Suddenly..one day....we two little girls got replanted from a small flower pot in to a large landscape full of light and air. That is we shifted our restricted life from an apartment in Sharjah in to a beautiful house surrounded with lush greenery in a coastal village of Thrissur. We embraced plenty of blessings, like rain, swings, touch- me- nots, golden-showers, butter flies and what not. But somewhere inside we children missed many other things, green or red glossy tooth pastes, butter-like birthday cakes decorated with real toy..animals....we had brought some of them with us..., thin square cheese, pickled olives, sausages and ofcourse mushrooms.
Amma thought her mixed fried rices were not complete without those mushrooms and spring onions. It wasn't possible to go to a store and buy a pack of fresh mushrooms or canned ones in our small village. But mushrooms grew by their own in our surroundings. They sprung up from nowhere and smiled at us in the mornings drenched in night rain. They fancied me as little umbrellas and I wished they would grow overnight in to large umbrellas so as to accommodate us-the children- under its shade.
But all of them were not edible. Many of them were dangerously poisonous. Achamma knew how to differentiate between the edible and inedible ones. If there was a little doubt it had to be discarded. And they were washed after soaking in turmeric water for a while.Lately Acha and Amma followed her ways. We get only a few good ones..not enough to make a curry for all, never enough to satisfy our greed. And they grew as they wished, not when there were guests and Amma wanted to go for a mixed fried rice. Acha himself scrambled the mushrooms with eggs and we kids enjoyed every bit of it. At a point of time Acha and Amma had serious plans on mushroom farming and read a lot about it. For some reason that didn't happen. And gradually it became possible to travel to Thrissur town and buy fresh mushrooms. And also it became common to eat chilli mushroom, mushroom manjurian..mushroom soups from chinese resturants.
Here I'm to share with you two mushroom recipes, not continental, not chinese , but the recipes made to excite the typical malayali taste buds!!!
Mushroom masala
Ingredients:
Milky mushroom slices- 2 cups
onion thinly sliced- 1 large
tomato - 1 small
green chilli- 2
garlic crushed- 1 table spoon
ginger crushed- 1 table spoon
turmeric powder- 1\2 teaspoon
red chili powder- 1 teaspoon
corriander powder- 1 tab spoon
garam masala- 1 table sppon
corriander leaves chopped- 2 tablespoon
oil
salt
how to cook
1. heat some oil in a pan.
2. stir fry ginger and garlic paste.
3. As it turns golden brown and that special aroma kicks out, add onions and green chillies.
4. Saute them well untill cooked and slightly brown.
5 .Reduce the heat and now add the masala powders one by one.
6. When Masala's are cooked add tomatoes and stir well.
7. Now add mushrooms and close the lid. for 15 minutes.
8. Add curry leaves and keep the pan open on the fire until the water is completely absorbed, stirring now and then to avoid sticking on to the bottom of the pan.
9. Remove from fire and garnish with corriander leaves.
Mushroom thoran
Ingredients:
king oyster mushroom(other kinds will also be fine)- 250 gm (cut in to tiny cubes).
green chilli- 4
crushed red chilli- 1/2 teaspoon
ginger- cut in to tiny pieces- 1 tb spoon
garlic- chopped- 1 tb sp
shallots - 3
mustard seeds - 1 tespoon
turmeric powder- 1/2 teasppon.
curry leaves- a few
whole dry chilli - 2
coconut oil- as required
salt- as required
coconut scraped- 1/4 cup.
how to cook
1. In a pan heat some coconut oil.
2. splutter mustard seeds. Then fry whole dry chillies and curry leaves.
3. Now add ginger and garlic and stir fry until golden brown.
4. Add shallots and green chillies and continue stir frying.
5. If you don't want it to be spicy.....don't hesitate to add lesser number of green chillies. If you like it really
hot....now its time to add crushed red chilly.
6. Add turmeric powder and salt and finally the mushrooms.
7. Keep the pan closed for 10-15 minutes.
8. Make sure the mushrooms are cooked.
9. Add coconut scrapes and mix well.
10. cook well another 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
12. Thoran is ready....enjoy with rice.
 |
| King oyster mushrooms |
But all of them were not edible. Many of them were dangerously poisonous. Achamma knew how to differentiate between the edible and inedible ones. If there was a little doubt it had to be discarded. And they were washed after soaking in turmeric water for a while.Lately Acha and Amma followed her ways. We get only a few good ones..not enough to make a curry for all, never enough to satisfy our greed. And they grew as they wished, not when there were guests and Amma wanted to go for a mixed fried rice. Acha himself scrambled the mushrooms with eggs and we kids enjoyed every bit of it. At a point of time Acha and Amma had serious plans on mushroom farming and read a lot about it. For some reason that didn't happen. And gradually it became possible to travel to Thrissur town and buy fresh mushrooms. And also it became common to eat chilli mushroom, mushroom manjurian..mushroom soups from chinese resturants.
Here I'm to share with you two mushroom recipes, not continental, not chinese , but the recipes made to excite the typical malayali taste buds!!!
Mushroom masala
Ingredients:
Milky mushroom slices- 2 cups
onion thinly sliced- 1 large
tomato - 1 small
green chilli- 2
garlic crushed- 1 table spoon
ginger crushed- 1 table spoon
turmeric powder- 1\2 teaspoon
red chili powder- 1 teaspoon
corriander powder- 1 tab spoon
garam masala- 1 table sppon
corriander leaves chopped- 2 tablespoon
oil
salt
how to cook
1. heat some oil in a pan.
2. stir fry ginger and garlic paste.
3. As it turns golden brown and that special aroma kicks out, add onions and green chillies.
4. Saute them well untill cooked and slightly brown.
5 .Reduce the heat and now add the masala powders one by one.
6. When Masala's are cooked add tomatoes and stir well.
7. Now add mushrooms and close the lid. for 15 minutes.
8. Add curry leaves and keep the pan open on the fire until the water is completely absorbed, stirring now and then to avoid sticking on to the bottom of the pan.
9. Remove from fire and garnish with corriander leaves.
 |
| Mushroom masala |
Mushroom thoran
Ingredients:
king oyster mushroom(other kinds will also be fine)- 250 gm (cut in to tiny cubes).
green chilli- 4crushed red chilli- 1/2 teaspoon
ginger- cut in to tiny pieces- 1 tb spoon
garlic- chopped- 1 tb sp
shallots - 3
mustard seeds - 1 tespoon
turmeric powder- 1/2 teasppon.
curry leaves- a few
whole dry chilli - 2
coconut oil- as required
salt- as required
coconut scraped- 1/4 cup.
how to cook
1. In a pan heat some coconut oil.
2. splutter mustard seeds. Then fry whole dry chillies and curry leaves.
3. Now add ginger and garlic and stir fry until golden brown.
4. Add shallots and green chillies and continue stir frying.
5. If you don't want it to be spicy.....don't hesitate to add lesser number of green chillies. If you like it really
hot....now its time to add crushed red chilly.
6. Add turmeric powder and salt and finally the mushrooms.
7. Keep the pan closed for 10-15 minutes.
8. Make sure the mushrooms are cooked.
9. Add coconut scrapes and mix well.
10. cook well another 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
12. Thoran is ready....enjoy with rice.
 |
| Mushroom Thoran |
2 comments:
Luv your recepies dear.... I've not tried anything with mushrooms... let me try this malayali mashroom recepie & sure let u know. Those small umbrellas are still in my mind too as sweet old memories.... more over I luv the colour of mushrooms also .
thanku Ambily.....u shd try it for sure.. u"ll luv it:)
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