MAKING

Sauteing the bell peppers and mushrooms:

1. Heat up a pot on medium temperature, add oil, dry whole red chilies and the chopped red bell pepper. Saute till the edges of the bell peppers turn golden brown.

2. At this point, add the sliced mushrooms and cook till they are slightly tender.

3. Add a pinch of salt and stir. When the edges of the mushrooms turn brown, turn off the stove and set the sauteed vegetables aside.

Preparing the onion paste:

4. Into a blender, add the roughly chopped onions, cashews (reserve a few cashews for later) and shredded coconut. Add water and blend to a smooth paste.

5. In a large pot, heat up a tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Add turmeric powder, ginger and garlic paste. Saute this a little.

6. Add the prepared onion paste, cover and cook till the oil separates from the gravy.

7. Add salt, red chili powder, mix of coriander and cumin powder and garam masala. Stir well and cook as you see the oil separating from the gravy.

8. Add the pureed tomatoes (fresh tomatoes pureed in the blender), cover and cook until the color changes slightly.

9. When the gravy is done cooking, add butter (optional) to make the gravy smooth. Also add the few cashews kept aside earlier (keep a couple of them aside for garnishing) and the sauteed bell pepper and mushroom mix. Stir gently, cover and let it cook for a minute and then turn off the stove.

SERVING

10. Serve garnished with freshly chopped coriander leaves and a couple of cashews. The mushroom curry tastes best with rice, roti, naan or paratha.

TIPS

In this curry you can add any of the vegetables of your choice.

If you are using whole ginger and garlic instead of the paste, you can add the whole ginger and garlic along with the onions while making the onion paste.