Curried Mushroom and Lentil Soup on Steamed Rice - A Recipe

Mushrooms are one of those types of ingredients that you either love or hate. Me, I’m crazy about them, as previous posts have shown. I started out trying to recreate a delicious mushroom curry in thick gravy that I’d had at one of my favourite East Indian restaurants a few years ago. Halfway through, however, I decided to include some protein by adding lentils. (Mushrooms do have some protein, but it’s minimal.) Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp cooking oil (canola or olive).
• 1 small onion, peeled and cut into eighths.
• 1 cup thick slices of large button mushrooms, broken into bite-size pieces.
• Salt + pepper, to taste.
• 1 tbsp Haldi (turmeric).
• 2 tbsp mild curry powder or garam masala powder. (Garam Masala literally translates to “hot spices”, and is available at West Indian, East Indian or Pakistani grocery stores.)
• 1/2 to 1 cup tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, or pasta sauce.
• 1 can of lentil and spinach soup.
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 tsp of garlic black bean paste (available at Oriental markets).

Preparation:

• Heat the cooking oil in a large non-stick pan or a small pot at medium high.
• Add the mushroom pieces and toss regularly for 2-3 minutes. If mushroom pieces start to dry out or burn, add a bit more oil or butter.
• Add onion pieces and toss for 1 minute.
• Reduce heat to medium.
• Sprinkle all the spices/ powders over the mushrooms and toss a couple of times.
• Add the tomato sauce, lentil soup, and water. Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 10 minutes. If sauce is over-evaporated, add another 1/4 cup of water.
• Turn off heat and stir in the garlic black bean paste.

Presentation:
Serve on steamed rice, with a side of salad.

(c) Copyright: 2006-present, Raj Kumar Dash, http://www.curryelvis.com/

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