A spicy, saucy Indian curry with mushrooms and coconut that pairs nicely with rice and is really the ultimate vegan comfort food. Nut-free, gluten-free and soy-free recipe.
My Dad’s Not-Mutton Mushroom Curry, the recipe with the weird-sounding name, has lived on this blog since its infancy. I first posted it in 2008 just a couple of months after I had started blogging, and it was probably my first recipe that so many of you made and loved.
For me, this dish is the ultimate comfort food. I grew up in a meat-eating Indian household and one of our family’s long-standing traditions was a mutton curry that my dad made for the family each Sunday.
My dad, who was very handy around the kitchen unlike many men of his generation in India, would do most of the work, right from buying the mutton (goat’s meat) in the morning to actually cooking it, as well as supervising everyone in the household who had some role to play in the actual preparation.
My job was peeling a whole bulb of garlic and grating two kinds of coconut, fresh and dry. I hated both jobs: the juices from the garlic set my fingernails on fire, and I don’t remember a time when I didn’t grate my hand along with the coconut!
But I did love that curry. I can close my eyes and still see my dad standing over a two-burner stove in our Bombay kitchen, carefully roasting the spices and then grinding them to perfection in a little blender. He loved making that curry, just as much as we loved eating it.
After turning vegetarian, I sometimes would crave the spices in my dad’s mutton curry and that’s why I came up with this not-mutton mushroom curry. At the time I first made it, there weren’t as many meatless meats on the market, and I chose to use mushrooms — and sometimes eggplants — instead of the meat. Both veggies absorb the flavors of the garam masala spices used in this recipe beautifully while retaining the curry’s original robust texture.
I make this curry with the exact spices my dad used, but because I use veggies instead of meat, I get to skip several steps involving marinating and tenderizing the meat — ah, the joys of being vegan.
When I first posted this recipe, I used two kinds of mushrooms, crimini and shiitake. This time, I used portobellos and eggplant. You can use one or all of these for a delicious and healthy curry. I swear I have never missed the meat in it. I am certain even meat-eaters would love its robust flavors.
The curry is perfect either with brown or white rice or with any kind of Indian bread. In India, you’d eat a curry like that with a soft roll called a pav — tear pieces of the soft roll with your fingers and dunk it into the curry.
Serve it with a spritz of lemon, a cucumber raita on the side, and you’ll be in heaven.
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Try these recipes next:
Malaysian Mushroom Korma
Railway Mushroom Curry
Tofu Makhani
Mushroom Matar, Mushroom and Peas in a Creamy Sauce
Easy Mushroom and Spinach Curry
Creamy Cauliflower Curry with Basil
Vegan Malai Kofta Curry
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My Dad’s Not Mutton Mushroom Curry
My Dad's 'Not-Mutton' Mushroom Curry
Ingredients
- 1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1-2 dry red chili peppers
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves
- 5 pods green cardamom
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 6 tsp black peppercorns (use less for less heat)
- 2 large onions (one sliced, the other chopped)
- 2-4 tbsp cilantro (chopped)
- 6 large garlic cloves , sliced
- 1-inch piece ginger , thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 14 oz diced tomatoes (or 2 medium tomatoes, diced)
- 2 medium potatoes (cubed and microwaved with some water for about 5 minutes until they are barely tender)
- 3 cups mushrooms (assorted. Clean and slice into chunky strips. I use a mix of crimini, shiitake, portobello or button mushrooms, or just one kind.)
- 2 medium Japanese eggplants (or 4 of the small globe-like eggplants used in Indian cooking)
- Lemons for serving
Instructions
- Heat 1/2 tbsp of the oil in a skillet. Add the coriander, cumin, chillies. cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, poppy seeds and fennel seeds and roast until the coriander seeds start changing color and become fragrant.
- Add the sliced onion, garlic and ginger and saute until the onions get brown spots. Remove to a blender.
- Without adding any more oil, roast the shredded coconut in the hot pan until they start turning golden-brown. Be vigilant because coconut can burn easily. Add the coconut to the blender with the other spices and the tomato.
