Mushroom masala with corn(When it rains in jharkhand)

Mushroom has always been my all time favorite. In my hometown we get several varities of them. I know them by their local names and i just love them. There is one which is round in shape and has a dark colour once we open it, popular in Ranchi as Rugda or phutka. The other one has an open umbrella and is popular as chata(umbrella). One more variety is like flower, but a stiff flower which is popularly known as Dingil. These are all wild but are edible. Their taste is unparallel. They are never cultivated and we get them only when the wild soil is blessed by monsoon during the summer.

These are rare varieties of mushroom and are only available "when it rains in Jharkhand". 

At this point i would like to talk a little about my place. I belong to an area in the east of India, popular as chotanagpur plateau. Yes its a beautiful plateau region and lots of wild life to admire. If you ever get a chance to travel through the railways or roadways you will explore the beautiful nature which is pure , astonishing and unadulterated. This plateau region is rich in all sorts of minerals, you name it and we have it, right from bauxite,coal, iron-ore to Uranium. Yes Uranium rarest radioactive substance found on earth. Its the one of the two place in India where it is found "Jadugoda mines".

There is lots of action that takes place during the rainy season in the wilderness of jharkhand. Flowers blossom and so does the mushrooms. The peacocks comes to dance and the wild elephants find their way to the villages through the rice fields. The wolves howl and the bats grow bigger and fatter. The guava tree bears extra fruit in this season. Jamun, kusum and mangoes ripe and falls off. Corns tastes sweeter than never before and the dried rivers are now flooded with water. Summer vanishes and so does the sun. The ponds are once again flooded with fish and frogs and they chirp all day long, loud very loud. Birds feel restless changing their home from one tree to other and then its all green in the field. Small translucent green rice plant adds to the glory of the mighty nature, it feels awesome admiring them.

There are lots of natural waterfalls at this place .some of them are tourist places while others provide with hydroelectric power. The powerful majestic Dasam falls is phenomenal in its beauty and can be very dangerous at times. 

The Jonha Falls is utterly beautiful and allows one to stand beneath its gush. You never get tired camping there, it feels awesome. Same is with the Hundru falls. There are majestic dams to admire like the Rukka dam and hills to admire like the Ajodhya hills near Jamshedpur.

I dedicate this recipe of mine to the people of my state "Jharkhand, India".

This recipe

Serves- 4

Preparation time- 10 minutes

Cooking time- 20 minutes

Level of difficulty- easy

Ingredients:

• Button mushroom - 500g
• cumin seeds - 1 Tsp
• Curry leaves
• Onion- 1, sliced
• Garlic - 4 cloves, chopped
• Green chilies- 2, chopped
• Tomato -1, chopped
• Salt to taste
• Coriander powder- 2 Tsp
• Pepper powder- 1 Tsp
• Garam masala powder- 1/2 Tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/2 Tsp
• Paprika powder- 1/2 Tsp
• Corns - 1/2 Cup(Optional)
• Oil for cooking.

Direction:

• Take a wet towel and wipe out all the mushroom. Cut into halves if they are small else cut them into quarter .
• Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a pan in medium to high heat.
• Add the cumin seed and the curry leaves. Allow the cumin seed to crackle.
• Now add the chopped onion, garlic and green chilies. season with salt and saute until onion turns translucent.
• Now add the tomatoes and spices(coriander powder, pepper powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder, paprika powder). Fry until the color changes and the oil oozes out.
• Now add the corn kernels and fr for 2 minutes.
• Finally add the mushroom, stir well and fry until they are little tender(2 to 3 minutes). Now add the salt and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Finally turn off the heat. Sprinkle freshly chopped coriander.

Serve hot along with chapati, patotha or as a side dish along with rice.

Enjoy!!! and happy cooking.

By - Sushmita Pandit.

For more on chotanagpur plateau visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chota_Nagpur_Plateau