Mushroom Mutter

This North Indian dish is one of my favorite dishes to make, especially in the cold months, the spices and flavors just warm you up. It is easy to make, healthy and it tastes great. I use non-fat yogurt as a thickening agent but you can also use cream. This dish can also be made vegan with the omission of yogurt or the cream. Here is my mother's recipe, enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 8 oz package of chopped white mushrooms
¾ 14.5 oz can of stewed tomatoes
2 cups frozen peas
2 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of Garam Masala
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tsp of shredded ginger
1 tsp of sugar
3 tbsp of yogurt
3 tbsp of olive oil
¾ cup of water

Heat the olive oil in the pan. Then add the onions & garlic and sauté them until the onions are golden brown. Add the tomatoes and 3/4 cup of water and stir all the ingredients.

Add the coriander, turmeric, chili, and garam masala to the dish and mix all the ingredients well. Add the peas, mushrooms, shredded ginger, and sugar to the dish.

Whisk yogurt in a bowl until it is of a smooth consistency, and then add it to the dish. Cover the pan and reduce heat, and simmer until the peas are soft and tender. Garnish with parsley or coriander. Serve with roti, “Indian bread” rice or bread.

Servers 2-4 people

This recipe is featured on The Leather District Gourmet , written by Jacqueline Church. Jacqueline was a panelist at a recent Povo Blogger's event that I had attended and she invited me to submit a recipe on her blog. Check out her website and every Tuesday she has a meat free post.

Veggie Cheap Eat:Bamboo

2008 BAMBOO, INC.


In and around Boston, it can be difficult at times to find upscale Chinese restaurants that cater to vegetarians. Located next to Flatbread in Bedford Ma, Bamboo serves Chinese food and sushi in a sleek modern setting and offers plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. With bamboo shoots, dimmed lighting and quilted wall hangings, the ambiance of Bamboo is quite elegant.

My two favorite dishes at Bamboo are the Eggplant in garlic sauce ($9.50) and the Singapore Rice noodles ($8.95).The Singapore rice noodles is a delicious curried noodle dish made with onions and green and red peppers. The eggplant in garlic sauce is good, but pretty standard. Since Bamboo also serves Sushi, you can order an avocado roll or a miso soup as an appetizer. The portions are plentiful, and the prices for vegetarian entrees are under $10, making it a great veggie cheap eat. They offer an eclectic drink menu and their lychee martini is a must. Service is friendly and they were patient with all of my vegetarian questions.

Bamboo has three other locations; Westford, Dedham and the Mandarin in Reading. They also have a daily lunch buffet and a dinner buffet on Sunday nights. Definitely a good place for a veggie cheap eat if you are in the area.

A Vegetarian Happy Hour at Tantric in Boston

Tantric in Boston has a Happy Hour menu at their bar that offers several vegetarian and vegan appetizers for only $2.99 with a $2.50 minimum beverage purchase. This is great because most happy hour menus do not cater to vegetarians. Non vegetarian appetizers are also available. Below is the menu from their website.

2.99...

Aloo Kulcha - Potato Filled Fresh Baked Bread

Chili Cheese Naan - Pepper Jack Cheese Stuffed Bread

Gobi Manchurian Indo - Chinese style cauliflower florets sauteed with onions & green pepper, in a sweet and sour chili paste

Bhel Poori - A Mumbai favorite of Rice crisps, crunchy gram-flour vermicelli, onions, tomatoes & cilantro, drizzled with sweet and sour tamarind sauce and coriander mint chutney.

Pakoras - Vegetable fritters served with tamarind and mint chutneys

Available in the Bar Only Sunday – Friday 3:30-6:00PM and Monday – Thursday 8:30PM –9:45PM, Friday & Saturday 10 – midnight 2.50 Beverage Minimum Per Person Required

On Tuesday Nights, Tantric is offering free Henna Tattoos from 7-9:30 with any $10 purchase.

Boston Vegetarian Food Festival

On Saturday I went to the 2008 Boston Vegetarian Food Festival at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. There were over 100 exhibitors featuring, natural foods, restaurants, and other non-food products that support a healthy way of life.


Thousands of people attended the festival. Despite the crowds, I thoroughly enjoyed sampling different food products and learning about vegetarian offerings in the Boston area.

Here are some of my favorite vendors:

Super Seedz:





What an interesting concept? Super Seedz are shelled, flavored pumpkin seeds and are available in four different flavors, somewhat spicy, sea salt, original curry and sugar & cinnamon. The food producer, Kathy Rosenschein said that pumpkin seeds contain an essential vitamin B12 that is found mostly in meat. It's a great option for a low carb snack.

Buddha Hut:

Bhudda Hut is a vegan Asian restaurant located in Worcester Ma on Chandler st. They were selling Asian food from their restaurant at the fair. I ordered the noodles and the vegetarian fried rice, both were surprisingly really good. I will definitely have to stop by Buddha Hut for more yummy food and the best part is that I do not have to worry about fish sauce. The owner mentioned an opening of another restaurant in the Boston in the near future.

Good Neighbor Hommus




I sampled quite a few different brands of hummus at the fair, but Good Neighbor’s hommus brand was the best. It is made with organic ingredients and comes in unique flavors, my favorite being, Sweet Red Pepper Hommus. Their black bean dip was equally delicious.

The Boston Vegetarian Food Festival was a fun event and is worth checking out next year, admission and parking is free so there is not much to lose.

Kushboo

If you have never been to the downtown in Lexington MA its worth checking out. There are a lot of nice restaurants and shops where you can avoid the parking hassles in Boston. With its classy New England feel, dining in downtown Lexington Ma is perfect for a night out. Kushboo located on Massachusetts Ave in Lexington serves Indian food in an elegant setting. There is also a nice outdoor patio available in the summer time.

As an Indian, I am a bit biased when it comes to Indian cuisine as nothing tastes better to me than homemade Indian food. I find Indian dishes at restaurants to be too heavy and oily but in comparison to most Indian restaurants the food at Kushboo was tasty. I went with a few friends to Kushboo and between the four of us we ordered, Doaba Samosas ($4.25) for appetizers, Saag Paneer ($10.95), Navratan Korma ($10.25) , and the Tindi Bindi ($11.25).

The Doaba Samosas, filled with potatoes and vegetables were quite good. I liked the fact that they were not as oily as samosas at most Indian restaurants. The Saag Paneer was excellent, it was not too heavy and it was filled with flavor. Navratan Korma was okay, it would have tasted better if it had less cream. The Tindi Bindi was well made but it needed a few more spices to make it more flavorful.

For dessert we shared the Safforon Pistachio, $4.25, and the Doaba Exotic Kulfi Ice Cream, $3.25. The safforon ice cream was very good and the Kulfi ice cream was tasty but was too frozen to eat.

Overall I enjoyed my time at Kusboo, with good food and an elegant ambiance its worth checking out if you are in the area.