- Blend into a smooth paste. Add a little water if necessary to keep the blades moving. I find that the juice in the tomatoes is usually enough.
- In the same skillet used for toasting the spices and onions, heat the remaining 1 tbsp of oil.
- Add the chopped onions and cilantro and cook until the onions start getting brown spots.
- Stir in the turmeric and add the mushrooms and eggplants, if using. Add some salt and stir well. Cover the pan and let the vegetables cook over medium-low heat for about five minutes. Stir a couple of times to make sure they don't stick -- some brown spots are fine and even good.
- Add the cooked potatoes and the ground masala from the blender. Add two cups water or vegetable stock is even better.
- Stir to mix well and bring everything to a boil. You can add more stock or water if you want a thinner curry.
- Add salt if needed and let the curry simmer for another 10 minutes so the flavors meld.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice or bread, and wedges of lemons to squirt on top of the curry. A cucumber raita goes perfectly with this.
Nutrition
Hi vaishali,
this recipe reminded me of my mothers cauliflower. potato and peas curry (she use the same ingredient to create the curry masala). she uses the same masala, for making drumsticks and potato curry.
God bless,
Nisha.
Lovely recipe. A big time keeper. Me and hubby totally adored this.
Hi,
I just made this and the color was different but I think it’s because I used a can of diced tomatoes. Anyway, the flavors are definitely very strong and this was different than most Indian dishes I’m used to making. The only problem I had was with the texture. I made the paste in my new Preethi and so when I put it in my mushroom mixture it ended up extremely thick. I just added some water to get a better texture and it ended up great. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
Hi,
Tried it with couple of extra chillies, and curry leaves, came out well. Thanks
Naren
Surya, glad you and your wife liked it. My stepmother’s Goan, and although I think it’s originally my dad’s recipe, I can imagine some Goan influence could have crept in 🙂
Tried this with potatos and nutrela (soybean). Wife loves it. She says this one’s a “keeper”. Thanks for the recipe.
It tastes very similar to mutton xacuti.. any Konkani / Goenkar connection ?
this sounds delish! I’m going to try it without potatoes I’m not a fan but we love watercress here even my 2 year old
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed. Really a nice post here!
Thanks Vaishali,
Of course I remember Dad’s Mutton Curry and since I would sometimes help him around, during our Pune days, I mastered it myself. I often make Dad’s Mutton Curry myself but since we are confirmed die-hard carnivores, I prefer the real stuff- Mutton.
And guess what…Ingmar also calls it Dad’s Mutton Curry because now its his dad who makes it.
Mushrooms are pretty pricey out here at the moment, so I had tried one veggie version of this curry…using Suran…known better as Yam. It tastes similar to mutton when cooked that style. Only, you need to soak the Suran in a good quantity of water-tamarind solution to remove whatever stuff it has that causes itching.
So, next time, try the recipe with Suran instead of mushrooms !!!
Thanks, Vani.
I made this yesterday and it is yummy. It is easy to make. I made with a half dried mushroom (reconstituted) and half button mushroom. Tastes fantastic with both rotis as well as rice. Thanks Vaishali for this wonderful recipe.
Vani
Bhanu, I don’t usually give explicit directions on salt because that’s one ingredient people tend to use according to taste and, sometimes, health. For any dish on my blog, including this one, I’d advise adding the salt toward the end, unless I indicate otherwise. I find I tend to use less salt if I add it toward the end. Also, I don’t usually add salt before tomatoes in a recipe are completely cooked, because there’s something about salt that keeps tomatoes from cooking thoroughly.
Hope that helps 🙂
Looks good probably it will taste good, but you did not mention anything about salt? how much to add and when to add? what’s up with that? Please clarify cos I want to try it!!!
my harddrive died about 3 months back, ive been looking ever since for your blog. i was lying in bed and just remembered “my dads not mutton mushroom curry”. THANKYOU SEARCH ENGINE :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Tried this last week and i must I loved the taste.Thanks.
priya