Recipe of the month: Spicy Mushroom Capsicum Fry

It is Mother's Day today. The second Sunday of May each year is dedicated to celebrating these selfless souls. On this particular day, moms are acknowledged for their presence in our lives and pampered. Hardly enough is it? It seems more fitting that they deserve a lifetime of appreciation. Oh well....I don't make the rules. Wishing all the mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day. From one mother to another, know that you are important, special and irreplaceable 💖

This is going to be a short (and spicy) post. Since it is Mother's Day, I am going to share a recipe that I got from my dear mom more than a decade ago. Rewind back to the time when I was a new bride, frazzled at the thought of managing a household by herself. Before embarking on my new journey as a married woman, I got myself a notebook in which I hurriedly jotted down a handful of simple recipes (including that of dal 😝 ). Among those recipes was this one for Spicy Mushroom Capsicum Fry that I nicked from my mom's handwritten recipe book. 

This recipe just needs a handful of ingredients, looks good, tastes good and can be made within 30 mins. Sounds like a winner right? Believe me it is. It has quite a few spice powders in there so it does pack in a punch. Go easy on the chilli powder if you want to tone it down okay? I used to make this dish very often before but over the years it has appeared considerably lesser on my dinner table mainly because of the husband who prefers gravies to dry side dishes. I think this would be a perfect side dish to serve alongside a simple dal/mild curry and cooling raita with any Indian flatbread or rice dish. That way you get a nicely balanced meal. 

If you are old enough to cook for your mom, you know what you need to do. Give here the day off and put a smile on that kind face that has worked a lifetime to make sure you always have one on yours 😊

Spicy Mushroom Capsicum Fry

Preparation time: 10 min; Cooking time:10-15 min

Total time: Less than 30 min

Serves: 2-3

Recipe category: Side dish/ North Indian

Recipe level: Easy

Recipe source: Unknown

Ingredients:

200gm button mushrooms (white or brown), kept whole if small or halved/quartered if large

1 large or 2 medium-sized red onions, diced

2 medium-sized (~1.5 cups) capsicum/bell peppers, diced

3 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp coriander (dhania) powder

1 tsp cumin (jeera) powder

1/2 tsp dry mango (amchur) powder

1/2 - 1 tsp red chili powder, add according to spice level

1/4 tsp turmeric (haldi) powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp sugar

1 tbsp unsalted butter

Method:

1. Chop all the vegetables as shown

2. In a pot, boil water to which a little salt and turmeric powder has been added. Add in the mushrooms and cook till half done. Drain the water and keep the mushrooms aside.

3. In a skillet, heat the butter and saute the onions until light golden. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry until the raw smell disappears.

4. Add in the capsicum/bell peppers and fry for 2-3 mins. Add in the mushrooms and fry for an additional 2 minutes.

5. Now add in the masala powders, salt and sugar. Sauté on low flame for a few minutes.

6. Serve this spicy mushroom capsicum fry as a side dish with phulkas, roti, naan or rice. 

Notes:

• You could use vegetable oil instead of butter but I would recommend sticking to butter as it gives the dish that required richness
• You can use any color of capsicum/bell pepper that is available on hand. I used three colors to make the dish look more appealing
• You can garnish this dish with chopped fresh coriander and julienned ginger if desired

Cheers,

Megha