Mushroom Tikka Kebab

Fresh mushrooms cooked with a delicious yoghurt marinade

Once considered quite exotic, mushrooms have slowly but steadily made a place for themselves on the Indian platter. In fact, no Indian tapas menu is really complete without including them. Marinating in a mix of basic Indian spices gives an edge to the nutty ?avour of the button mushrooms used in this recipe.

PREPARATION TIME:

Marination: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serve: 4
Taste: Medium

INGREDIENTS:

• 250g button mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp thick plain yoghurt or Greek yoghurt
• ½ Tbsp ginger paste
• ½ Tbsp garlic paste
• ½ tsp carom seeds
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• ¼  tsp garam masala
• ¼  tsp cumin powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• Salt, to taste
• 4 Tbsp chickpea ?our
• Bamboo skewers (soaked in water and then wiped)
• Oil, for basting
• Chaat Masala to sprinkle 2 lemons, cut into wedges, to garnish

METHOD

• Rinse the mushrooms well in water, drain and wipe them dry, then trim the stalks a little. Keep aside.
• Whisk yoghurt a large bowl. Add ginger and garlic pastes, carom seeds, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and salt, mix well. Add mushrooms, mix well to coat. Cover and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 200ºC.
• Add the chickpea flour to the mushroom batter, mix well. Thread 3–4 mushrooms onto each skewer. Lay the mushroom kebabs on a large baking tray lined with foil.
• Bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes, basting with oil and turning them once or twice until the mushrooms are cooked through.
• To serve, arrange kebabs on a platter and sprinkle liberally with Chaat Masala, placing the lemon wedges on the side.
• Serve with Chutney (page XX) or dip of your choice.

Ruby’s Tip: When the mushrooms begin to brown, slice one open to check if cooked – it should be moist in the centre, not dry.