Matar Mushroom

Matar mushroom or mushrooms with English peas in rich tomato gravy is one of the most comforting Indian vegetarian dishes. Busy weeknights call for comfort foods. Even though it’s spring, most people are busy during this time with gardening projects and renovations. At the end of a busy day, all you need is a wholesome dish. This rich, lusciously creamy dish is vegan and gluten free. It is quite popular among vegetarians back home.

Busy spring days?

Is everyone having a great spring so far? Do you have any spring projects going on? If you have been following my blog journey, you know that last spring we built a new patio. We also seeded the new lawn, which has started to sprout, though a bit patchy, we can see the grass coming up. I can’t wait to have a fully matured lawn. This year we are trying to move forward with planting most of the plants if not all on the patio and the lawn.

It might sound very simple, but oh boy, it’s very demanding. I’m talking about a million trips to nurseries, trying to understand the growth pattern of each plant and also figuring out what is best for your garden. It’s very tiring now, but at the end it’s all going to look so amazing. Well with all these gardening projects happening, there is hardly any time to cook dinners, so we have been relying on our freezer. Thank goodness, I froze this matar mushroom dish a while back coz now it’s all coming in handy.

You could even freeze the gravy separately, then when you ready to eat, add mushrooms and peas and cook for a little bit. However the gravy is very simple and it all comes together very quickly. So even during busy days, you could cook this restaurant style creamy and rich vegan matar mushroom and enjoy for dinner. 

The dot com lifestyle

The blogging world is not a regular office nine to five specified type of job. It can be very difficult to set a time for blogging and photo shooting. This job requires for us to have a discipline in our work otherwise, you could easily start the day tomorrow! At times, it can get isolating since you work alone most of the time. Connecting with new people can be challenging, especially if you are a bit of an introvert like I am.

Working from home, means you are basically at home 24/7. I am not sure about others, but I feel that it makes you even more secluded. So how do we meet new people then? Well, thank god for social media! There is a big debate among people- some say social media is waste of time, and some find it pretty amazing. I think, it’s about how you use it. If you spend all day on social media sites then you can easily lose track of time. However, for bloggers it’s a great platform for growing businesses and collaborating with different people.

Why all this talk on social media? Well like other freelance bloggers, I work from home too and sometimes it gets lonely. Thanks to social media, especially Instagram, I have met such amazing creatives who are truly genuine people. It’s more exciting, when you actually meet your virtual friend in person. So, for me social media plays a very important role. So cheers to social media for making it so easy to stay connected with people and make new amazing relationships. 

Spring is for lunch dates

It was few weeks ago when Archana replied to my Instagram story. I realized that she is a local of Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota). Out of excitement, I messaged her asking more about what she does, where she is from and all that stuff, then later we decided to meet up. It’s so amazing to meet another like-minded person and even better when you can make a good friendship out of it. Archana is an amazing illustrator, it’s so therapeutic to watch someone do brush strokes with such an ease. I can barely draw a circle. Lol!

When you have only met once before with someone and you are so comfortable inviting them over to your home, it  means you connected. When you invite them comfortably even with a crazy construction going on and loud hammering noises, then you know you that really connected well. All this construction is making me so frustrated, so I decided to cook a simple yet rich comfort meal for our lunch. You know it, matar mushroom never disappoints! 

Matar mushroom for days

Like I said earlier that you could freeze the gravy separately or you could even freeze the whole dish. I had the gravy all ready, and it took me a very short time to put everything together. I blended cashews in the gravy which makes it  rich and so creamy. Cashews are a great alternative to cream, it makes a dish vegan. If you are in a hurry, like I am always, soak the cashews in hot water so they soften very quickly.

The onions and tomatoes are sautéed with lots of ginger garlic pasta, and then blended with cashews. So you don’t have to be very precise in your chopping skills. Roasted dried fenugreek is added at the end and OMG, it makes the matar mushroom taste beyond delicious. If you know me, you would know that we tend to eat a bit spicy/hot food. With Indian cuisines, spice is something you could control according to your palette. 

There are not a whole lot of spices that go in this dish, but the complex flavors from garam masala, hotness from cayenne, and caramelized bitter notes from fenugreek leaves make the gravy so scrumptious and irresistible. I added fresh English peas to it; I am not a fan of sweet peas. Raw peas are bitter. If you add them directly to the gravy to cook them, they might lose their bright green color. I like boiling them separately and then add them at the end. Boiling peas cuts down on the bitterness and brings out their sweetness, but also maintains their green color. 

Dinner is served

This recipe is for 8-10 people. So reduce the quantity if you are making it for fewer people. Fresh hot phulka (whole wheat flat bread) off the griddle with simmering hot matar mushroom spell; spring dinner goals! You could also serve it on top of steamed Basmati rice for a perfect gluten free meal. However you serve it, it sure will make your vegetarian family or friends really happy 🙂  

5 from 1 vote

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Matar Mushroom

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp cooking oil or coconut oil
• 200 grams onion roughly chopped
• 500 grams tomatoes roughly chopped
• 1 tsp garlic puree
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 60 grams cashew nuts
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3-4 bay leaves
• 3 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 550 grams fresh English peas
• 550 grams white button mushrooms diced
• 2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Salt to taste
• 2 green chili optional

Instructions

1. Soak cashew nuts for 5-6 hours, or soak them in boiling water for 30 minutes to an hour.
2. Dry roast the fenugreek leaves and set aside. This takes 15-20 seconds, be careful not to burn the fenugreek as it turns dark and very bitter.
3. Heat some oil in a heavy bottom pan, add cumin seeds and let it splutter.
4. Add green chilies, ginger and garlic puree and sauté for 1 minute.
5. Then add the onions, bay leaf and sauté on medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until translucent.
6. Now add the chopped tomatoes along with bay leaves, coriander powder, cayenne, and salt.
7. Cook this for 10-15 minutes on medium heat, until the tomatoes get softened and the oil is separated.
8. Once cooked, let the onion- tomato mix cool down before blending. If you are using a blender that can blend warm ingredients, then skip this step.
9. Strain and rinse the cashews well. Put these cashews along with cooked onion and tomato mix in your blender. You could use your hand immersion blender too for ease. Blend this to a smooth and creamy consistency.
10. In that same pan add the chopped mushrooms and this blended paste. Cook on medium for 10-15 minutes. You might need to add little bit water to keep it from scorching, however the mushrooms will lose its water. Keep cooking until the mushrooms are cooked fully. This might take 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your chopped mushrooms.
11. Meanwhile, boil the peas till softened and rinse them with ice cold water, so that it maintains its color. Add these peas after the mushrooms are cooked.
12. Put in 2 cups of water and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Add more water if you need thinner consistency. Adjust for seasoning.
13. Lastly add the garam masala and give it a nice stir. Take off the heat. Crush the dried fenugreek in between your palm and add this to the dish before serving.
14. Enjoy over rice, with naan bread or any flat bread.