Mushrooms are an excellent soft and chewy addition to any vegetarian or non-vegetarian dish and effortlessly make a dish rich and indulgent. When talking of non-vegetarian dishes, Chicken Mushroom Masala gives one ample room to enjoy the compatibility of soft boneless chicken with mushrooms. The mildly but well-marinated chicken pieces are nicely doused in the flavours of all the spices and cooked with mushrooms resulting in a nice fusion of juices. A perky dry chicken recipe at its best, it has the crunch of capsicum and tanginess of lemon included in it too.
First things first time. Are mushrooms vegetarian? Yes, mushrooms are vegetarian food derived from the spore-bearing fruiting body of fungi and are cultivated on a large scale both above grounds. This fleshy edible has a great taste with amazing nutritional benefits. It’s known to be rich in vitamins, minerals and also potassium which reduces the negative impact of excess sodium on the body. These also help in stimulating macrophages in the body which help in enhancing immunity during severe illnesses.
Here’s the recipe for Chicken Mushroom Masala.
Preparation time: 1 hr 30 mins
Cooking time: 30 minutes
For marinating the chicken:
• 450 gms boneless chicken (cut into cubes)
• Salt, to taste
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp ginger (minced)
For making chicken mushroom masala:
• 2 tbsps oil
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 1 tsp ginger (minced)
• 1 tsp garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 green chilli (slit)
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1½ tsp red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• Water, as required
• 300 gms mushroom (chopped)
• ¼ tsp black pepper powder
• 1 capsicum (sliced)
• Salt, to taste
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• Coriander leaves (chopped)
Method:
• Marinate chicken with salt, black pepper, and garlic, and leave it for 30 mins for an hour.
• Heat oil in a pan, add chopped onions to it and saute for 2 mins at medium heat.
• Add ginger and garlic to the onions and saute for a minute.
• Add green chillies to it and stir for a minute and saute for a minute.
• Then, add the powdered spices and mix everything and saute for a couple of minutes on high flame.
• Splash a little water in the pan if the curry starts sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• At this stage, add the marinated chicken to the pan and saute it a little with the spices to blend well.
• Cover the pan and cook the chicken on low heat until it’s almost cooked.
• Keep checking in between to see if the chicken hasn't stuck to the bottom.
• Add mushrooms to it and turn the heat high, so that the mushroom gets seared and releases water.
• Cover and let it cook until the oil separates from the spices.
• Then, add capsicum to it and turn the heat high.
• Add black pepper powder to it and coat everything nicely with capsicum.
• Sprinkle salt as per taste and mix everything nicely. Turn off the flame.
• Squeeze half lemon into it and toss everything nicely.
• Serve hot.