KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL
Indian-style comfort food is perfect for cool nights
Indian-style comfort food doesn’t come any easier or tastier than squash and mushroom curry.
Mushrooms were definitely on my mind, like an insidious song going round and round in my brain. It became clear there was only one way to stop the cycle: have some for dinner. Rather than the Italianate mushroom stew I often make to serve with polenta, I craved something with more personality, perhaps a spicy, creamy curry. Curried mushrooms, curried mushrooms, sang the inner voice.
Whenever I’m cooking with Indian ingredients, I consult one of Madhur Jaffrey’s many cookbooks for guidance and inspiration. Jaffrey’s recipes are inventively streamlined for non-Indian cooks, but with no sacrifice of flavour. In Vegetarian India (Knopf, 2015), she offers several mushroom curries from different regions.
With cool weather approaching, I decided my curry also needed some autumn vegetables for a heartier meal. Sauteed cubes of butternut squash, with their warm colour, appealed to me the most, though sweet potatoes, parsnips or carrots would work too.
Of course, ordinary button mushrooms can be used, but a mixture of cultivated mushrooms in all shapes and sizes makes a splashier dish. I like oyster mushrooms, especially royal trumpets, a large, meaty type. A few shiitake caps (the stems are tough and best used for making stock) contribute a woody flavour, while small brown portobellos add depth. Tiny white enoki are beautiful and can be stirred into the curry right at the end.
For a more deluxe version, I was lucky enough to get my hands on some wild golden chanterelles.
There are just a few spices and seasonings to assemble: green chillies, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne and turmeric. Fresh curry leaves, if you can find them, are aromatic and floral when simmered with the mushrooms. Most Indian groceries have them, fresh or frozen. Substitute whole basil leaves if you wish, or go without.
You can make this curry as spicy as you wish, but be sure to include at least a little cayenne and green chillies to play off the creamy coconut sauce. A final addition of lime juice supplies a welcome hit of acidity.
This is Indian-style comfort food: bright, rich and ready in less than an hour.