‘Indian food touches your soul before it touches your taste buds’
My wonderful husband Mr B, recently booked a tasting menu at a restaurant in New York for our anniversary. When I got there we realized that the vegetarian menu had a lot of dairy in it, which I don’t eat and so they offered me the ‘off the menu’ vegan option. This ‘off the books’ menu was out of this world and Mr. B said better than his non-vegan menu. The layering of flavors was profoundly deep, it tasted smoky, rich and complex. Like a really good Burgundy wine.
As with every amazing dish we discover, I decided that I would make it at home the next day. Mr. B says that is the advantage of having a wife whose favorite room is the kitchen. I decided to put my own spin on this dish and create a culture clash by placing it in a Chinese steamed bun and serving it with pea shoots and pickled chili.
Try it with rice, roti, as a canape, on top of a chickpea pancake or in a bao bun.
Ingredients
- 5 cup mushrooms sliced
- ½ onion, cubed
- ½ cup tomatoes, cubed
- ½ inch ginger, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 10 cashew nuts
- 5 tbsp. oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cardamom pods
- 1 inch cinnamon
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. garam masala
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ cup coconut milk
Method
- Heat oil in a pan, add the cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf and let infuse
- Blend the tomato, ginger, garlic, onion and cashew to make the masala
- Add the masala to the pan and cook down, add the garam masala, salt and smoked paprika
- Add the mushrooms and mix in, cook for 5-7 minutes
- If the mixture gets to thick add half a cup of water
- Add coconut milk
- Serve hot
