Saturday, January 1, 2022

Mighty Mushroom Bites "Vada" Curry

This vegan lip-smacking curry is delicious to the last bit! Made with Big Mountain Foods MMM Mighty Mushroom Bites! This can be served with gluten-free vegan idli, dosa, paratha, or any flatbreads! This curry is a crowd pleaser and would be perfect to make for holiday meal as well as weeknight or weekend too!


Vada curry is a south Indian style curry that is served along with idli or dosa. Left over deep fried vegan lentil fritters are generally used, but you can make fresh fritters too. The deep fried lentil fritters are simmered in a tangy, spicy, delicious curry. Sounds fantastic, right?

This vada curry is made with Big Mountain Foods Mighty Mushroom Bites! Now, Big Mountain Foods is a company specializing in vegan foods and they have a wide range of wonderful plant based products that would be perfect for any meal! Wonderful options to make from their products! These Mighty Mushroom Bites are made with mushroom and lentils, and veggies! Very healthy! Mushrooms are good source of proteins and since these are also made with lentils, this curry is rich in proteins and flavors! Also,  I avoided the deep frying of traditional lentile fritters when I used the amazing mushroom bites! Just reheat them on a pan and they are ready to go into the curry! This makes meal fixing easy.


The spices used in the tempering give a rich flavor to the curry. Stone flower is a lichen aka kalpasi/dagad phool adds addictive aroma and flavor to curry. along with star anise, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, and fennel - this curry has a perfect balance with spices! I have used frozen coconut and if you can't find in your area, substitute with quarter cup coconut milk.

I tweaked our traditional vadacurry recipe a bit and made this version. Our family and friends loved it. In fact, my kids keep asking when I am going to repeat it. "Are we going to have it today?" That makes me happy! Hearing those words ensures that i made the best use of the mushroom bites. Kid approved!


This is amazing to serve with steamed rice cakes called idli. They are perfect match with rice pancakes, aka dosa. We loved it with idli, dosa, and parathas too. If you are in a hurry, any flat bread pairs amazing with this curry. Or even slices of French bread. Just scoop the curry with the bread and that's the beginning of an amazing experience!


Looking at the list of ingredients, you may think that this takes too long to prepare. But it is not! Trust me! The fritters or mushroom bites are already ready. Therefore, your soaking time, frying time, all cut down. In just 30 minutes, this amazing and delicious curry can be served at the table.


Welcome to our very first edition of Supper Club Saturday! Sue of Palatable Pastime hosts this event and we share our favorite recipes. Check here for more info if you'd like to participate. My share for the event is this vada curry made with Big Mountain Foods amazing Mighty Mushroom Bites Vada Curry! I am also linking this to Happiness is Homemade and Sundays on Silverado.


Here are some links to vegan lentil vada from the blog:







Ingredients

Serves 4-6
Prep time - 10 minutes
Cook time: 18-20 minutes

Big mountain Foods Mighty Mushroom Bites - 4
Oil - 1 tbsp
Shallots - 3/4 cup, chopped
Ginger - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Garlic - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Tomatoes - 1 cup, chopped
Water - 3 to 3.5 cups
Salt - 1 tsp
Cayenne - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp


To Temper

Oil - 2 tbsp
Stone flower - 1 tsp
Star anise - 1
Cinnamon - 2-in piece
Cloves - 3 
Cardamom -1
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

To grind

Coconut - 1/4 cup, frozen, thawed
Shallots - 1/4 cup
Thai chile - 2
Cashews - 10
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1/4 cup

Method

Grind the tomatoes and set aside.


Heat oil in a pan and add the ingredients listed under "To Temper". Fry for 30seconds. 


Add the ginger, garlic, and shallots. Saute for 4-5 minutes.


In the meantime, heat a pan on medium flame. Drizzle a tbsp oil and add the Might Mushroom Bites. Cook on each side 3-4 minutes flipping. Set aside.


Add the ground tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes till the raw smell goes away. Add the salt, turmeric, and cayenne. Simmer.


In the meantime, grind the cashews, fennel, shallots, green chile, and coconut. Add water in stes and make a smooth paste.


Add this paste to the simmering curry followed by water. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.


Break the Mighty Mushroom Bites into four pieces each. Add it to the curry and simmer for 3-4 minutes.


Switch off the flame. Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.


Serve with vegan, gluten-free idli/dosa or any flatbread.



Here are the links to our first Supper Club Saturday - January 2021 Recipes

2 comments:

  1. That a perfect and nutritious vegan meal!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can smell all those delicious warm spices right through my computer screen.

    ReplyDelete