Dhingri badaami / Mushrooms in Almond Gravy

I made this one especially for Meeta! Whatever little I know of her is through her blog and her writing. The power of the pen at its best is what I think when I read her posts - she comes across as someone bent upon extracting the best out of herself, and that is so motivating.

I hope this original recipe from me satisfies the palates of my readers as much as it salivated the family:) Unfortunately the best of things always seem to reduce in quantity by some mystic force. I used 1/2 a kilo of mushrooms expecting it to last till evening - and imagine my surprise when all I found was clean sparkling bowls by the sink when I returned from work!

The gravy is simple consisting of finely chopped onions, pureed tomatoes and of course the coarsely ground almond which lends it a royal touch and feel! I think the best part about cooking with mushrooms is that they hold their firmness, and yet soak up and blend well with any gravy - whether the Thai coconut milk, the Chinese stew or the Indian curry!

I must narrate the funny thing that happened the morning I made the mushrooms! My son hates curried gravy, and my daughter loves mushrooms in rich gravy, so that morning while preparing their lunchbox - I made phulkas and mushrooms for all of us, and phulkas and carrot salad for my son (follows soon). The lunchbox was assembled after they had already left for school and my husband was to drop the lunch bags in the counter later - by mistake he interchanged the bags, and my son was forced to eat the mushrooms and daughter the salad which she hates:) When they returned from school, my daughter ate up the whole bowl of dhingri badaami by itself, and called up to say it was the tastiest mushroom curry she had ever had - not knowing she got the wrong bag I told her I knew she would love it and that is why I had sent a lot to school. She then told me what had transpired, and wonder of wonders - my son had loved the mushrooms and licked his lunchbox clean:)

Believe me, if my son says it is good - it is worth a try and the dish will have you licking your spoon or your fingers - even if you are terribly sophisticated about the 'etiquette' thing:)

These are the ingredients:
Button Mushrooms - 2 packets
A handful of green peas - About 1/2 cup
Tomato puree - 1 cup (I used dabur as it was late) - Generally I juice 6 large tomatoes and cook till thickened.
Onions - 2 big ones chopped fine
Almond meal - 2 to 3 tbsps. (I blanch, peel, leave them in the fridge for a day before running them in short spurts to get a coarse meal)
Oil - I use sunflower oil - 2 tbsp.
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp. (I am not a huge fan of this in curries - you may add more)
Turmeric powder - a generous pinch
Red chilli powder - As per your taste
Salt - To taste
Ginger to garnish and eat - not set aside:)

Method:
1. Heat oil. Add chopped onions and saute till brown.

2. Add tomato puree and cook well till blended.

3. Add the powders, salt, peas and mushrooms and saute till well coated.

4. Add a little water and cook till the mushrooms exude juices and completely cook. Now add the almond meal a tablespoon at a time and mix till you get a rich feel.

5. Taste to check the spice level and adjust as per your requirement.

6. Garnish generously with thin ginger sticks, and see that you have them rather then set them aside - it does wonders to the stomach:)

If you make it in October don't forget FIC brown and send it to me:)

The dish goes to quite a few places
1. Meeta's Monthly Mingle guest hosted by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen Experiments. The theme ending today is 'Sensational Sides'. This one lifted our senses and got us drooling, so I guess it is just apt:)

2. Also goes to Food In Colours hosted by me, Sunshinemom. The colour for October is Brown and it is on till 31st. Awaiting more entries from my dear friends:)

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If you love mushrooms you might like to try this one from the archives of Tongue Ticklers......

Mushroom and Tofu Curry
- Mushrooms and chilli tofu in a tomato-onion sauce flavoured with ginger and garlic