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Winter is here, and the markets are swamped with nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables as well as green veggies. It's a fantastic time to enjoy dishes cooked with peas and mushrooms because they are both in plentiful supply in Indian marketplaces. Mushrooms add umami flavours to all types of food, from appetisers to main courses. However, mushrooms aren't frequently the main component of Indian curries. . The star ingredient in Khumb Matar Malai made with cashews and malai (creamy) gravy is button mushrooms. Mushroom is also known as khumb. The dish's warmth is provided by the freshly ground and blended spice powder, which is similar to garam masala. One of the many reasons vegetarian Indian food is so delicious is the combination of green peas and mushrooms in this malai curry served with parathas. If you want to make this recipe vegan, replace the whole milk in the recipe with almond milk and ordinary yoghurt with non-dairy yoghurt.
Ingredients:
300gms white baby mushrooms cleaned
80gms cashew nuts (soaked in warm water for 20 minutes)
2 tbsp greek yoghurt or vegan yoghurt
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 green chilli slit lengthwise
100gms white onion roughly chopped
1” ginger roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves roughly chopped
½ tsp mild chilli powder
250ml whole milk or almond milk
Pinch of sugar
Salt to taste
100g frozen green peas
1 tbsp chopped coriander for garnish
For Spice Powders
4 cloves
1” cinnamon stick
5 green cardamom seeds only
Method:
Ingredients for the spice powder should be added to a spice grinder and ground into a fine powder. Keep them Aside. Blend the cashew nuts, Greek yoghurt, and 50 ml of the soaking liquid in a blender. Blend to a fine, smooth paste, then set aside. Add the onion to the same blender, pulse until a fine paste forms, and set aside. The ginger and garlic are then combined with a small amount of water to make a paste.
In a heavy-bottomed nonstick sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the green chilli and cook for a few seconds. Then, add the onion paste and stir thoroughly to prevent sputtering. Make sure the paste doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and fry it for 7-8 minutes, until it turns light brown.
Reduce the heat now, add the ginger- and garlic-paste mixture, cook for 20 seconds, then stir in the spice powder and the mild red-pepper flakes. Add the cashew nut yoghurt paste after thoroughly stirring. Stir everything together and cook this curry foundation for 2 minutes.
Until the gravy is thick and creamy, add a small amount of milk at a time and continue to whisk. Including sugar and salt to taste, add the mushrooms. Simmer for 5 minutes on low-heat. Making sure it doesn't stick to the bottom, stir halfway through cooking. Add a little water if the gravy is too thick. For a further 3–4 minutes, add the green peas and boil the mixture. Add the coriander leaves after removing the pan from the heat. With paratha or pulao, serve warm.
