Mushrooms in Mustard Sauce

Hi there, I am back to my blog after a long vacation. We visited India after two years during the peak festival season from Durga Puja to Diwali. It was simply awesome time to roam around the city of joy with parents and my sister. Did plenty of shopping and gathered props from different antic shops in Kolkata. We indulged in our favorite street-side food so much that all of us returned with some extra weight. It would be bagful of good memories which we can cherish until our next vacation.

Once I returned, I have been wondering which would be my next post. Any fall recipe or winter special may be more appropriate but somehow after coming back I craved more for our Bengali cuisine. So prepared some traditional Bengali dish and thought of sharing the same with you. Today’s recipe is Mushroom in a Mustard sauce. It’s a simple preparation with basic ingredients that goes well with steamed white rice. It’s not only an easy preparation but also takes a little time to whip up.

Mushrooms remind me of very interesting-looking little 'creatures' that we used to call 'Banger chhata' (frog’s umbrella) in our childhood days. The name was due to its shape like an umbrella and grown together with frogs on hay stacks. They are also commonly known as “Poal chatu”. At that time mushroom was available only during the monsoon. Nowadays since it’s being grown by farmers like any other vegetables, we can get mushroom all through the year. The taste of naturally grown mushroom is little better though. But for the mushroom lovers out there, an array of edible mushrooms is always available in any supermarket.

Among all mushrooms, button mushroom, oyster mushroom and enoki mushroom seem to be very popular . Straw mushrooms and Portobello are also quite popular. You can use either oyster mushroom or Button mushroom with this recipe.

Among all the mushroom preparations this recipe is my favorite, hope you would like it. It is our family recipe that was used to cook “Poal Chatu” and later the same recipe was unchanged to cook packet mushroom.  Apart from its rich taste and delicate aroma, it has high nutritional value. This is one of the favorite vegetables for the people who tries to avoid non-vegetarian food.

Recipe of Mushroom in Mustard Sauce ( Poal Chatu r Jhal ) : serves 4 

Ingredients :

Button mushroom / Oyster mushroom : a big box, approximately 500 g, wash and chop into bite sizes 

Oil : 3-4 tablespoons, preferably mustard oil 

Nigella seeds ( Kalo jeere ) / Kalonji : 1 teaspoon

Green chili peppers : 3-4, slitted 

Ginger paste : 1 tablespoon

Turmeric powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander powder : 1 and half teaspoons

Red chili powder : 1/2 teaspoon 

Yellow mustard seeds : 1 tablespoon 

Black mustard seeds : 1/2 tablespoon 

Salt :

Extra Green chillies and mustard oil 

Method :

1. Take the two kind of mustard seeds in a blender. Add a pinch of salt and 1 green chilli and few tablespoons of water and grind it to a paste. Set it aside.

2. Take a pan, add oil and heat it up. Once oil is really hot, temper the oil with Nigella seeds /Kalo jeere / Kalonji and 3 to 4 slit green chillies. 

3. Once the aroma comes up, add the chopped mushroom. Give some stirs, soon mushrooms release a lot of water. 

4. Once the water dries up, add ginger paste, add turmeric, coriander powder, red chili powder to it. Mix everything together. 

5. Add salt and again mix well. Add the mustard paste and stir in everything. Stir frequently and let it cook for couple of minutes or until mushrooms are done. 

6. Check the seasoning, add salt and chillies if needed. Drizzle few drops of mustard oil and switch off the gas. Serve hot with a bowl of steamed rice.