Monday 24 May 2010

Oyster mushroom kuzhambu / Gravy with oyster mushrooms


Hi friends, hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Our weekend was fine. We went on a trip to a city called Hamm. There is a big Kamakshi Amman temple. Will be posting some pictures of the journey soon. Here in Germany, today is a holiday too. We enjoyed this long weekend and I really feel lazy to get up earlier tomorrow :(.

How many of you like mushrooms? I guess not many. I am also not a fan of button mushrooms but these oyster mushrooms are a lovely, tasty and healthy treat. The oyster mushrooms which grow naturally on bark of banana-plant during rainy season have no equivalents. Since I come from a village surrounded by banana plantation we used to get them during rainy season. They taste like mutton, even more tastier.  Village children  used to eat them raw. Here in Germany we get artificially cultivated oyster mushrooms. Although they are not as tasty as the natural ones they taste good. Fry it or make a gravy out of it like this, they make an excellent accompaniment for rice and cahppathis. Back in India, every sunday we used to enjoy this mushroom fry and kuzhambu. If you haven't tried oyster mushrooms its time to try. 

The scientific name of oyster mushroom is  Pleurotus Ostreatus. They have very low fat content. They are also rich in cholesterol fighting statin called mevinolin. Oyster mushrooms have high protein and B complex vitamin content. Hence they make an excellent meat substitute for vegetarians. They have proven anti-tumour, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-bacterial property.





Ingredients :

Oyster mushrooms- 250 grams
Tomato- 2 nos
Onion- 1 no or 10 shallots
Coconut milk- one cup or 2 tbspns of coconut powder
Ginger- a small piece, crushed
Garlic- 2 pods, crushed
Green chillies- 4 nos
Coriander powder- 2 tspns
Chilli powder- 2 tspns (adjust according to your taste)
Garam masala- 1 tspn (optional)
Turmeric- a pinch
Curry leaves- fistful
Cloves- 4 nos
Cinnamon- a half-inch piece

Method :
Tear mushrooms with your hand into big pieces (they shrunk when cooked, they have high water content). Wash them and keep aside. Cut onions and tomatoes into small pieces. Mince green chillies. Crush ginger and garlic. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil gets heated add cloves and cinnamon. When they emit a nice aroma add onions, green chillies, crushed ginger and garlic, turmeric and curry leaves. When the onions turn translucent add  tomato pieces and salt to taste. Fry the mixture until the tomatoes become soft. Now add coriander and chilli powder and saute well until the raw smell goes away. Add oyster mushrooms  at this stage and saute well for a few minutes. When they ooze out water and shrink add a cup of coconut milk. Add some water if necessary. Bring the mixture to boil and simmer it until the oil seperates on the top. Tasty kuzhambu will be ready to be served.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Use fresh coconut milk if possible. Use oyster mushrooms for a better taste. The stem potion of the oyster mushroom is the most tastiest. Please do not throw away the stem. Button mushrooms can also be used. Fry the mushrooms well before you add coconut milk. Add any garam masala at the end of preparation for more flavour. Happy cooking !!!

42 comments:

  1. Almost looks like Meat dish, love the taste Mushrooms.

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  2. oyster mushroom curry looks so delicious, never made curry with mushrooms...would love to try this one...

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  3. Hi Manju, Oyster Mushroom kuzhambu looks superb...I have not tried this kind of mushroom. where did you buy it?

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  4. Love the spicy color in that and oyster mushroom gravy is very tempting...

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  5. Never tried oyster, but tried some in restaurant. Looks soo yummy and drooling here.

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  6. They really look like mutton curry, looks yummy. I din't know people eat mushrooms raw.
    Thank you for your invitation Manju, will definitely try to come some time:-)

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  7. Looks delicious :) I love oyster mushrooms too :)

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  8. Manju,

    Mushroom Kuzhambu, super. Looks really nice.

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  9. Nice Curry dear! Adding coconut milk in curry give nice flavour! Very delicious.Never tried before...thanks for posting.

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  10. wow colourful and delicious rice,Nice presentation too..

