Friday, August 18, 2006

Roasted Mushrooms

I have a taste for rare and unusual vegetables/fruits/flowers cooked in even more unusual ways.. For instance.. Mushrooms, soya flakes, Bamboo shoots, Plantain flowers and shoot, Pumpkin flower bhajiya, barbecued bananas. Well...thats a partial list.

My cooking style is contemporary and experimental, not taking more than ten minutes to cook. I am hoping to graduate to more complex ways of cooking courtesy Varsha.

Mushroom Musings

People have varied ideas and attitudes towards this marvelous fungus. Few people have a misconception that it is non-veg, few others feel its not safe to have it. Thanks to companies like Mafco and Weikfield, we now have the privilege of having fresh button mushrooms in most part of Mumbai.

I have eaten different recipes of mushrooms, most of them doused with pungent spices that dominate and totally veil the authentic mild taste of Mushroom. I was once watching Sanjeev Kapoor when he was showing the way to saute mushroom while making a pasta salad. Inspired by that i decided to take a try and discovered the best way to enjoy mushroom with its taste absolutely preserved. The method i am going to discuss will give you ample flexibility to enjoy the mushrooms.

Finally... the recipe

Main Ingredients: 200 Grams fresh button mushrooms and salt to taste.

Optional Garnishing:
Cheese, butter, Chilli Garlic Sauce, oregano, black pepper powder.


Method:
Chop the mushrooms longitudinally at the most about 4 pieces a mushroom. Please note that the mushroom pieces will shrink upto 50% of their size once roasted.
Heat a shallowpan ..absolutely dry! you got me right! Absolutely dry... no ghee .. no oil ...no butter. For best results use a non-stick pan.
Toss the mushrooms occassionally to ensure that the pieces are evenly heated. You will soon see mild fumes coming out of the pieces.

Here comes the magic moment.. Just when you wonder if you need any oil or liquid medium... Ad salt pinch by pinch over all the pieces of the mushrooms over the pan.. Guess what!! the Mushrooms release water immediately and the aroma that comes will make you wonder whether its just mushrooms thats on the pan!! Thats the true aroma of mushroom which you wouldnt otherwise get if you add too many spices. Mix the mushroom evenly on reduced flame and let the excess water evaporate.

The mushrooms have just been graduated to basic roasted mushrooms. Beyond graduation, you may choose to add specialization to it as per any of the ideas below.. or any inventive ideas of your own!

a) Chilli Garlic Sauce... Well if you are ready to compromise the taste of mushroom, a little bit, then you can add chilli garlic sauce to the mushrooms.

b) Cheese and pepper... just when the mushrooms with the salt are on low flame, spread it evenly on the pan. Grate a cube of cheese using the finest grater you would have in your kitchen, straight over the mushrooms and switch off the flame. When the cheese melts and settles on the surface of the mushrooms, sprinkle pepper or oregano seasonings (i usually poach it from pizza hut or dominos)

c) Use it as a filling: The mushrooms prepared like this can be used as basic ingredient for sandwiches, toasts (i like the open varieties), Pizzas, rolls, Salads..etc..etc.

Ahh that was my first attempt at writing a recipe which i have actually tried :-)

So never do the mistake of boiling or frying mushrooms anytime!! enjoy 'em roasted!

17 comments:

Varsha said...

Good Nagesh...now I know the gastric approach to your heart as well

Anonymous said...

Very interesting and informative recipe.

Anonymous said...

Well..I enjoyed a lot to read the recipe :).
I seriously think you guys should post pictures, they attract people. Initially when I started the blog, I never used to post pics and no one used to see the blog :(. After few months I realised the importance of pictures. I have seen some foodblogs which are very famous bcos of their pictures.

Varsha said...

ya shilpa will do that..i don't have a cam or foto skills ..but now that Nagesh is a co member we can work on that.....

Dadoji said...

Leave the cake, get the mushroom dish instead. ;-)

Junius said...

i am not gonna come to this blog again!
i am staying away from home, eating strange foodstuff here,
and these recepies are driving me hungry :-(

FH said...

Photos please!! Thank you!! :)))

Nagesh Pai said...

@Varsha and tasty.. thanks for the compliment

@Dadoji.. tell me when you are coming

@endevorme.. hey this one is simple to make!!! you will love it

@Smriti.. it tastes good.

@Shilpa and foodie's hopes.. tried a bit of fotos.. will edit those and make it look encouraging and post em :D

Nagesh Pai said...

@Varsha.. you will know the gastric approach more and more when you serve me with your yummy preparations!!

Unknown said...

Hi Nagesh and Varsha- interesting blog here...and I find the the third food blog from bombay, one being Anthony (anthonys kitchen), second being urs truly.

Loved your mushroom recipe - and let me tell you your posts look complete enough even without pictures!

Cheers
N

FH said...

Happy Diwali!

HAREKRISHNAJI said...

Varanbhat ani barobar metkut, limbache lonache, tupachi dhar nahi kaa ?

Mellowdrama said...

I LOVE mushrooms glad to meet a fellow mushroom lover. yup have tried all sorts of recipies, including a similar one to yours! White sauce and mushrooms cut big also makes for a brilliant filling and breadspread:)

Unknown said...

Hey
Ways with Mushroom. Liked your cool attitude towards Mushrooms which has lots of myths about it. I do enjoy making this pasta mushroom bake which is sure fire hit in the parties.
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/18167-post57.html

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Anonymous said...

this recipe is really different..i like roasted ones better ..u get the real taste of mushrooms which r one of my fav..m going to try this recipe right away

Anonymous said...

I have always had a frown for the too much masala that kills the flavor of the mushrooms ... loved your recipe! :)