I don’t cook mushrooms that often. They are Vijay’s (my husband’s) division. He likes all types of mushrooms and often cooks them himself. He usually grills or dry sautés mushrooms but when he is in a mood to spend an extra 5 minutes in the kitchen, he whips up a sesame sauce to go along with his grilled mushrooms. He got this recipe from a Korean website. This sesame sauce is like an Indian version of one of the curry sauces but without the onions and other extras. I like the sauce so when he makes this, it’s a win-win for both us as I don’t eat mushrooms. Preparing this sauce is such an easy and quick task and he makes this himself most of the times without me setting foot in the kitchen.
Recipe:
Portabella mushrooms – Quickly rinse or wipe of portabellas with a paper towel. Remove the roots and make +(plus shape) cuts on them. After lightly covering them with sesame oil, stir-fry or grill them until they are golden and sprinkle with some salt and remove. When sautéing in a pan, leave space around the mushrooms, so that they brown evenly.
Sauce – Toast half cup of sesame seeds and 4 to 6 red chilli peppers. Make a fine paste of them by adding a small piece of ginger, salt and molasses or sugar, half teaspoon each or to your taste.
Preparation:
Heat a teaspoon of peanut oil in a pan. Add sesame sauce to the pan and also half cup of water. Simmer on medium-low heat for about five minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
Plate a grilled portabella on a serving plate. Pour a tablespoon of sesame sauce over it. Enjoy the portabella with sesame sauce.
Our meal – Rice with Portabellas in Sesame Sauce and Chappidi Pappu (Plain Lentil soup).