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  11. Am yet to try oyster mushrooms, but the gravy looks too good & seems very delicious..

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  12. Looks at the gravy...looks so damn gud....wonderful recipe

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  13. Slurppp!!!!kuzhambu looks awesome and very catchy, love oyster mushrooms much..

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  14. Manju, oyster mushroom is my faaav dear cook often but as u said artificial mushrooms wont taste like natural one. But, somehow managing something is better than nothing dear. Kuruma looks colourful n spicy.

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  15. Mushroom kuzhambu really delicious. Pictures are making one really hungry...

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  16. the pictures are highly mouth watering! :)

    nice blog..

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  17. Wonderful pictures!! Never tried oyster mushroom yet. You are right about the button mushrooms.They dont taste anywhere near the mushrooms that grow naturally. One of my friends prepare a similar curry with button mushrooms and potato. I just took the recipe from her yday :)

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  18. I love mushrooms and thanks to this post coz we will be having a family reunion this next week. I would try to cook this one. Thanks to you.

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  19. I too posted a mushroom gravy recently...I have not yet tried oyster mushrooms, sounds good. I like this kuzumbu...looks really good :)

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  20. first time here..nice blog...the dish looks so yummy and mouth watering...never tried anything with oyster at home.

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  21. Matangi, Gabriel and Sharada most welcome !!!

    Thank you friends for your wonderful comments :)

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  22. Wonderful pictures!! Never tried oyster mushroom yet. You are right about the button mushrooms.They don`t taste anywhere near the mushrooms that grow naturally. One of my friends prepare a similar curry with button mushrooms and potato. I just took the recipe from her day.

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  23. I very much like mushrooms and the pictures are awesome,nice blog,the dish looks so yummy and mouth watering.thanx for the pictures.

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  24. I love mushrooms and thanks to this post coz we will be having a family reunion this next week. I would try to cook this one. Thanks to your recipe.

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  25. Its colourful and delicious rice,Nice presentation too.keep it up.

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  26. Well,I've not tried this kind of mushroom. where did you buy it? waiting for your reply.

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  27. Well, This gravy can be made with any combination of muchrooms, For an exotic flair, use shiitake or oyster mushrooms. In a pinch, canned mushrooms will work, but the flavor is much milder.

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  28. Wow! Just look at gravy its looking so delicious.

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  29. I have not yet tried oyster mushrooms, sounds good. I like this kuzumbu...looks really good, thanx. keep it up.

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  30. I just want to say that One of my friend prepare a similar curry with button mushrooms and potato. I just took the recipe from her day. anyway thanx for the wonderful post.

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  31. Wow, I'm really excited to learn this new recipes I hope i have time to try this one.Thank you for sharing your dish, I'm looking forward to read more about your blog.

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  32. Great thought of Adding coconut milk in curry give nice flavour! Very delicious.Never tried before...thanks for sharing.

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  33. The picture shows how delicious the dish is. I hope I can try this one at home. Thanks for sharing.

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  34. I just took the recipe from her day. anyway thanx for the wonderful post, keep it up.

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  35. Help! I bought some oyster mushrooms and now am not sure how to cook them!!! Am vegetarian. Are there any recipes i can use them in? Any Indian food i can try it with?

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  36. Well, I don't taste anywhere near the mushrooms that grow naturally. One of my friends prepare a similar curry with button mushrooms and potato, its really delicious, thanx for posting.

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  37. I just thanx to you for this recipe and will definitely try to come some time, keep it up.

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  38. This was excellent, of course. My family could not believe that this was just plain grilled mushrooms! Tres Bien!

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  39. Absolutely delicious! My family and friends loved them! Easy to make too.

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  40. Love your blog, thanx for the share.

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  41. Oyster mushroom curry looks so delicious, never made curry with mushrooms. Would love to try this one.

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  42. Tried both oyster mushroom recipes in your blog. They came out tasty. I stopped eating non-veg food (by principle, though I love the taste) and this mushroom really seems a good substitute. Thanks a lot! And you are right about not throwing away the stems. Good tip. :)

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