This spicy, tangy mushroom masala curry is for all you mushroom lovers! It's also got a tomato-based gravy, peas and enough chutzpah to save you from mundane lunches and dinners!
Over the years, I've learnt the art of making delicious food that tastes like way more effort went into making it. It's truly one of my skills that I'm proud of! Try my Homemade Chicken Biryani or Vanilla Panna Cotta recipes, and you'll know what I mean!
This quick and easy mushroom curry is no different! It's got mushrooms and peas in a spicy gravy-based masala. It takes half an hour to make and tastes SO GOOD with soft rotis and rice, both! And here's the best part - it all comes together in a single pot, so way lesser cleaning!
Quick Walk Through: Mushroom Masala
Fast and Easy Way To Clean Mushrooms
I learnt this pretty late in my life - one should NEVER simply wipe the dirt off of mushrooms. There are two easy ways to clean mushrooms.
- Bathe Them In A Bowl: Fill a large bowl with cold water and dunk the mushrooms whole into it. Gently massage the dirt and debris off of each mushroom before using.
- Give Them A Shower: Here's an even faster way to clean mushrooms. Just put them in a colander or strainer and rinse them under water for a minute or two. Use your fingers to gently remove the dirt from the mushrooms.
In this recipe, I've used button mushrooms - easily procurable and so yum! However, these cleansing tips work for any variety of mushrooms.
Secret To Restaurant-Style Flavors
It's all in the masala! This restaurant style mushroom masala uses only a few pantry staple veggies like onions and tomatoes. Apart from the mushrooms themselves, the flavours are all in the spice powders. These masalas play such a huge role in simple dishes like this matar mushroom. Though I've used the quintessential garam masala (which is already a mix of spices), I've added cumin powder and coriander powder to amp up the flavours more. Turmeric powder gives a beautiful yellowish tinge to the dish.
Tip: Don't skip adding garam masala! If you don't have any, you can either make it at home (here's my recipe for homemade garam masala), or go out and buy some - it's available in any Indian supermarket! Garam masala is quite like the ALL-IN-ONE of spice powders. It has sweetness from cinnamon, a spicy hit from peppercorns, earthiness from cumin seeds, freshness from coriander seeds, and fragrance from cardamom.
Frequently Asked Questions
Even though in a lot of South Indian recipes tempering is the final step, for this one add the tadka right at the beginning in order to incorporate more flavour into the gravy.
Absolutely! You can easily customise this dish to include more vegetables. Some veggies that pair well with mushrooms and green peas would be capsicum, cauliflower, and carrots.
Top Tips To Make The Best Mushroom Masala
So many elements of this dish depend on the right timing. Get that right, and you'll nail this dish. But don't stress too much, it's pretty simple!
- Make sure that in the beginning the oil isn’t very hot when you start adding mustard and cumin seeds. They should splutter but not burn.
- If the tomatoes stick to the bottom of the pan, add a little water to deglaze the pan and get it going
- Ensure that there is no raw aroma of the spice powders. Fry it for 3-4 minutes while stirring continuously to ensure that everything cooks through
- Mushrooms cook really fast - in a couple of minutes. Wait till they sweat and become soggy, and that's your cue to add the remaining water to the mushroom gravy.
My final touches to this dish are roasted and hand-crushed kasuri methi leaves and fresh coriander leaves sprinkled on the gravy. Serve this restaurant style mushroom masala anyday and spruce up your lunches and dinners!
Watch the Mushroom Masala Video
Restaurant Style Mushroom Masala
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil or coconut oil
- 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 Sprigs Curry Leaves
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- ½ Cup chopped Onion
- 2 Green Chillies slit lengthwise
- 1 Cup chopped Tomato
- ½ Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Chilli Powder
- 2½ Cups Mushroom quartered or halved
- 1 ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 Teaspoon Kasuri Methi roasted
- 2 Tablespoons Coriander Leaves chopped
- ¾ Cup Water
- ½ cup Green Peas frozen or fresh
Instructions
- Add oil to a heavy bottomed pot or kadai. Allow it to heat up on a medium high flame. Once hot add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and sauté for 10-15 seconds till they start spluttering. Add curry leaves and fry lightly for a few seconds.
- Now add onions and ginger garlic paste. Sauté till the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, cumin powder, salt and chilli powder and fry the masala for a minute or two on medium high heat. Keep adding ¼-1/2 cup water as you fry the masala.
- Add green chillies and cover and cook for 5-7 minutes.
- While the gravy is cooking, boil green peas in water for 2-3 minutes and set aside
- Add mushroom and cook for 1-2 minutes or until mushrooms are firm and tender. Add the remaining water and green peas.
- Add garam masala and salt and stir to combine. Once done, sprinkle roasted kasuri methi and coriander leaves. Serve hot!
Video
Notes
- Leftovers will keep for 1 to 2 days if stored properly in the fridge in air-tight containers. Warm up over medium heat, or microwave f0r 2-3 minutes.
- Tomatoes: Roma tomatoes work best for paneer butter masala because they are not as sour as the local varieties. Substitute fresh tomatoes with half of a 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes.
- You can add ground meat like chicken, lamb or beef in this recipe. Cook it along with the tomatoes.
- Garam Masala: I use homemade garam masala, but you can substitute it with any store bought garam masala. Please note that garam masala is different from curry powder
Beatrix says
Hi Richa!! This was soooooooo freaking good!! I did unfortunately realize after I added the mustard seeds and cumin seeds that I was out of curry leaves, so that didn't make it, and also just realized I totally forgot to add the kasuri methi! BUT even omitting those two ingredients, it was absolutely amazing! Will definitely make again!
Anitha Krishnakumar says
Nice n yum
theflowerspoint says
Very nice Women day cake recipe
Sheetal says
Hi Richa😍 absolutely tasty mushroom matar curry from your blog. Family loved it, after trying South Indian mushroom sabzi I was looking to try another variation.
Thank you so much once again for a amazing recipe. 👏
Regards Sheetal
Lisa says
This is delicious! But I have a question about the curry leaves since I’ve never cooked with them before. Do I leave them in or take them out prior to serving (not sure if they’re like bay leaves, which are removed before serving)?
Richa says
You can leave them in and they are completely edible. They'll become quite soft after cooking
sameera Majeed says
What should I do with the mushroom stems? Can it be used as we?
Richa says
For sure! You can just throw me in along with the mushrooms
Nisha says
Really enjoyed this easy to prep meal. So many fantastic flavors. Def will be making his again.
Richa says
Thanks Nisha
Prasad Narasimhan says
Simple and superb! The dish turned out to be delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Richa says
Thanks Prasad. Really glad you liked it
Chris Pullen says
Last night, I prepared this at home, and it was really amazing.
Richa says
So glad you enjoyed this Chris!
Ger says
Richa
Made this for lunch today, really lovely and very fast
Richa says
Thanks Ger!
lynn ann collins says
hi richa can i substitute canned tomatoes if no fresh are on hand? thx!
Richa says
Sure thing!
Ian says
Just made the mushroom masala and its outstanding thanks
Richa says
Thanks! So happy you liked it Ian
Ann says
Love mushrooms - definitely making this tomorrow. what is it you pour over at the end - yoghurt, cream, coconut milk? - there is no mention in the recipe.
Richa says
Sorry its not mentioned - thats just a dash of cream
Ramya says
will be making this soon can i skip green peas as am not a big fan of it i love mushrooms sooooooooooooooo much am indian too but am in Singapore perfect for my naan will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Richa says
Sure you can skip the green peas if you like