Mushroom is not a vegetable!It doesn’t have a root / leaf / chlorophyll.. then what is it? A fruit… No…! they ‘steal’ the carbohydrates they need from plants…
🍄”THEY ARE FUNGI”🍄
They’re often used as a vegetarian meat substitute for which they are very suitable too.
The law of nature, eat to be eaten, goes for mushrooms too. Animals, and humans with them, discovered by trial and error which mushrooms could be eaten without taking a risk. These lessons were literally life lessons, because some mushrooms are deadly when eaten. It’s no coincidence that a cemetery wall in France bears the inscription:
All mushrooms are edible, some of them only once.
Luckily, the button mushroom is very human friendly and can be eaten without risk.
Monsoon was the season when people living near the dense forest would find fresh naturally grown mushrooms. So they brought them to sell. Those mushrooms are called Alambe in konkani. They usually look like this 
As they naturally grow during monsoons, They used to be covered in a lot of mud and had to be washed thoroughly. Then they were used to make garam masala ambat[curry] and phodis! It would be a feast in itself😋
Now a days mushrooms are cultivated / mushroom farming is a known thing. Many varieties of mushrooms such as button mushrooms, shiitake, oyster, Portobello, cremini are locally available all year round. Any type of mushroom can be used to make stir fry, shallow fry, deep fry and also “phodis”.
Phodis as we konkanis call it are shallow fried vegetables with a coating of rice rava and salt. Here we have a detailed post on how to make phodis of button mushroom:
Mushroom Phodi | Shallow Fried Mushrooms Konkani Style
Ingredients
- Button Mushroom- 10
For marination:
- Turmeric Powder- ¼th tsp
- Red chilly powder- ½ tsp
- Garam Masala Powder
- Oil - 1 Tbsp
- Salt as per taste
For Coating:
- Semolina/Small Rava/Rice Rava - ½ Cup
- Rice Flour- ¼th Cup
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Clean the Button Mushrooms using a damp cloth/paper towel and never immerse them in water.
Rub any dirt that is visible on the mushroom and keep aside.
Next cut the mushrooms lengthwise with ¼th inch thickness.
To marinate the mushrooms:
Take the cut mushroom pieces in a bowl and add turmeric, red chilly, and garam masala powder, salt and 1 Tbsp oil.
Toss all the spice powders nicely for even coating.
Close & Keep this to marinate for 10 minutes.
To prepare the coating:
Add Semolina/Rava with rice flour & salt. Mix nicely.
To Prepare mushroom phodis:
Take an Iron Tawa and heat it on medium flame.
Then take the marinated mushroom pieces and coat it with the coating mixture evenly.
Place the rava coated mushrooms one by one on the hot tawa.
Close it with a lid and let the mushroom cook for 2 minutes.
Open and sprinkle some water and immediately close it with the lid.
After the mushrooms cook for 2 to 3 minutes open the lid and turn the mushrooms on the other side. Take care not to burn the mushrooms!
Depending upon the type of tawa we are using lower / raise the flame. Switch off when mushrooms turn golden brown & crispy on the outside.
Because I have used a cast iron tawa[cast iron retains heat extremely well] I like to switch it off and let them crisp up on the tawa before serving.
Notes
- Phodis can be made with many vegetables[almost any vegetable] like Bhindi[Okra], Tendli[Ivy gourd], Mooli[Radish], Batate[Potatoes], Gobi[Cauliflower], Vaingan[Eggplant], Gosale[Ridge Gourd] and so on.
- Fungi like mushrooms need to be fresh and firm so that they are healthy to eat and also tasty. So choose good button mushrooms that are firm to touch, with no black/brown marks, no holes, doesn't look moldy.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 389Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 0mgSodium 293mgCarbohydrates 75gFiber 4gSugar 1gProtein 9g
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