 
• Add the ginger garlic paste and the green chilly paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.
• Add the rice and fry for 1 min.
• Add salt and the food color.
• Add 3 glasses of water and 1 glass of coconut milk and cook uncovered till the rice is almost done (By now the water would have evaporated and the rice would have been 80% cooked) - Take care not to add too much water;esp if the coconut milk is thick, you may want to reduce the water. The taste of the biryani is lost if the rice is over or under cooked.
• Set aside

For the Biriyani Masala:


Ingredients

• Onions - 2 large ones thinly sliced
• Tomatoes- 3 big ones (I had very small ones, so I used 5)
• Ginger-Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp
• Green Chilly Paste - as per taste (I made it out of 8 green chillies as I like it spicy)
• Biriyani Masala - 3 tbsp (a coarsely ground powder of the below ingredients)

• Cloves - 4-5
• Green Cardamom - 2
• Black Cardamom - 1
• Cinnamon Stick - 2
• Jeera - 1 tsp
• Shajeera - 2 tsp
• Star Anise - 2
• Nutmeg - 1/2
• Nutmace - 1/2
• Saunf (Perunjeeragam) - 1 tsp
• Peppercorns - 4-5
• Mushroom - Cut into 2
• Peas - 1 cup
• Potatoes - 2 or 3
• Sour Curd/Yogurt - 1 cup
• Salt - to taste
• Mint Leaves - a handful
• Curry Leaves - 2-3 sprigs
• I also added 1 tsp of Sakthi Biryani Masala as I had an opened packet
• Ghee - 3 tbsp
• Gingelly Oil - 2 tsp (it enhances the flavour)
• Any other veggies you want

Method:

• Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan.
• Fry the onions till translucent
• Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears
• Add the chilly paste and fry well
• Add the tomatoes and cook till they are mushy.
• Add the biryani masala, salt, mushrooms and other vegetables along with the mint and curry leaves and cook covered (You may want to add a little water here-not too much as the veggies and tomatoes will bring out water on their own)
• When the mushrooms and veggies are cooked, add sour curd and cook till dry.

 For the Seasoning (Deep fry all the above individually in ghee/oil and set aside)

• Onions - 2 big thinly sliced
• Brown Raisins
• Cashew Nuts
• Ghee/Oil - for frying

Finally, making the biriyani

• This is a fairly simple step. All you have to do is layer it in a thick bottomed vessel. 
• Add a little ghee , place one layer of the masala, sprinkle some masala powder and fried seasoning and then layer it with the almost cooked basmati rice.
• Then  repeat the process (Veggie masala, masala powder, seasoning and then rice).
• Cover the vessel with a lid and then wrap it with a piece of cloth so that the steam does not escape (I had to use the help of my heavy chapati rolling stone and roller for this). 
• Cook this biryani on Dum for 15-20 minutes on low flame. 
• After setting it aside for another 20 minutes, open the lid and mix the biryani.
• It is now ready to serve.

Mushroom Bell Pepper Stir Fry

Inspired by Magic Oven Paachakam show on Kairali TV hosted by Mrs. Lakshmi Nair (show dated 30th May 2010). She made Chicken Bell Pepper Stir Fry. I substituted chicken with mushroom (a vegetarian's best alternative to meat). The preparation is fairly simple, but what gets to me is slicing of spring onions, garlics and capsicum. I outsourced that to my cook who probably was muttering under her breath (I did not hear it, so I am okay with it).

[caption id="attachment_120" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Not the best pic of the dish!"][/caption]

Ingredients

1. Button Mushrooms - 3 packets (not sure of the weight)


2. Bell Peppers - 2 (I used 1 yellow as well, but the green ones are good enough)


3. Onions - 2


4. Spring Onions - 1 bunch (bulbs and stalks separated)


5. Garlic - 10 cloves sliced finely


6. Green Chilly - 2 slit finely


7. Ginger - 1 inch piece slit into thin strips (optional - I did not use it)


8. Soya Sauce - 2 tblsp


9. Chilli Sauce - 1 tsp


10. Salt - to taste


11. Pepper - 2 tsp


12. Cornflour - 1 cup


13. Oil - 5 tblsp

Method

1. Slice mushrooms into 2. Soak in hot water for 15 minutes.


2. Marinate with salt and pepper and set aside for 30 minutes.


3. Roll them into cornflour and set aside. (I was lazy to roll each one, so I just mixed it all. Not sure how different the taste would be had I rolled it)


4. Heat oil in a wok.


5. Fry chilly and garlic till brown.


6. Add the mushroom and stir fry.


7. Add soya sauce and chilly sauce.


8. Fry till mushrooms are done.


9. Add cut capsicum and toss around.


10. Add onions, spring onions and continue frying.


11. Add salt if required at this stage (after testing)


12. Keep on low flame till the onions and capsicum become soft but not fully cooked.


13. Serve.
    
    [caption id="attachment_119" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Mushroom Bell Pepper Stir Fry"][/caption]

As I told you, the preparation is fairly simple. Peeling, slicing the onions, garlics and the spring onions was what was holding me back, but when I found a scapegoat to do that for me, I was more than willing to prepare this for lunch today.

Pepper Mushroom

Ingredients

1. Button Mushrooms - 20


2. Coarsely Ground Pepper - 2 tbsp


3. Soya Sauce - 1 tsp


4. Olive Oil - 3 tbsp


5. Garlic -  4 cloves sliced


6. Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp


7. Egg - 1


8. Oregano and Thyme for seasoning.


9. Salt to taste

Method

1. Clean and cut mushrooms. Microwave on high for 5 mins or till soft.


2. Heat olive oil in Kadai, add chopped garlic and fry.


3. Remove the garlic from the oil, add mushrooms, soya sauce and ginger garlic paste.


4. Add salt and let mushrooms cook.


5. When mushrooms are cooked, add pepper and 1 egg and toss till egg is cooked.


6. Add oregano and thyme and remove from flame.


7. You may add corn or olives for extra taste.