Dry Mushroom Peas Masala Recipe, Step by Step .

Mushroom peas masala with onions and spices - a dry preparation of mushrooms and peas to with pulao or rotis and dal. This recipe works best with fresh mushrooms. I have used shiitake mushrooms but you can use whatever mushrooms you prefer os are available. If you have fresh peas as well, nothing like it, but I tend to use frozen peas mot of the time for its convenience.

Other recipes with mushrooms and/or peas you may want to try:
Mushroom korma
Dingri dolma (with mushrooms and paneer)
Mushroom peas curry
Mushroom tikki
Gobi mushroom masala

I went through a phase of making dry vegetable dishes with minimum spices and lots of onions with a dash of kasuri methi. I made this mushroom peas masala during a similar time when we used to hit the fresh farmers' market every weekend in Sydney. I never knew fresh shiitake mushrooms could be so delicious and non-stinky. The ones I find in the supermarkets in Singapore tend to be a slimier and has a strong smell. Anyway, long story short, if you like the combination of mushrooms and peas, definitely give this easy recipe a try.

DRY MUSHROOM PEAS MASALA

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup of sliced red onions
2 cups of mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup of green peas
1/2 tsp of grated ginger
1/2 tsp of crushed garlic
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tsp of coriander powder
1/4 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
1/2 tsp of amchur powder (optional)
1 tbsp of oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
2. When they turn a golden brown, add the sliced onions.
3. Fry until the onions are nicely browned.
4. Add the mushrooms and give everything a good stir.
5. Then add the spice powders - turmeric, chilli, amchur, coriander, along with the kasuri methi, ginger and garlic.
6. Mix well and continue to cook/roast on a low flame until fragrant.
7. The vegetables will turn a nice golden brown and then you're done.
8. Add salt and remove from flame.
9. Serve hot.

Step by step pictures to make mushroom peas masala:

Heat oil and add cumin seeds. When they sizzle and turn brown, add the onions. Fry until browned.

Add the mushrooms and peas and stir well.

Now add the turmeric, chilli, amchur, coriander, ginger, garlic, and kasuri methi. You can add salt at this stage or a bit later. Roast well on low flame.

Note that if you keep the flame too high or cook covered, the mushrooms will let out a lot of water and that won't roast the spices well.

Continue to cook on low flame until the mushrooms are nicely roasted and the peas are cooked. Sprinkle water if needed during the cooking process. You may not need to do this since the mushrooms will give out the required moisture.

That's it! Easy side dish with mushrooms and peas, right? Serve hot with rice and dal.

Notes:

- Amchur is dry mango powder. It lends the dish sourness which I love. If you don't cook Indian food often, buying this ingredient may not be worth it so you can either substitute with a dash of lemon juice, 1 tsp tomato paste or just leave out any souring ingredient.
- Kasuri methi is dried fenugreek leaves and has a slightly bitter taste and strong flavour. It adds a lot of depth to this dish so I'd say go out and get a pack. It lasts quite long in the refrigerator and is quite versatile, finding its way into most North Indian curries.

Vegetable Jalfrezi Recipe, Easy Veg Jalfrezi Recipe, Step by Step

Vegetable jalfrezi - Learn how to make vegetable jalfrezi,  a semi-dry Indian recipe with a mix of vegetables cooked in a tomato-based gravy. I love paneer jalfrezi and make it often mainly based on Sanjeev Kapoor's vegetable jalfrezi recipe but last weekend, I was out of paneer and opted for this vegetable version with my own adaptations. Can I just say it was delicious? A healthy mix of vegetables cooked with minimum spices to bring out the flavour of the individual vegetables, that's really my favourite style of cooking. Restaurants tend to make vegetable jalfrezi and paneer jalfrezi really greasy and oily and some even add cream to it which baffles me. A simple jalfrezi recipe made at home with as many vegetables as possible thrown in is should be kept healthy and simple, in my opinion.

The secret to getting a good deep colour for your jalfrezi is to use tomato paste instead of fresh pureed tomato. I use tomato paste from a can or from tubes which are much easier to use. Since these are really concentrated, a teaspoon or two at the most is usually sufficient. As for the vegetables, you can go for any you like. I used carrots, beans, baby corn, bell pepper, and onions this time around. You can even make vegetable jalfrezi with paneer if you have a few cubes of it lying around but not enough to make an entire dish with the paneer.

Jalfrezi is a good option to use as a filling for kathi rolls too. Take a tortilla wrap, add some filling inside, roll it up, and you are good to go! Kathi rolls make very easy evening snacks if you have the filling ready. However, I serve jalfrezi as a side dish so we feel we are actually eating some vegetables instead of just a dal and a paneer side dish. Since it's semi-dry, it's good to complement it with some dal or at least raita. While chapatis go really well with vegetable jalfrezi, I opted to make a simple peas pulao last weekend to keep things simple.

