Mushroom Makhanior Mushroom Butter Masala, a buttery dish of chunky mushrooms and green bell peppers in a perfectly spiced, velvety-textured makhani curry. Serve it with roti, vegan naan, parotta or basmati rice for a delicious Indian meal.
It was in 2009 that I first created — and shared with you on this blog — a recipe for a makhani dish made with mushrooms instead of meat or cheese. I’ve already made vegan versions of popular Indian restaurant makhani recipes like butter chicken and paneer makhani (this vegan butter chicken and tofu makhani) but I was keen to experiment with mushrooms as they seemed to go well with the signature orange makhani gravy, especially those For those trying to avoid soy.
Mushroom Makhani was as amazing as I imagined and a delicious new dish was born. Also, it tasted much better than any makhani you can buy at a restaurant and it was easy.
I wanted to bring that recipe forward for those of you who, like me, love mushrooms and the amazing qualities they bring to any dish they are added to: amazing flavor and umami, lots of texture, and a great nutritional profile. I updated this recipe with new photos and text and added a recipe card because the recipe was so old, it didn’t actually have one! The recipe itself, however, I left mostly untouched except for a few minor changes to the method. I hope you will like it!
Index
Why you will love this recipe
- Big on taste. Everyone loves makhani dishes because they are creamy, buttery and incredibly aromatic, thanks to the spices and kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves). You don’t have to miss any of them in this dairy-free, meatless and easy mushroom makhani recipe. Try it and you’ll agree that it’s an improvement over any makhani with animal products in it.
- simple. It’s an easy recipe to put together and takes less than 45 minutes to prepare and cook, making it perfect for a weeknight meal, too.
- versatile. You can serve this mushroom makhani to guests or for a special or everyday but delicious family dinner. Everyone is sure to love it, and if you have kids who hate mushrooms, who knows, they might love them.
- Can be vegan, soy-free, gluten-free and nut-free. See the ingredients list below for how to make this recipe nut-free.
Materials
- Curry Base: Onion, tomato And Ginger garlic batter. You can use canned tomato puree, if you have it. Use 1 cup to substitute two large tomatoes. If you don’t have ginger garlic paste, add 3-4 cloves of garlic and 1 inch of ginger to the blender.
- Vegan butter. It adds a buttery flavor. You can use any neutral-scented oil, including avocado oil, grape seed oil, refined coconut oil, or sunflower oil.
- Spices: ground coriander, cumin, paprika or cayenne pepper (or both) and garam masala powder.
- Herbs: Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and Fresh coriander leaves (coriander leaves) for garnishing.
- sugar. A little to balance the taste of mushroom makhani.
- raw cashews. These are for a vegetarian cream. You can also use pistachios. If nut free, use pumpkin seeds. I know a lot of people like to add coconut milk instead of almond cream but please don’t do this to the batter as you will change the taste significantly. It may still taste good, but it won’t be buttery.
Helpful Tips
- Cut the mushrooms and bell peppers into large pieces. Halve or quarter the mushrooms, depending on their size, and dice the bell peppers into 1-inch cubes.
- Stop cooking when the vegetables still have a bite to them. It adds a lot of wonderful texture and the mushrooms and bell peppers have more flavor when they’re not overcooked.
- Make sure the sauce is thoroughly cooked before adding the vegetables. See the picture above — spots of oil should float to the top of the sauce to indicate it’s done. This ensures that there is no raw smell or taste.
- This recipe contains a small amount of sugar but it adds a complex note to this mushroom makhani recipe with kasuri fenugreek and spices. Don’t skip. You can replace it with maple syrup.
Serving advice
Storage instructions
- Keep in fridge: Refrigerate mushroom butter masala in an airtight container for up to four days.
- freeze: Freeze the curry in a freezer-safe container for up to four months.
- Reheat: Melt and reheat in a pan on the stove. Or use a microwave-safe container to heat in the microwave. Add water if necessary and check the salt.
More Indian style mushroom recipes
Love this mushroom makhani recipe? Check out more curry recipes at Holy Cow Vegan!
Mushroom Makhani (Mushroom Butter Masala)
Mushroom Makhani, or Mushroom Butter Masala, is a buttery dish of chunky mushrooms and green bell peppers in a perfectly spiced, velvety-textured Makhani curry. Serve it with roti, vegan naan or basmati rice for a delicious Indian meal.
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Serving: 6 serving
Calories: 80kcal
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instructions
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Place tomato, onion and ginger garlic paste in a blender. Blend to a smooth paste.
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Heat oil in a kadai or kadai. Add the blended tomato onion sauce and mix.
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Add paprika/cayenne, ground coriander, ground cumin and fenugreek seeds. Stir in ½ cup water and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Once the sauce is cooked, you should see the oil separate and float to the top.
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Add the mushrooms and bell pepper to the sauce. Stir them and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes or until the vegetables are as tender as you like. I like to stop when they are slightly tender but still have a good bite. You can cook them for longer, if you prefer.
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Stir in garam masala and sugar.
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Blend the cashews with half a cup of water. Stir the cashew cream into the sauce. The cream will be a little thin, but that’s okay, it will thicken as it heats up.
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Let the curry boil again. Check the salt and add more if needed. Turn off the heat. Garnish with coriander leaves before serving.
Recipe notes
- Cut the mushrooms and bell peppers into large pieces. Halve or quarter the mushrooms, depending on their size, and dice the bell peppers into 1-inch cubes.
- Stop cooking when the vegetables still have a bite to them. It adds a lot of wonderful texture and the mushrooms and bell peppers have more flavor when they’re not overcooked.
- Make sure the sauce is thoroughly cooked before adding the vegetables. See the picture above — spots of oil should float to the top of the sauce to indicate it’s done.
- This recipe contains a small amount of sugar but it adds a complex note to this mushroom makhani recipe with kasuri fenugreek and spices. Don’t skip. You can replace it with maple syrup.
Serving advice
Storage instructions
- Keep in fridge: Refrigerate mushroom butter masala in an airtight container for up to four days.
- freeze: Freeze the curry in a freezer-safe container for up to four months.
- Reheat: Melt and reheat in a pan on the stove. Or use a microwave-safe container to heat in the microwave. Add water if necessary and check the salt.
nutrition
Calories: 80kcal | Sugars: 10g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans fats: 0.3g | Potassium: 455mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 795IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg
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