Hara Masala Khumb (Mushroom in Green Masala)

Have you ever been to a supermarket frozen foods section, and fell in love?

No? Just me? Okay then.

Seriously, my MOST favourite section of the store is the freezer. pre-prepped vegetables and herbs, just waiting to be transformed. Stir fry mixes, coconut chutney mix, sambar veggies, veggie noodles, undhiyu mixes, ingredients for Thai curries, and so many more. It just gives me such an amazing feeling of the magic that's about to happen in the kitchen without me slaving over chopping and peeling. Or, you know, "YAAASS!!".

So yesterday I picked up a mix of green masala, consisting of a bunch each of coriander, curry leaves, a handful of chillies, 2 large knobs of ginger, and a lemon. I saw the box, and even though it was sealed tight, I smelled it. Oh I smelled the delicious green smell wafting off a steaming plate at lunch. All I knew was that I have to make something or the other with it.

So, presenting a vegetarian side that I made up, just because I could imagine how yummy it would smell. Mushrooms in Green Masala. The gravy is smooth and green, smelling fresh and spicy, just waiting to be mopped up with chapatis or appams. The best part of this side is the absolute versatility of it. I used diced mushrooms, you can use it with soya nuggets, jackfruit, cauliflower-broccoli mix, mixed vegetables, prawns, chicken, lamb, anything at all. There isn't even a fixed amount of the ingredients!

Hara Masala Khumb, or Mushrooms in Green Masala

You need:

• A bunch of fresh coriander leaves, torn and washed
• A branch of curry leaves, washed
• 1 2-inch knob of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• A sprinkling of amchoor
• Green chillies, depending on how spicy you want it
• Garlic, roughly mashed
• 2 boxes of mushrooms, cleaned and halved (or any vegetables, totalling about 300-400 gm)
• Oil
• Salt to taste
• Extra chopped coriander.

The How:

• In the mixer, blend the coriander, curry leaves, the ginger, chopped chillies, and a tsp of the lemon juice, till it's a rough paste. You can add a little water, controlling it so that it doesn't becomes a complete watery liquid.
• In a kadhai, heat the oil till its is smoking, then reduce heat to low. Add the garlic.
• Saute for a few seconds, take care it doesn't burn, and tip in the mushrooms. Saute for a bit.
• Add the green masala. Add salt, and amchoor.
• Cook till it begin to leave out the oil on sides. You can add a bits of war water in case it's too tight. It should not be too soupy, but nor a completely tight sabzi.
• Adjust salt and seasoning. Turn off the heat. Drizzle the lemon juice, sprinkle the chopped coriander, stir and serve hot with rotis or appams.

That's it! Let me know how this was!