Here's a tip if you'd like to get your jalfrezi on the table in a jiffy - keep all ingredients prepared and ready. Probably the more time-consuming activity in preparing this recipe is the chopping of the vegetables. Try to keep them long and evenly thick for uniform cooking.

Similar recipes you may enjoy:
Paneer jalfrezi
Paneer mushroom masala 
Paneer korma

VEGETABLE JALFREZI RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
4-5 cups of cut vegetables (carrot, baby corn, capsicum, beans, cauliflower, etc)
1/2 cup of onions, sliced
1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
2 tbsp of oil
1 tsp of coriander powder
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1.5 to 2 tbsp of tomato paste
1/2 tsp of garam masala
1 tsp of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
4 tbsp of chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
A pinch of sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare your vegetables first by washing, peeling, and chopping them.

Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle and turn a darker brown, add the sliced onions.

Saute until the onions turn soft and a light golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for another 30 seconds. Then add the coriander powder, chilli powder, and turmeric. Fry for 20 seconds taking care not to burn the spices. Turning the heat lower at this stage helps, especially if you are a beginner cook.

Now add the tomato paste and mix well.

Now add the chopped vegetables and give everything a good mix.

Top up with 1-1.5 cups of water and bring to boil. Lower flame and cook covered until the vegetables are cooked.

Take care not to overcook them to a mush, the vegetables should still hold their shape. By the time the vegetables are done, the water would have mostly been cooked up. If you find the gravy still very watery, cook a bit longer leaving the pan open.

When the vegetables are cooked and the dish has the desired consistency, add salt, sugar, kasuri methi, and garam masala. Mix well and turn off the heat.

Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Paneer jalfrezi should be served hot with chapatis or pulao. A simple peas pulao or jeera pulao would be a great combination. Refrigerate leftovers for up to two days. This can be rolled up in a roti or wrap or even sandwiched between bread. Enjoy, do send me a picture at if you try this recipe. Details are in my Facebook Page.

For vegetable jalfrezi recipe in Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, etc, please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.

Chow Chow Capsicum Curry Recipe - Easy Chow Chow Recipes

This chow chow capsicum curry is more of a dry curry recipe with some coconut and minimum spices. The sweetness of chow chow lends itself well to the flavours of capsicum and red chillies. Serve with rice and tomato rasam for a simple and tasty meal.

Chow chow tends to be a bit of a pain to peel due to its irregular surface. On top of that, it has some slime as you peel, which can stain your clothes and make your fingers stick long after. A tip when peeling chow chow - rub some oil on your palms and use the peeler as best you can. After that, chop it up and remove the remaining skin using your knife. In spite of giving out all this wisdom, I do sometimes deter from buying chow chow just because I am lazy to peel and chop it. There, I said it!

Simple recipes are the top priority in the mad rush that's my life right now. Chow chow (or chayote squash) is a readily available vegetable here and I love its inherent sweetness and texture in anything. While I usually default to chow chow kootu, we needed something to go with rasam rice and so this Kerala thoran-inspired dish was born.

We moved to Singapore over a month ago and stayed in a temporary place for 30 days. Our stuff arrived last week and we were magically able to coordinate moving into our rented apartment around the same time. More than half our things are still in boxes as we wait for new furniture to get delivered but I've managed to clear out the kitchen counters to be able to cook simple dishes, a welcome change after almost 45 days of eating out. I even managed an 8-day trip to San Francisco in the middle of all this!

I have set up a pantry from scratch numerous times and there's always a list of items I prioritise. Coconut tops the list and I find it hard to cook without it for more than 2 days in a row. Basic spices like coriander, cumin, turmeric, etc obviously feature in the list too. While a stir-fry is easier to put together and needs no grinding, there's something to be said about a coconut-based side dish to go with rasam and so this chow chow capsicum curry was born. You can customize in many different ways, using green chillies instead of red chilli powder, adding more capsicum in different colours, etc. I will leave that to your imagination.

A quick note to everyone who has been leaving lovely messages on Facebook and such. The fact that some of you missed posts made me get to work at 7am today just so I could post a recipe. There's no Internet at home yet and that's not going to change for another 10-12 days. Turns out life does go on without the Internet too!

For more delicious chow chow recipes, check out:
Chow chow kootu recipe
Chow chow chutney recipe
Chow chow sambar recipe

CHOW CHOW CAPSICUM CURRY RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of chow chow (chayote squash), cut into small cubes
1 cup of capsicum, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup of grated coconut
3/4 tsp of cumin seeds
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
2 of shallots (optional, but recommended)
A few curry leaves
2 tsp of oil
1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat oil and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the curry leaves, turmeric, and all chopped vegetables.

