There are some people I know, who don’t like peas. Call them characterless. Whyyy guys, whyyyy???
I find peas amazing in every form! My sister and I used to eat them raw, fresh from the pods when we were kids. There is a common Bihari snack which is roasted flattened rice with pan fried masala peas (ghugni) on the side. It is key to one of my favourite breakfasts – poha. Peas also add this lovely sweetness and texture to many Indian main courses – with paneer, potatoes, minced meat and so on. This recipe is all about peas and mushrooms!
This is a fairly common recipe from North India, but something I made recently because it suddenly occurred to me that this is all I had in the fridge! Until now, the mushrooms in the fridge invariably got used up by the husband while he is making omelettes (which are yumm by the way!). Last month I gave myself a challenge of not eating out. For someone like me, that is one of the TOUGHEST things I could ever do! This meant I was making dinner everyday and also lunch to take to office (usually dinner leftovers). One day just so happened, that I had friends over for dinner and there were no leftovers. Usually a great thing, but in this particular scenario, I woke up in a panic the next day. I knew I didn’t have a lot in the fridge and was all set to make just a simple pea tawa fry, when I realized there were mushrooms too 🙂 And just like that, I had a super easy, quick meal that I could make for lunch 🙂
Matar Mushroom
Ingredients
200g frozen or fresh peas (I use frozen)
150g mushrooms – chopped
1 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp cumin (jeera) seeds
1 green chilli – chopped
1 onion – finely chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric (haldi) powder
2 tomatoes – finely diced
1 tsp coriander (dhania) powder
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste
Directions
- Heat oil in a flat pan (tawa) on medium heat. Add cumin seeds and let them crackle.
- Once they crackle, add the green chilli and cook for 30s. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Let the onions caramelize to a nice golden colour.
- Add ginger garlic paste and cook for a minute till the raw smell goes away
- Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt and cook for about 3-5 minutes till the tomatoes get mushy and oil separates from the mixture.
- Add the peas, mushrooms, turmeric powder, coriander powder and mix for a minute.
- Add water, mix well. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 7-10 minutes till the vegetables are cooked through.
- Check for salt and add the garam masala.
- If there is water in the pan, increase the heat and let it evaporate. This is meant to be a jammy consistency, without any gravy.
- Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and you are ready 🙂
Nice recipe
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