Oonu ready: Matar Mushroom curry

My sis was with us last weekend and we visited the new Total mall in front of our house. We were quite tired after our expedition and I was in no mood to cook. After sorting out the fastest possible dish I could cook, I decided on mushrooms and green peas. During lenten season I experimented a lot with mushrooms which until then was a delicacy reserved for special days alone. After my life in hostels for the past 10 years these five months were the longest when I was home and cooking so I guess I have tried mushrooms in endless ways. This is one of my hubby's favourite I guess its the spicy tinge.

In a pan heat some oil and saute the chopped onions, garlic pods, ginger and green chillies for 5 minutes. Grind this into a paste along with choped tomatoes.

In a pan cook this paste for 10 minutes. Add the Kashmiri chilli powder and turmeric powder. Since the gravy already has chillies it is spicy enough. The Kashmiri chilli just gives it the red colour so is optional , not something you need to buy if you don't have it. Add the chopped mushrooms and green peas to this gravy and cook well for 15 minutes.

We had it with rotis and my sis felt it too spicy. This is the first time I tried this combo. I am used to Alu matar ( potato and green peas) but mushroom was a neglected veggie in my kitchen before. What I like most about mushrooms is that they dont need much preparatory time. Mom always told me stories of mushrooms being gathered from forests and gardens and savoured as delicacies. I dont remember them being sold so frequently 10 years ago. It does seem to be a hit these days and all I see is mushrooms around. I did try mushroom cutlets some time back inspired by a recipe from vazhayila.com. I will blog it here after the author permits me. See ya.