I’m back!!! It has been a whole month since I’ve posted, but I have a good excuse. I was in Bangalore, India for a few weeks spending time with family and eating my way through all the various places my husband, and now me, love. I feel like I was perpetually stuffed for most of the trip. Chalukya for dosa, Kabob Corner for paneer kati rolls, Karavali for Kerala food and appams, Nagarjuna for hyderbadi biryaniri, etc.

We finally hit Karavali on my last day (but I’ll have to admit, I was fairly tired of eating by this time) because I had to taste the ulli theeyal to see if what I’ve made was even close. Well, mine is grainier (maybe because I use desiccated coconut), but it still has some resemblance! The other thing I was keen on trying again were these mushrooms. Last night, after eating Asian food for 3 days (I was a little burnt out from Indian food :-)), I was back to craving Indian food and decided to give my best at making something some resembling the Mangalorean mushrooms at Karavali.

I tried finding a mushroom Managalorean curry recipe online, but nothing really stood out. I did see pepper powder, tamarind and coconut oil used in a couple of recipes though, so I used those ingredients. I didn’t feel like just mushrooms so I used potatoes and peas too. The vegetables are cooked in a rich tomato and coconut oil gravy and tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves. All in all, I really can’t remember if it is similar to the mushrooms at Karavali, but the dish turned out really good! It went really well with roti.

For the Gravy
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 onions chopped
3 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
3-4 tomatoes chopped
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kasmiri chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cape malay curry powder (I added this on a whim)
1/4 teaspoon pepper powder (I ground fresh peppercorns in a coffee grinder with the other spices to get a fine powder)
1 teaspoon tamarind
1 piece jaggery
Salt

Vegetable Prep
4 baby potatoes peeled and chopped
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
16 ounces mushrooms sliced (two little packs)
1 cup or so frozen peas

For the Tempering/Tadka
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
6-7 curry leaves

1. Heat coconut oil in a saute pan and cook the onions until super soft, adding the garlic cloves halfway through. They should be soft enough that they will blend into a smooth gravy.
2. Add all the ground spices and cook for a minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook until a gravy forms.
4. Add the tamarind, jaggery and salt to taste.
5. Throw this mixture into a blender with a little water and blend until super smooth, then pour back into the pan.
6. Meanwhile prep the vegetables: boil the potatoes with a little salt (I do this in a bowl in the microwave) and saute the mushrooms in the coconut oil until soft.
7. Add the potatoes, mushrooms and peas to the gravy and heat until the peas are cooked through.
8. In a tadka or other small pan, heat the rest of the coconut oil and add the mustard seeds. Once they start to pop, add the curry leaves. Throw into the dish, stir, and serve!