Alambya Ambat – Mild Konkani Mushroom Curry (Vegan + Gluten Free)

Alambya Ambat with Chappatis.

The receding rains bring us the seasonal delight of clumps of tiny, pearly white mushrooms pushing their heads out of the soil. Damp and shady nooks are colonized by several types of edible and inedible mushrooms which grow in the organic, humus rich soils around our house. Of these, the foremost in beauty, taste and numbers is the wild enoki mushroom.

Enoki / Enokitake / Enokidake / Needle Mushrooms (Ari Koon in Malayalam).

As they are hardly a couple of inches tall, it’s a back-breaking job to squat and pick them. You pluck them with one hand and snip off the base (which has soil sticking to it) with a pair of scissors held in the other, before putting them in your basket. The job is so strenuous, so painstakingly lengthy, that you may feel exhausted, but the moment you taste the curry, all that exasperation vaporizes into an explosion of delight. Such is the taste of alambya ambat. The mild enokitake mushroom curry will remind seafood lovers of crab meat and make you drool and crave for more.

Print Recipe

Alambya Ambat Yum

A mild, delicious Konkani mushroom curry.

Cuisine

Indian, Konkani

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Passive Time

4 hours

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 360 gm fresh, wild enokitake mushrooms (if not available, use oyster mushrooms)
• 185 gm grated coconut
• 100 gm onion (peeled) (50 gm for curry, 50 gm for tempering)
• 3 gm ginger
• 3 gm tamarind (seedless)
• 6 gm dry Kashmiri chilies
• 2 gm turmeric powder
• 7 gm salt
• 700 ml water
• 25 ml cooking oil
• 15 ml vinegar (for cleaning the mushrooms)

Cuisine Indian, Konkani Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 10 minutes Passive Time 4 hours Servings servings Ingredients 360 gm fresh, wild enokitake mushrooms (if not available, use oyster mushrooms) 185 gm grated coconut 100 gm onion (peeled) (50 gm for curry, 50 gm for tempering) 3 gm ginger 3 gm tamarind (seedless) 6 gm dry Kashmiri chilies 2 gm turmeric powder 7 gm salt 700 ml water 25 ml cooking oil 15 ml vinegar (for cleaning the mushrooms)

Instructions

To prepare:

1. Take a couple of litres of water in a bowl.Pour in the vinegar and tip in the mushrooms. Let soak for 5 minutes so that the soil particles deposit themselves at the bottom of the vessel. Scoop up the floating mushrooms and rinse well in tap water. Drain and set aside.
2. Chop the onion finely to bits. Divide into two equal portions and set aside.
3. Chop the ginger to superfine bits.
4. Set a skillet on low heat. Pour in a teaspoonful (5 ml.) of cooking oil.
5. Break the chilies each into two pieces and tip them in. Stir for a minute and switch off the heat. This process mellows the heat and enhances the flavor of the chilies.
6. Transfer the contents of the skillet to your food processor. Tip in the grated coconut and the tamarind. Pour in 200 ml. of water and grind to superfine paste.

To cook

1. Put the mushrooms, one half of the chopped onion, the chopped ginger, the turmeric powder, the salt and the remaining water (500 ml.) into a curry vessel or deep pan and set on high heat. Stir occasionally.
2. As soon as it comes to a boil, turn down the heat and cover partially with a lid. Stir now and then, letting the enoki mushrooms cook for 5 minutes. If you are using oyster mushrooms, remember to cook for 10 minutes.
3. Now tip in the ground paste and turn up the heat. Stir frequently. Let boil for just a minute before switching off the heat.
4. Set a skillet on low heat. Pour in the remaining cooking oil (20 ml.) and tip in the second half of the chopped onion. Stir continuously till the onion turns golden brown in color. Switch off the heat and empty the contents into the curry. Stir and cover with a lid.
5. In order to get the full taste of the curry, it needs to rest for 4 to 5 hours, since the mushroom, unlike vegetables, takes longer to assimilate the grand flavor of the curry. Reheat the alambya ambat and serve with hot rice, chappatis, vellappams, soyyea polos or with porottas. I'm sure you'll love it!