Finally, a real curry recipe up here! Please excuse the poor lighting (my kitchen has crap light in the evenings) but I've been wanting to share some more Indian recipes but never seem to get to them in the daytime. So the heck with it, here is what I refer to as "my mushroom curry" as it's not one of Mr. PieKnits family/regional dishes but one from a more northern India cuisine cook book. I feel less intimidated by curry's that won't be compared to "Mom's", heh.

Mushroom with Potatoes and Onions
Khumbi, Aloo Aur Pyaz
5 tablespoons oil
1 large potato, diced into 3/4 in / 2 cm pieces
4 cardamom pods
1 1/2 in / 4 cm cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed or garlic paste
3/4 in / 2 cm fresh ginger, grated or ginger paste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
A big pinch of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
8 oz / 225 g / 4 cups mushrooms, quartered

Heat oil in a karahi or wok over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes (carefully! I use a lid in one hand as a splatter guard) and fry for 4-5 minutes until lightly golden. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and set aside.

To the same oil add the whole cardamoms, cinnamon stick and bay leaves and let them sizzle for a few seconds.
Add the onions and fry for 2-3 minutes. You would never guess this cinnamon and onion mixture would smell so wonderful but it does, trust me.

Add the garlic and ginger (I use the ready-made paste for this because it's easy and more uniformly coats) and fry an additional 2-3 minutes or until everything is soft and golden. (Mine got a bit toasty here.)

Stir in the turmeric, chili, salt and sugar. Now get ready to stir vigorously for a moment and add the vinegar. This part is fun; it fizzes like mad and sort of "deglazes" the pan.

Add the mushrooms and potatoes to the spice mixture and mix thoroughly. All that turmeric makes the mushrooms a nice bright yellow color.

Lower the heat to medium, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender, adding a little water if you like more 'gravy'. Add more salt to taste and serve up with some basmati rice. Yum!

Now if you have ever had the misfortune to bite into a whole cardamom unexpectedly you'll understand when I say it might be worth the trouble to remove these before serving to others. Or, for your cruel amusement you can leave them in for the uninitiated, muahahaa!