A SRILANKAN GETAWAY & MUSHROOM MAKHANI WITH BABY CARROTS!!

Don’t get me wrong...it’s a getaway not a give-awayJ .....Just got back after a lovely holiday and I still haven’t recovered from my holiday mood....hehe....the pic above is our recipe for the day but before that I have quite a bit to babble J so please bear with me!!

But the coolest thing was when I got back after 8 days of absolute isolation from internet and log into my blog. Guess what awaited me here....soooo many lovable comments, a #1 spot in the foodbuzz top nine for my last post and a stylish blogger award from a foodie friend: Toni at Boulder Locavore. Yuppiieeee!!!!! Can’t tell you how happy that made me =) Thanks to all of you wonderful people and foodbuzz for making me happier after a happy holiday J... Touch wood!! I know,I sound all charged up....it’s coz of an absolutely wonderful trip...thanks to Aj n my baby for thatJ.

I thought I’ll share a few clicks that we took during our little adventure before getting into today’s recipe which, I promise, is equally awesomeJ. After all, there’s no room for compromise when it comes food in a food blog right?

Those are 2 of our sunrises in the country that I woke up in time for and therefore, was able to enjoy with a cup of fresh tea and cool breeze...

Elephants - after humans, I guess they have the highest population in the countryJ. (Absolutely no offence meant, if any is felt in there)

That is a Monitor Lizard....they too were a common sight in couple of places we went.

Flowers, lush greenery and rain- it’s absolutely rejuvenating....even better than a spa...

That's called the Sigiri Rock and if you think "Ain't so big!" Take a look at the picture below which was shot after climbing right to the top(Aj did that, not me!).

The famous stupas and ruins of kingdoms from the past....

Just stretch out your arms to a gush of cool breeze, take a breath of heavenly fresh air, feel the cool tingle of drizzling rain on your face and wander away into breath taking creations of Mother Nature....Ah! I told you, the effect hasn’t worn out....hehehe...

So that’s about my little adventure...

Now we’ll come to our side of the world and talk about what we are here for....Food of course....By the way, srilanka has some awesome food too.....you have to get a taste of their seafood dishes, kottu roti and watalappan. I am planning on a Srilankan round up very soon....maybe next month....because I have had so much seafood in just a week that I ain’t gonna touch it for another monthJ.

Alright, I guess it’s high time I pull away from my already over holiday and get back to our dish for the day - “Mushroom Makhani with Baby Carrots”. In few words, it’s the vegetarian version of butter chicken....cooked almost the same way but with soft button mushrooms, crunchy baby carrots and green bell pepper. Naan or Parathas are the best accompaniments but you can also have plain basmati rice cooked with a few bay leaves and salt.

Btw, you could turn it vegan by using coconut cream and excluding the butter instead of fresh cream J it still tastes as yum!

The key step to achieving perfection in the dish is to use very finely chopped onions and sauté them till they cook without letting them turn brown. You let the onions over do, the dish will get bitter. Actually, grinding onions into a fine paste is the best way to do it but I like it chopped extra finely in my chopper of course!!

So here on, I leave you with vegetarian Butter chicken...errrr....mushrooms J

Ingredients: (serves - 5 to 6)

Button mushrooms halved - 3 cups

Baby carrots chopped - 1 cup

Capsicum/ Green bell pepper- 1 whole remove seeds and diced

Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tablespoon

Onion - 4 medium finely chopped or ground into fine paste

Tomato puree- 1 can 250 grams

Green chilli paste - 1 teaspoon

Cayenne pepper/ chilli powder - ½ tablespoon (increase for extra spicy)

Coriander powder- ¼ teaspoon

Kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves- 1 heaped teaspoon

Garam masala powder – 1 teaspoon

Cinnamon stick- 1 inch piece

Cloves- 3

Heavy cream - 1 cup

Oil for sautéing onions (Butter can be used for even more tasteJ)

Butter - 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Sugar- a pinch

Method:

1.  

1.      Clean and cut mushrooms into halves. Cook it with water and salt till it looks like the pieces shown below. This should take about 20 mins.

2.      Simultaneously, heat oil in a vessel, preferably non-stick one. Add cinnamon and cloves and sauté for a min.

3.      Next sauté onions. Ones it sweats out add ginger garlic paste and green chilli. After few mins add cayenne pepper and coriander powder. Then sauté till texture is as pictures.

4.      Now add tomato puree and cook for a couple of mins. Adjust the salt.

5.      Add carrots. Mix well and cook with lid on. Here, if you wish to keep the carrots crunchy don’t overcook. Just have the lid on for 5mins. Then add bell pepper.

6.      By this time mushrooms will be ready. Drain it and add to the mixture on medium heat.

7.      Once the mixture starts to heat, add kasoori methi(dried fenugreek leaves, pictured below). Lower heat to minimum and cook for 2 mins.

8.      Last add cream, mix well and off the flames. Now add the garam masala, butter and a pinch of sugar. Mix and put the lid back on for 5 mins.

9.      Serve hot with accompaniments of your choice.

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