Once upon a time, a friend on Instagram tagged me on a mushroom bhaji picture. I thought it would be a good idea to cook mushroom bhaji at least once, as I had never tried it before.
Mushrooms are in season, so why not use some foraged wild mushrooms to make this dish? I used a combination of different wild mushrooms: russula, marasmius oreades and agaricus augustus. Adding apples is optional – I chose to add them because I had plenty after my foraging walks, and they add a nice element of acidity.
INGREDIENTS
100 mixed wild mushrooms
50 gr chopped apple (optional)
100 gr chopped onion (about ½ a large onion)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon salt
10 gr nettle leaves (optional)
4 tablespoons tomato passata (or 2 tablespoons tomato purée)
3-4 tablespoons water (gauge quantity during the cooking)
METHOD
In a pan on a medium heat, fry the mustard seeds and curry powder in the oil for about 3 minutes, add 1 tablespoon of water and cook for another 3 minutes until the water evaporates. Add the onion and cook for 5-10 minutes until golden. Add the tomato passata and 2 tablespoons of water and cook for a further 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms, apple and nettle leaves. Cook for another 5 minutes, and if the mixture looks dry add 1 tablespoon of water. In the last minute of cooking add the salt.
Serving suggestions: serve with a nettle seed flatbread or other bread of your choice, or boiled rice.
To make the nettle seed flatbread:
See the pizza dough recipe and divide the dough into 100 gr balls. Flatten each dough ball into a circular shape, about 2 cm thick. Sprinkle the nettle seeds on both sides. You only need a pinch of seeds, about 1 teaspoon.
Heat a dry non-stick frying pan and cook the flatbread on each side for 3-5 minutes.
Hello agaricus augustus!
Picture credits: Paola Bassanese