Stir well, lower heat, and cook covered for 10 mins or until the chow chow has turned soft. The capsicum should be cooked within this time too. You can sprinkle some water if needed but the water let out by the chow chow should be enough to cook it. Keep flame low to prevent the vegetables burning.

While your vegetables are cooking, coarsely grind the coconut with cumin seeds, chilli powder, and shallots. Do not add water while grinding.

Add this coconut mixture to the cooked vegetables along with some salt and stir through.

Cook for another 3-4 mins, stirring frequently. Check for salt and if all okay, remove from heat.

Easy, wasn't it?

Serve chow chow capsicum curry with rasam or sambar and rice. I also added some microwave banana chips to the meal to keep things crispy and interesting.

Aloo Gobi Recipe - Dry Aloo Gobi Sabzi Recipe - Potato Cauliflower Dry Curry

Learn how to make Punjabi-style aloo gobi recipe, a classic dry vegetable dish with aloo (potatoes) and gobi (cauliflower). This simple dry sabzi goes wonderfully with roti if you have some dal tadka on the side is one of our favourite go-to comfort dishes. I even serve it with rice and moong dal tadka or vegetable sambar for a simple meal.

Over many years of making aloo gobi at home, I have refined the method to something that suits me really well. I don't add a drop of water while cooking this and I don't fry the spices in oil first as we do with pretty much all sabzi preparations in India, but I add them towards the end when the vegetables are cooked. Unconventional, agreed, but the resulting aloo gobi is roasted and perfect, even if I say so myself.

Gobi lovers like us? Check out my gobi biryani recipe, this lovely gobi manchurian recipe, and one of my favourites - gobi paratha using a fail-proof technique for rolling them out.

DRY ALOO GOBI RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium-sized potato, peeled and cut into wedges
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/4 turmeric powder
3/4 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
A pinch of garam masala
1 tsp canned tomato paste (see notes)
A fistful of chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onions. When the onions turn soft, add the ginger and garlic and saute until fragrant (about 2 mins).

2. Add the potatoes and cauliflower to this and cook on lowest heat, covered, mixing now and then so the vegetable pieces don't burn.

3. When the vegetables are half cooked, add the tomato paste and mix again. Cook again for 3-4 mins or until the vegetables are soft (not mushy).

4. Add the spice powders - coriander powder, turmeric powder, jeera powder, and chilli powder. Mix again until well combined. Cook until the spice powders don't smell raw anymore - another 2 mins or so. The potatoes and cauliflower should be roasted and dry by now. Add salt.

5. Finish off with a generous amount of chopped coriander leaves and mix again.

Gobi Masala all done!

Gobi Masala is a great combination with chapatis or rotis and a simple dal recipe. You can also serve with rice, jeera pulao, or any other pulao for a bit of an added spice kick.

Notes:
- Adjust spice levels to your liking.
- You can add pureed tomato or chopped tomato instead of canned paste. Since I like to add as little water as possible, I add the paste which is thick and quite intense. If you are adding pureed tomato, make sure to add it after the onions are cooked and let it thicken a bit before following the rest of the steps.

For Gobi Masala recipe in Hindi, Urdu, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, etc, please use the Google Translate button in the sidebar.

Cabbage Poriyal Recipe - South Indian Style Cabbage Poriyal

Learn how to make cabbage poriyal, a simple vegetarian (vegan, actually) South Indian dry curry with cabbage, coconut, and spices. Poriyal can be made with a variety of vegetables and goes great with rice and curry.

I tend to make cabbage thoran more often than cabbage poriyal but the key advantage to a poriyal is that you don't have to grind the coconut while for thoran, in my opinion, the coarse grinding of coconut with jeera and shallots and green chillies males all the difference in taste. Some weekends, we just crave a simple South Indian meal and a bowl of hot rice with mor kuzhambu and poriyal hits the right spot. Using a food processor for chopping up the cabbage makes this a very quick task and you can get the poriyal from vegetable to plate in less than 30 mins. Chopping cabbage by hand is a messy job so I avoid that if I can help it.

If you'd rather try a Kerala-style thoran, then check out this cabbage thoran recipe or this carrot beetroot thoran. I also really like this eggplant poriyal that uses roasted spices and is amazingly flavourful.

CABBAGE PORIYAL RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups of cabbage, chopped fine
1 tbsp of chana dal / kadalai paruppu (soaked in warm water for 10 mins)
2 tsp of oil
1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds
10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp of cumin powder (optional)
1/2 cup of sliced shallots (or onions)
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
2 green chillies, sliced (I used one red chilli and one green)
1/4 cup of grated coconut

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Chop the cabbage and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the soaked chana dal and shallots/onions. Fry until the onions turn soft - about 3 mins.

