A Quick Snack with Sauteed Celery Flavored Mushrooms

If you are looking for a quick and healthy snack with a preparation time less than ten minutes !! then this would be the perfect recipe. I had made stir fry earlier with oyster mushrooms too and that has made me a big fan of mushroom stir fry.

Ingredients

• 1 cup slided button mushroom
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped celery
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Heat oil in pan, add celery, garlic and fry for 30 sec , add mushroom and cook on a high flame for 3-4 minutes .Add salt, oregana and black pepper powder and stir nicely until mushroom is cooked with with a red tinge. Serve hot

Note:

1. Always cook mushroom in a high flame otherwise lot of water will retain in the pan.
2. You can also stuff this mushroom between a slice of bread and enjoy like a sandwich

Fresh Steamed Oyster Mushroom Dim Sum

It is one of the best-tasting Chinese food that you should encounter..while dim sum literally means touch the heart. It was originally not a main meal, only a snack traditionally served with chinese tea.

Recently I dined at the chinese restaurant Cascade and had some lovely dim sum however it was expensive to order again and that challenged me to try it at home. I innovated the filling with some oyster mushrooms and was surprisingly easy to make.So you can all eat at your hearts content.

Ingredients for wrap

• 1 cup maida/all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• water to mix

Mix the maida and salt and then water slowly and mix and knead it with your hands to make it a firm stiff dough.Let is sit for half hour. In the meantime prepare the stuffing

Ingredients for stuffing

• 2 cup chopped oyster mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped cabbage
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 tsp soya sauce
• 1-2 chopped green chillies
• 1/4 tsp pepper powder or to taste
• 1/4 tsp oregano(optional)
• a pinch of ajinomoto ( optional )
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil

Procedure

Heat oil in a non-stick pan ,add garlic and onion and fry till it become translucent then add bell pepper,cabbage and mushrooms and fry for 5 min or till all the water of mushroom evaporate,cook them in high flame quickly as it will ensure that the water evaporate and veggies are still crunchy.

Add the oregano,soya sauce,salt, pepper and ajinomoto and stir quickly and switch it off  and let it cool. 

Divide the dough into small lemon size ball and with a sprinkle of flour , roll them with a rolling pin to approximately 3 inch diameter and as thin as possible and cut with 3 inch diameter cookie cutter to get good round shape.

Now you are ready for assembly

Take one tbsp of filling and put in the middle and close to bring the two edges close to each other . 

Close one corner and then make a small fold on one edge and press move towards the other edge and seal. Continue making these small folds on one side and press to seal with the other edge.Your dim sum wrap with the filling is ready.

Grease a large plate with some oil and place all the dim sums on it and cover with damp cloth , then steam them in a pressure cooker or steamer for 5-6 minutes and the dim sums will have a shiny silvery glow. Immediately shift to a hot pack.

Serve these warm dim sum with sweet chilli sauce to get the authentic experience 

Note:
1.If you cannot find oyster mushrooms you can replace with button mushrooms

2.You can experiment with other types of filling however I found this combination with oyster mushrooms very flavorful

3.Do not overstream the dimsums more than 5-6 minutes else they will be soggy.The cloth that covers the dim sum ensures the dimsum do not become soggy.

4.While making the dough make sure it is not too soft nor too stiff.

5.Make the wrap as thin as possible to enjoy the dim sum.

A Snacky Tasty Spinach Mushroom Quesadilla

A great little vegetarian snack, a quesadilla is basically a mexican-style stuffed pancake, like a toasted sandwich, made with two tortillas sandwiched together with cheese and vegetarian filling.

Ingredients:

• 6 tortillas home made or store bought

To make tortillas

• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp vegetable shorting/dalda
• a pinch of salt

Procedure:
Mix all the above ingredients with enough water to form a smooth and form dough,like roti dough .Let it sit for 30 min. Divide into large lemon size ball and with a sprinkle of flour , roll them with a rolling pin to approximately six-inch diameter.

Heat a frying pan(tawa), place tortilla on it and cook on moderate heat for few minutes till it get light golden spots on each side. Prepare all the tortillas and keep aside.

For Filling

•     1/2 cup sliced onions
•     1 cup sliced bell pepper (any color)
•     1 cup chopped spinach
•     1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
•     1/2 cup baby tomatos
•     1/4 tsp pepper
•     1/4 tsp roasted cummin powder
•     1/2 tsp chilli flakes
•     2 tbsp olive oil
•     1 tbsp grated cheddar cheese per casadia
•     salt to taste

Procedure

Heat oil in pan and add onions and fry for 2 min ,then add bell pepper and mushrooms and sautee for 3 min,add spinach ,baby tomato and sautee for 2 min then add salt and pepper,roasted cummin powder and keep the filling aside

Take one tortilla ,sprinkle the good amount filling on top of it ,sprinkle some cheese,chilli flakes and place another tortilla on top of it and press it softly and place it on hot tawa (fry pan) and let it cook each side one min.

I used a quesadilla maker but a tawa would do the same if you press it evenly all over the tortilla.

Remove ,cut them into wedges and serve hot with guacamole dip, tomato salsa or your favorite ketchup

Guacamole dip

 Ingredients:

•  2 ripe avocados
•  4 spring onions chopped
•  1 small tomato chopped
•  1 tbsp chopped jalapenos
•  1 tbsp lemon juice
•  3 tbsp of chopped cilantro (coriander)
•  1/4 tsp crushed black pepper
•  salt to taste

Preparation:

Scoop out the avocado and put all the ingredients in a bowl

Use a fork and mash it .
 

A Simple Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry and Sandwich

Fresh oyster mushrooms are hard to find in chennai, I accidentally came across a shop which was selling fresh oyster mushrooms. I was excited to see oyster mushrooms as they look so beautiful  Known to have many health benefits to fight cholesterol and cancer I think they deserve to be included in our diet at a regular basis.

The sandwich was very delightful to have with the soft mushroom filling and complimented very well with the flavors. This is a healthy low fat sandwich, you could also have it like a stir fry if you don't want to have it with the bread.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sliced oyster mushroom
• 4 bread slices
• 2 tbsp sliced onions
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp chilli flakes
• 1/4 tsp chopped garlic 
• 1/2 tsp mustard sauce
• 1/2 tsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt to taste

Procedure
Heat oil in pan, add chopped garlic and mushrooms and fry till mushroom gets tender.
Add oregano, chilli flakes, salt and mix nicely, then add the chopped onions and stir mildly.

Toast the bread in the same pan and spread the prepared mixture on the bread slice, add some mustard sauce , tomato sauce and cover with the other bread slice. And press mildly, flip over and toast till it has a golden crust.

Serve warm.

Note:
1.In place of raw onions you can use caramelized onion.
2.You could spread mayonnaise and top it with the mushroom filling or use a cheese slice too with the filling
3.You could add salad leaves, fresh tomatoes, pickles jaleponos to the filling