Mushroom Pepper Fry

There are a slew of things on my mind and as I work around my hearth, I cannot help thinking about them every now & then. The Norway Massacre is one of them - MONSTROUS is how I will describe the person behind this mayhem ; the horrendous crime says a lot about the man's mental make up. I often wonder what prompts people in to a self-destruction mode, their troubled existence getting in the way of doing anything positive ! While the world is reeling under this tragedy , all one can hope is for loads of strength to the loved ones of this ordeal !!!


Hubby dearest is out of town and I am not bringing anything exotic to the table. Simple cooking is the mantra for the time being. One such dish is this easy to make but very tasty stir-fry with mushrooms & pepper. Here the pepper is not only the green capsicum, but also the pepper powder that gives this dish its heat & punch.

Mushrooms have always fascinated me, I used to get very amused the way they magically come up! That was the time when I did not know anything about them including the fact that there are edible varieties in them too ! Once I got to eat them, I became very hooked.The fungi kingdom to which the mushrooms belong is often called as the vegetarian meat - its taste & texture must have prompted the comparisons. The edible fleshy/fruity bodies of the fungi are abundant in essential nutrients and are literally fat-free. They are very easy to prepare and requires little effort. They can be eaten raw or cooked. Either ways rinse them thoroughly before use and if prepared ahead of time, sprinkle with little lemon juice to avoid discoloration. Though there are 38000 varieties of mushrooms, roughly less than 2000 are actually palatable ! Do you know that mushrooms were once the food of royals & nobles and commoners were restricted from eating them? 
For today's dish I used the very common button mushroom & green pepper. A fuse of spices like black pepper-powder, turmeric powder & coriander powder were added. 





What's in it :- (spice it as your taste -buds wish for) - serves 2 to 3

• Button Mushroom - 150 gms - approx - washed & diced
• Green Pepper - 1 - diced
• Onion - 1 large - diced
• Green Chillis-  2 - to taste - halved & horizontally slit
• Garlic Pods - 2 - chopped
• Curry Leaves - a few
• Tomato - 1 - chopped
• Black pepper Powder - 1 to 2 tbsp - to taste (I used home-made powder)
• Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
• Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Coriander Leaves - for garnish

How :-

Keep all the ingredients ready. In a pan/wok, add oil and let the fennel seeds sizzle. Drop the slit green chillis, curry leaves & garlic. Stir-fry them and add the black pepper powder. Let this spice work its magic across the pan and bring out the heat.

Add the chopped onions and diced bell pepper & saute them well. Now add the chopped tomatoes and as it turns mushy tip in the other spices like coriander powder, cumin powder & turmeric powder. You can add or reduce any of the spice mix to suit your palate. Finally add the diced mushrooms  and let it cook for a few minutes while constantly stirring the pan. Add salt & pepper powder (if you want more heat) and take off flame. garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with flatbreads or rice !

Enjoy !

Linking it to Vardhini's Dish it out - Mushrooms & Onions ; guest hosted by Kalyani