"Mushroom- Spring Onions Songa (Spicy Curry)" ... songa is a spicy curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine that can be prepare in various combinations both as veg and non.veg ... here is my try on this curry with fresh white button mushrooms and spring onions both of which are easily available ... tastes awesome served with shevai/ idiyappam ... Yummilicious ....
** All those who follow my simple home cooked food blog are aware that “Songa” is a spicy GSB Konkani Saraswat dish that I have posted many times in various combos before and that it is prepared both in Veg and Non.Veg. ways. This is a dish with little masala that is spicy and can be prepared both with addition of ground masala or using just powders. I have always added in a little bit of freshly grated coconut while grinding the masala to get a better and thicker consistency to the masala and it tastes delicious too and that is exactly the way it is preferred in my home. Addition of tartness/ tangy taste is necessary to the dish and the traditional dish is always prepared adding tamarind while grinding the masala. But then any veggie with tartness imparts that taste can be substituted and added. I will not repeat about the Songa recipe again here, however, you can check out more details about it via the link given at the bottom of this recipe.
** This time I have prepared Songa in combination of fresh white button mushrooms and spring onions both of which are easily available. I have made some slight variations from the normal songa preparation to adapt to this curry though the basic method remains same. About white button mushrooms you will find the details in plenty on net which you can check up on. All I know is they are available in plenty all round the year in Mumbai and that they are good for health, though I must admit here that I rarely prepare them, guess I should try more recipes. Again, spring onions too are available in plenty in Mumbai and extensively used in the preparation of Chinese dishes and also in North Indian dishes. During my childhood I do not even remember having seen them, guess its was not so famous then in the southern parts of India. In all, this dish turned out delicious and served with shevai it was indeed an awesome combination, do try it out.
** Here is the link to the simple method for preparation of "Mushroom- Spring Onions Songa (Spicy Curry)" … My Style ….
** Wash, clean well about 20-25 fresh white button mushrooms. There are bound to be lots of dirt sticking to it, so you need to scrub them off gently. Slice them vertically depending upon their size into 1/4 inch width slices.
** Wash and drain about 8-10 spring onions. Chop the white onion bulb part and also the green leafy parts separately and keep them ready aside.
** Peel off the outer skin and finely chop 2 large onions and keep them ready.
** Wash, wipe dry, chop and grind to a fine puree about 2-3 medium sized tomatoes. Keep this also ready aside.
** Masala to be ground : Grind to a fine paste 1/4 cup of freshly grated coconut (soyi/ nariyal) with 12-15 kashmiri red chillies (kumte mirsanga/ byadgi mirchi) a very small marble sized tamarind (chinchama/ imly) and 1 tbslp coriander seeds (dhania/ kothimbir) with just a little bit of water.
** Note : You can increase or decrease the number of chilies depending upon individual preference. Also do not add excess water while grinding.
** Heat ½ cup of oil (tel/ tela) in a thick bottomed kadai/ pan and add in the finely chopped onions and chopped onion bulbs. Fry both together until evenly slightly browned, now add in 1 tsp of kashmiri chilli powder and fry for a second, then add both the leafy portion of cut spring onions and sliced mushrooms and mix well.
** Stir fry all the ingredients together on high heat for 1-2 minutes which helps in arresting the water content of the veggies within the veggie. Now lower the heat add about 1/4 cup of water, mix well, cover and let cook until mushrooms are cooked to just about 80% only. Now add in the ground masala, tomato puree and salt (namak/ meeta) to taste, mix well, cook on low heat covered for another 15-20 minutes.
** This is a semi dry gravy masala dish, so do not add water in excess, you can always add on later while serving if you find the gravy too thick. Also remember to stir a few times to avoid gravy being burnt and even cooking. The gravy and mushrooms should blend in well and a nice aroma should fill the room. Once the curry has been cooked well, remove, cover and let rest for about 30 minutes for flavors to be infused.
** "Mushroom- Spring Onions Songa (Spicy Curry)" is done and ready to be served. In my opinions this curry tastes best with Rice Shevai, a combo which I have relished through my childhood. However it tastes great as a side dish served with any dishes like poori, roti, dalitoy- sheetha (dal- chawal) even mildly spiced rice dishes like pulav, ghee rice etc. Frankly this dish tastes great with any combo, I have once served it with vegetable noodles too and it was fantastic combo, so just go ahead with your own combos.
** Songa served with Tandla Shevai (Rice String Hoppers) is one of the best combinations. Sharing link to the same below, do check it out …
https://gayathrifoodbytes.blogspot.com/2016/01/shevai-with-mushroom-and-spring-onion.html#more ** Sharing a common link to all “Songa” recipes both Veg. and Non-Vegetarian shared in the blog before, You may browse through the same in leisure, try them out and do remember to give me a feedback … thank you …
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