Mushroom and Peas Kurma

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's day!! It was amazing to see the elaborate menu most of you had for V day. We just went out for a nice dinner. I like going out on special occasions. I try to research and find a good place that we have never been to. I know all the gourmet chefs out there must be thinking "How can you not cook the special meal". I get too tensed and worked up if I want to make something special and I feel you enjoy the meal better if someone else cooks it for you. So I save my experiments and adventures for regular days. Maybe next Birthday I will make a special meal and brag... sorry blog about it.

We were passing by the local farmers market and decided to get some fresh produce. Now they definitely have the best vegetables and some at unreasonably low (or so it seemed to me) prices. For example I got 1/4 kg of tiny baby potatoes for 1 rupee (If anyone has a good Dum aloo recipe please send me the link). And just the other day we were thinking we cannot get anything for one rupee these days. And right away we were proven wrong. I couldnt buy too many vegetables even though they were so good and cheap because we had to buy in large quatities. And also because I'm so used to picking the quantity I want at supermarkets that I was taking forever to decide what I wanted and how much. Guess I had become too urbanised in this aspect. They also had fresh button mushrooms (prepackaged and easy on my brain) so I picked a packet of those. They ended up being some of the tastiest mushrooms that I have ever eaten. Fresh wins over processed anytime. I guess I will have to make another trip to the Rythu bazaar, this time better prepared.

Mushroom and peas kurma

Ingredients

Button mushrooms: 200 grams - sliced to small pieces.

Peas: a handful

Onions: 2 medium. chopped fine

Tomato: 1 small

Garlic: 2-3 cloves

Cloves, Cinnamon, Jeera

Curry and coriander leaves

For masala paste:

Grated coconut: 2 tbsp

Ginger: 1/2 inch piece

Tomato: 1 small chopped

Onion: 1 small chopped

Khus Khus and saunf: 1/2 tsp each

Green chilies: 2-3

Roasted chana dal (dalia) (optional.. for thickening): 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder: a pinch

Make a paste of the above

Heat some oil and add the jeera, cloves and cinnamon. The add the chopped garlic and curry leaves. After they splutter add the onions and fry till brown. The add the chopped tomatoes. In a minute add the masala paste and salt and cook for about 5 minutes till the raw smell of onions and tomatoes subsides. Then add the mushrooms and peas and some water. Cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add coriander leaves and serve with chapati or parathas.