3. Then, add the turmeric, curry leaves, red and green chillies, saute for another minute.

4. Add the chopped cabbage along with the cumin powder, curry leaves, and some salt. The salt helps bring out the moisture in the cabbage and allows it to cook in its own juices.

Mix well

5. Add about 2 tbsp water and cook covered for 7-8 mins until the cabbage is cooked but not mushy.

Give it a good stir. You can also stir once in between when it's cooking in the closed pan, just to ensure even cooking. Keep flame low and it will steam up in its own water and the little you have added. If the poriyal is too moist at this stage, just let it cook down in the open pot while being stirred now and then.

6. Finally add the grated coconut on top and more salt if needed. Mix well and remove from flame.

Serve warm with rice and any curry. It goes particularly well with onion pulusu or kara kuzhambu or even the combination I used in the meal pictured, with rice and buttermilk kulambu.

Poriyal keeps well if refrigerated for up to 2 days.

For Cabbage Poriyal recipe in Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, etc, please use the Google Translate button in the sidebar.

Rajma Sundal - South Indian Rajma Sundal Recipe for Navaratri

I made this Rajma sundal almost a year back and then decided to wait until Navaratri 2013 to share the recipe. How fast time flies! I am not a fan of rajma and barely cook it except for an occasional rajma masala. It's tough to cook, tough to imbibe flavours into, and generally tasteless. I know I am being harsh (sorry rajma!), but that's really how I feel. Now, a rajma sundal is something I find passable because I generally love sundals and it has that bite from freshly grated coconut which is delicious.

Rajma is one of those things you have to soak before cooking, there's no two ways about that (I do hope someone proves me wrong on this though). Soaking and pressure cooking is the way to start most sundal recipes and htis is no exception. However, I find that I prefer a generous dose of dry red chillies in my rajma sundal than green chillies which are sometimes preferred in sundal recipes.

Also check out - chana dal sundal, kadalai sundal,  green peas sundal, and pattani mangai sundal or beach sundal recipe.

RAJMA SUNDAL RECIPE

Preparation time: 8 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of rajma or red kidney beans, soaked overnight
2 tsp of oil
1 tsp of split urad dal (ulutham paruppu)
3-4 of dry red chillies, torn into pieces
1/4 tsp of hing powder
1/4 cup of grated coconut
A few curry leaves or a small bunch coriander leaves
1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Drain and wash the soaked rajma and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. It's tough to cook rajma into a mush so make sure that it's cooked by pressing one between your fingertips. It should disintegrate when you put enough pressure.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and urad dal.

3. When the mustard pops and the dal turns golden brown, add the red chillies and curry leaves (I didn't have any so used chopped coriander leaves in the end). Saute the chillies for a few seconds.

4. Add the cooked, drained, rajma and mix well. Add salt.

5. FInally add the grated coconut and chopped coriander (if using).

Serve rajma sundal warm as a snack, with rice and curry as a side dish, and of course, as a neivedyam for the navratri festival.

Green Peas Sundal - South Indian Navaratri Recipes

Sundal and Navaratri festival are almost synonymous but I don't limit something as nutritious and easy to prepare as a sundal to festival season alone. Pretty much all sundals have a similar recipe and the green peas sundal is no different. The only thing that you would need to remember to do ahead is the soaking. I used dried green peas for making this green peas sundal and soaked it for about 4 hours in warm water.

Generally, fresh peas is not used for sundal since it has too much moisture and the consistency won't work well. My mom makes a thoran with fresh peas though, which is delicious and follows a slightly different recipe. So for this recipe, use dried peas - either green or white - soak it and pressure cook it before turning it into this easy and lovely sunday for your navratri cooking and preparations.

Also check out - kadalai paruppu sundal, chana sundal, mochai sundal, and green peas sundal with raw mango.

GREEN PEAS SUNDAL RECIPE

Preparation time: 4 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of dry green peas
2 tsp of oil
1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds
2 dry red chillies, halved
A few curry leaves
1/4 tsp of hing
1/3 cup of grated coconut

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Soak the peas for about 4 hours in warm water. Pressure cook with enough water to cover them for about 15 mins or 1 whistle. We just want to cook the peas, not turn them to a mush.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the rest of the ingredients except coconut and cooked peas. Saute until the red chillies turn a darker shade - about 20 seconds.

3. Add the cooked peas and some salt to this. Mix well.

5. Top off with the coconut and turn off flame. Mix well again and let the flavours mingle for about an hour before serving.

Done! Easy green peas sundal is now ready.

While sundal is a popular navratri dish, you can serve it as a snack or even with rice and curry for lunch or dinner. Pretty much any legume can be made into sundal - it's light and healthy.