Mushroom Matar Masala

About this recipe

Mushroom Matar Masala is humble and entirely vegan—button mushrooms halved and tumbled with peas in a tomato-onion sauce that tastes complete without pretending to be anything fancy. The mushroom's mild earthiness acts as a blank canvas for garam masala, which adds warmth that mushrooms on their own can't achieve. Button mushrooms are halved, not chopped fine; you want textural presence, not mushroom paste. Here's the trick: they're dry-fried in a completely dry pan on high heat for about six minutes. They release their water, the water evaporates completely, and they re-absorb all that moisture in concentrated form. This is not optional; skip this step and you end up with watery, sad mushrooms. Onion is fried until genuinely brown—this takes time and attention, but the depth it adds is worth every second. Ginger-garlic paste is stirred through, then tomato puree and the dry masalas. Everything cooks together until the oil separates and the paste smells cooked. Frozen peas (which are often fresher than fresh) are stirred in with the dry-fried mushrooms and just enough water to make a sauce. The whole thing bubbles gently for six minutes, and garam masala and coriander are stirred through at the end. Serve with roti. This is weeknight food—it's ready in 30 minutes, it's completely vegan, and it tastes like you cared. It keeps for four days and is excellent cold from the fridge as a lunchbox entry.