Easy Tamilnadu style Kaalan / Mushroom thokku (thick masala) made with minced white button mushrooms. Excellent side for Idli, Dosa, Chapathi and Rice.
Finely chop white button mushrooms, onion and tomatoes.
Crush fresh ginger and garlic. You may use ginger garlic paste instead.
Kuzhambu Milagai Thool gives the right texture and color for this thokku. If you cannot find, please replace it with any mild Sambar Powder or Curry Powder.
Method
Heat oil in a pan and season with cumin seeds, fennel seeds and curry leaves.
Saute onions along with crushed ginger and garlic until it turns translucent with slightly crisp edges. (This step is a must, may take 10 minutes over medium flame)
Now add in tomatoes and cook until mushy.
Add in turmeric powder, Kuzhambu Milagai thool and salt. Saute for another 5 minutes until the masala powder blends well with the onion mixture. Fry till the oil separates to the sides.
Once the masala turns dark and cooks to a soft texture add in the finely minced mushrooms and stir fry over high flame for 2 minutes. Mushrooms cook really fast and release water once its heated.
Saute well to blend with masala for about 2 minutes to 3 minutes or until everything thickens a bit.
Switch off and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot as a side for Sambar, rasam or curd rice. It pairs well with suds suda steamed idlis, kal dosai and even with plain chapati!
Notes
Kuzhambu Milagai Thool- is an all purpose curry powder that can be used for all wet / semi wet curries, gravies and stir fries. It adds thickness to the gravy and dry stir fries/ varuvals. You may make this at home or use any mild sambar powder / curry powder as a substitution. Kindly adjust the quantity when adding sambar powder as its more concentrated in flavor and you may want to use less and add extra chilli & dhania powder to balance. Mushrooms - Any mushroom will work for this recipe. White button works well as its less meaty compared to other variety and blend in with the masala. Storage - This masala stays good for a week when refrigerated kept in a clean glass bottle. Each time take out a small quantity using a clean dry spoon and heat it up in a microwave and store the rest in the refrigerator. Adding hot oil over it before storing can extend its life.