August 21, 2008

Mushroom & Chick peas in spicy cumin-coconut gravy



First things first, Usha of Veg Inspirations bestowed upon me two awards, which is sitting pretty smugly on my sidebar (like she says) :) Thanks Usha for thinking about me and my blog.

Now getting back to the post. This dish was born purely out of desperation. I had a huge mound of baby-bella mushrooms sitting in my fridge for a few days - thanks to Costco for the not so small portions of veggies they sell.
Baby-bella or cremini as they are popularly called are baby portobellas, and have a satisfying chunky bite to it, and is my favorite kind of mushroom, and works well with Indian curries and gravies.
And for the spice, I just cant seem to get enough of the smoky cumin flavor these days. They find their way into all of my dishes. For this dish, it is the dominant spice. So if you haven't tried cumin, this is a good place to start.

Mushroom & Chick peas in spicy cumin-coconut gravy (That is a mouthful)

Ingredients:

Baby-bellas/Creminis - 5-6 cups sliced
Chick peas/Garbanzo/Channa - 2-3 cups
Red onion - 1 cup chopped
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
Coconut milk - 1 cup (I used the "Lite" coconut milk that comes in a can)
Cumin powder - 3 tbsp
Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garlic - 3 cloves chopped
Ginger - An inch grated
Cloves - 2
Bay leaf - 2
Salt - To taste
Extra virgin olive oil - 3 tbsp
Chopped green onions - To garnish
Cilantro - To garnish



Method:

In a pan over medium-high heat, add the oil and throw in the bay leaf, garlic, ginger, & cloves. Let it fry for a minute or so.

Add the onions and saute till translucent, and add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms are half cooked, add the tomato paste and cook for another two minutes.

Now add the cumin powder, pepper, coriander, salt & chilly powder and saute for another two minutes.

Add the chick peas/channa. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes. Do not add water. The mushrooms will take care of that eventually.

When the gravy comes together, add the coconut milk and simmer for a minute or so.
Turn off heat immediately, garnish with green onions/cilanto, and serve hot.
It is a good side-dish for rice, dosai, rotis & naan. Remember, it is not a very thin gravy dish, so pair accordingly.



I am sending this recipe to Srivalli's Curry mela event, she has been a dear to accommodate my entry a wee bit late.
Also sending this to Sunita's Think Spice event and since it is my original recipe, I though why not send it to the Original recipe event by Lore. I just knew about Lore's event, and amazingly this is a month-round event, so anyone could submit recipes anytime. This is right up my alley.



14 comments:

  1. Looks very bright, colorful and full of flavour divya..

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  2. There is a suprise for you in my blog. Click here to know what the suprise is, http://kitchenflavours.blogspot.com/2008/07/fruit-chaat.html

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  3. Long yellow squash is called the "Summer Squash" Divya..

    I grew this in my garden this summer and have posted a recipe "Squash black pepper gojju". Feel free to check it out..I make many dishes with it..I grate it and add it to chapatis, any curry, I made kadhi with it..so the variety is varied..

    Happy cooking..

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  4. Wow this looks awesome,a very unique combination too of mushrooms,chickpeas and coconut milk....yummm...isn't it funny that sometimes we create the most unique and yummy dishes out of sheer desperation....:)

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  5. yummy curry! looks so colorful.

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  6. Love mushroom, the curry sounds delicious !

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  7. Thank you for sending over thatlovely curry :-)

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  8. thats one great looking dish..thanks divya!

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  9. Divya Thanks for visiting my blog..
    Mushrooms and Chick peas in coconut gravy sounds really delicious.

    Here's your chance to njoy the festivals, check the blog for njoying and participating in this festive season

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  10. The more vivid the color of the food, the better it is for you and your mushrooms-chickpeas dish definitely fits the bill! Oh, and did I mention my relatively recent love for cumin? ;)
    Great job Divya and thanks again for sharing your recipe with Original Recipes!

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  11. No one online cooks with mushrooms. I LOVE mushrooms. *drool*

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  12. I stumbled across this posts from your entry into the original recipes roundup. This looks yummy - I'm definitely adding this to my week's menu.

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  13. I made this tonight - very tasty and something different to the curries I'm familiar with. Thanks!

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  14. Looks lovely and tempting. Keep rocking

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Happy cooking/baking or whatever it is you are doing in the kitchen! :)