This is again a favorite Konkani dish. The taste of Sichuan Pepper (Tepal) and Turmeric leaves gives this dish a flavor that lingers on.

Method

1. Clean and cut around 20 mushrooms into 4 pieces.
2. Take 1 cup freshly grated coconut, 10-12 red chillies, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 small lemon sized tamarind and grind them together into a very fine paste in the grinder.
3. Mix this paste with mushrooms in a pan. Add salt to taste. Add 1 tsp coconut oil. Add 8-10 sichuan pepper (tepal in Konkani/Tirfal in Marathi).

4. Cover with 4-5 pieces of haldi leaves
5. Cover this pan and cook on small flame for 30 mins.
6. This is how the dish will look after its cooked.

Serve as a side dish with rice. Dont forget to remove the haldi leaves before serving!

This dish is traditionally cooked using fresh mushrooms which grow naturally during the rains. But since those are not so easily available, I cook it with button mushrooms which are available in the food stores.

However if are lucky enough to get those fresh mushrooms that sprout up during rains, do try this recipe with those...I bet that you won’t be disappointed.

Method

1.     Cut 1 medium sized onion into fine pieces. Cut mushrooms to similar sized pieces so that you have around 2 cups of mushroom

2.     Heat 1tbp oil in a pan and fry 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 inch cinnamon, 3-4 black pepper, 2 cloves and 3-4 red chillies. Grind to a paste with 1 cup of freshly desiccated coconut and a marble sized ball of tamarind.

3.     In a vessel boil onions and mushroom in water. When this comes to a boil add the above paste and salt to taste and continue cooking. Cook for another 10 mins on a slow flame or till the mushrooms look cooked.

4.     Add 1 tsp garam masala at the end just before putting of the flame.

This dish tastes good with neer dosas, chappatis and even with rice.