Day 3- Mushroom pepper fry

Mushrooms are a great low calorie food which are rich in anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins. They are a great substitute for red meat and boost cardiac and brain health. This recipe is one of my childhood favourite and a popular South Indian side dish.

Prep time : 5mins              Cooking time :20mins      Servings : 3

Ingredients:

• 200gms of button mushrooms- sliced

• 2 onions – finely chopped

• 1 green bell pepper/capsicum

• Handful of coriander leaves – finely chopped

• 2 tablespoons of black pepper powder

• 1 tsp fennel seeds- ground in a mortar

• 1 tsp ginger paste

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 tablespoon of mild olive oil/rapeseed oil

• 2 -3 curry leaves ( optional)

• 1tsp ghee ( optional)

Method :

1. Heat oil in a wok/pan and add ginger paste, curry leaves, chopped onions and sliced green bell peppers. Fry for 1min on low flame.

2. Add in the sliced mushrooms and cook in medium flame for 15minutes. Stir regularly and cook well until the mushrooms shrink in size.

3. Now add salt, pepper powder and fennel seed powder and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

4. Finally add chopped coriander leaves and cook for a minute.

Tips :

• Never add water when cooking mushrooms and use a good sized pan to avoid crowding the mushrooms.

• Always add salt after the mushrooms are brown and roasted.

• It can be eaten with rice or flat bread.

• Top up with a tsp of ghee to enhance the flavour.

Recipe by Dr Viswanathan