Wild mushoom textures and flavours vary so dramatically, it’s really worth experimenting to see what you enjoy. My favourite is the ridiculously elegant chanterelle, the Chanel of the mushroom world, followed closely by the big, bulbous cep, which is meaty and looks like a sturdy seat for a little forest animal to sit on. Both work well in this upma, a well-loved and traditional South Indian breakfast dish, which I make using bulgar wheat or cracked wheat. It’s spiced just delicately enough to let the mushrooms take centre stage, which is where they should be.
Ingredients
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 green finger chilli
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- salt
- rapeseed oil
- 40 g fresh coriander leaves
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 10 fresh curry leaves
- 1 large white onion, sliced
- 3 cm ginger, peeled and grated
- 200 g bulgar wheat
- 300 g chestnut mushrooms, sliced 1 cm thick
- 200 g wild mushrooms (e.g. chanterelles, ceps, enoki), sliced 1 cm thick
How to Make It
- First make the chutney. Bash the garlic and green chilli using a pestle and mortar until well mashed, then stir in the lemon juice, ⅓ teaspoon of salt and 3 tablespoons of oil. Finely chop the coriander and stir into the chilli garlic oil.
- Boil the kettle and pour 280 ml of water into a jug.
- Put 2 tablespoons of oil into a lidded frying pan and, when hot, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the seeds pop and the leaves crackle, add the onion and fry for around 8 minutes, until golden and starting to brown, then add the ginger and fry for a couple more minutes.
- Stir in the bulgar wheat, fry for 30 seconds, then pour over the boiled water and cover with a lid. Bring to a simmer and cook for around 8 minutes, until the water evaporates, then take off the heat.
- Finally, fry the mushrooms. The best way to do this is to give them a quick blast in a really hot pan ensure they have leg room by cooking them in two or three batches, so they don’t sweat on top of each other. Put 1 tablespoon of oil into a frying pan on a high heat and, when really hot, throw in your first batch. Fry any robust varieties like ceps for 3 minutes, or until burnished and tender. Fry any semi-robust mushrooms like chestnut for around 2½ minutes, and enoki, oyster or chanterelles for just 1 minute. Then transfer to the bulgar pan.
- To serve, add ¾ teaspoon of salt (or to taste) to the bulgar wheat and mix in, along with most of the chutney, using the rest to decorate the top.