Kadai Indian Mushrooms

I bought a box of mushrooms to have in an omelette one day, and after eating 2 mushrooms in the omelette, I needed something to do with all the rest of the mushrooms! An online search produced this yummy recipe. I’ve simplified it here. All it needs is some rice or naan and a green salad and you’ve got a delicious dinner. To get more protein add a grilled chicken breast, if you eat meat, or a bowl of steamed lentils if you don’t.

1 sweet onion, chopped
2 T oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 t ginger juice (the original recipe called for 1t of ginger garlic paste?)
1 15-oz can of Trader Joe’s fire roasted tomatoes with chilies, pureed in a blender
chili powder (I used tomatoes that had chilies in them so I skipped this)
1 1/2 T coriander
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 green pepper, julienned
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t cardamom
pinch of cloves (a little less than 1/8 t)
a few grates of fresh nutmeg
(The recipe called for 1 t garam masala but I didn’t have it so I substituted the 4 warm spices above)
salt, to taste

Saute the onion in oil over medium heat about 10 minutes, until transluscent but not browned. Add garlic, ginger, coriander and tomato puree, along with the warm spices – cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg.

The recipe said to cook it until the oil leaves the sides of the masala – but I don’t know what that means, so …

Add mushrooms and green pepper, along with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water. You want just enough water to keep it from being thick and pasty, but not enough to make it soupy.

Simmer til the veggies are cooked, 20-30 minutes. Salt to taste.

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