Mushroom Bell Pepper Curry

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In addition to the various health benefits that I mentioned here mushrooms are also said to have tons of phytochemicals, natural compounds that prevent cancer. All varieties of mushrooms are said to be healthy and are high in anti oxidants but most especially crimini and portobello varieties. Eating mushrooms is said to be associated with a strong immune system too. If these reasons are not enough to include mushrooms in our diet, mushrooms are also extremely versatile not to mention tasty and can be used in a number of dishes from various cuisines around the world.

This curry is inspired from a recipe I saw in one of Sangeeta Khanna's books that I recently purchased.I made some changes to the recipe based on taste and availability of ingredients and loved the final result. This curry is flavored with Indian spices and makes a great side dish for an Indian meal.

Before moving on to the recipe, completely off topic, a question for you all....do you enjoy puzzles. If yes then here is a brain teaser that I came across recently....what is black when you buy it, red when you use it and grey when you discard it? Can you guess what this could be, let me know what you think .....and I will publish the answer in my next post :-)

Update : This is the post that contains the answer to this puzzle :) 

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make mushroom green bell pepper stir fry / curry

3 1/2 cups of sliced button mushrooms

1 large green bell pepper (capsicum) cut into 1/2 inch pieces (yielded about 1 1/2 cups of cut green bell pepper)

1 very large onion or 2 small onions cut fine

2 medium tomatoes ( I used Roma tomatoes) (yielded about 1 1/2 cups of cut tomatoes)

4 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 inch ginger finely grated

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

salt to taste

1 tsp dry fenugreek leaves ( kasuri methi ) (available in most Indian groceries)

To be dry roasted and powdered finely

1 tbsp coriander seeds (dhania)

2 dry red chillies (or to taste)

a pinch of fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)

Dry roast the ingredients mentioned under "to be powdered" in a heavy bottomed pan on medium to medium high heat until the aroma from the spices gets released.

Alternatively spread the spices on a microwave safe dish or plate and place in microwave and heat on high for about a minute or so (will depend on the power of your microwave)

Cool spices thoroughly and powder in a spice grinder to a fine powder and keep aside

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add onions to it.

Saute the onion until it turns transparent, then add minced garlic and grated ginger and stir for a minute or so.

Add tomatoes, turmeric powder and saute until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

Add green bell pepper and mushrooms, salt to taste, fenugreek leaves and stir the vegetables regularly for a few minutes until they are cooked 

(it took me about 7 to 8 minutes but that again will depend on the heat and the pan in which the vegetables are being cooked)

Add the powdered spices and stir for another minute or two.

Serve hot with roti (Indian flat bread) or as a side dish with rice and dhal

Serves approximately 2 to 3

Update :
This curry works great either as a stir fry or as a curry with gravy. The one above is for the stir fry, for the gravy curry, after adding the mushrooms and bell peppers, lower heat and cover with a lid and allow the veggies to cook until soft. Add powdered spices and simmer for another couple of minutes. Serve hot with Indian flat bread or with rice. The gravy is not very thick for this curry,it is a little light but tastes delicious