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Food talk
Season’s special green mushrooms
Pushpesh Pant
 There
are some things that evoke nostalgia with an impact so powerful that
it literally knocks you off the feet. It may sound odd but hare
chholiye have this effect on us. Memory is yet green (no pun
intended) of the day when we first tasted the stuff in our innocent
adolescence in the fields where the luscious crop was standing. We
couldn't have enough. Time passed before we discovered the joys of choora
with boot aka hare chholiye and the delight that handi
roasted in pod green gram offer. Friend and fellow foodie Sanjay Patel
in Indore took us to Sarafa Bazaar once to let us savour the
"Day's Catch" there. We weren't disappointed. Maharaja Saheb
Sailana prepares an out-of -this-world halwa using this and one
of our cousins has treated us to a gravy version prepared with gosht
ke masale enriched with tiny morsels of home-made paneer that
was quite stunning. To cut a long story short, we have been itching to
try these out with mushrooms and recently when we encountered them
together on the vegetable sellers pushcart we lost no time in culinary
wish fulfillment. The recipe turned out well and we recommend it as a satvik,
no-frills, but deeply satisfying, dish.
Hare chholiye-khumb
 Method Ingredients
Ingredients
Green gram (hare chholiye) 200 g
Button mushrooms (khumb) 50 g
Cumin seeds ½ tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Honey 1 tsp
Lemon juice 1 tsp
Fresh coriander A small sprig
Green chillies Two
Salt To taste
Oil 1 tbsp
Wash and then steam or
lightly boil the chholiye in salted water. Wash the mushrooms,
pat dry and slice. Slit chillies lengthwise and deseed. Heat oil in a
pan till smoking point then reduce flame and put in cumin seeds. As
these crackle, put in mushrooms, stir for 30 seconds and add the
coriander powder stir and add the chholiye along with salt, green
chillies and fresh coriander. Cook uncovered, sprinkling a little
water till chholiye are done to taste. Mix honey and lemon
juice and stir in the pot. Adjust seasoning and enjoy hot.
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