Mushroom pepper fry is a delicious South Indian-style mushroom recipe that is vegan and gluten-free. Also known as Kerala style dry pepper mushroom this dish gets ready in less than 30 minutes and is a must-try if you like spicy food.
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure here. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases without any extra cost to you.
Quitting meat after spending years of relishing non-vegetarian food, is not always easy, especially during the initial few days, maybe months, or even years of the cruelty-free journey.
However, as you start discovering and creating tasty vegetarian or vegan recipes, you start enjoying the peace on your plate.
The recipe which I am sharing today is a South Indian-style mushroom recipe known as black pepper mushroom fry. I developed this recipe one day when I was craving one of my favorite chicken recipes from my non-vegetarian days- Kerala-style pepper chicken.
After eating this dish, I never missed that chicken version again.
Kerala is a beautiful state of Southern India and is also known as "the land of spices".
The climate of Kerala is considered to be perfect for cultivating rich quality spices. The state holds a very prominent place in spice trading across the globe since ancient times.
That's the reason why Kerala's food is so flavorful and aromatic.
If you like the punch of black pepper or are a mushroom lover, you have to try this recipe.
Jump to:
What goes in mushroom pepper fry?
To make Kereala style mushroom pepper fry, you will need the ingredients shown in the image below:
Ingredient notes
- Mushrooms: White button mushrooms are the best for this recipe but you can also use cremini.
- Curry leaves: Curry leaves are used to flavor a lot of South Indian dishes. If you can't find fresh, dried or frozen curry leaves can also be used.
- Garam masala: It's an Indian blend of spices which has a very strong flavor and aroma so add carefully.
- Cooking oil: The main cooking medium in Kerala is coconut oil but you can also make this dish in vegetable oil or canola oil.
How to make (step by step instructions)?
Step 1: Heat oil in a pot and add fennel seeds. Saute until they become fragrant.
Step 2: Add sliced onion, green chilies, and curry leaves.
Step 3: Cook until the onion becomes translucent.
Step 4: Add ginger garlic paste and cook for about a minute or until the raw smell of garlic goes away.
Step 5 and 6: Add chopped mushrooms, turmeric powder, coriander powder, roughly crushed black peppercorns, and salt. Mix everything.
Step 7: Cook until all the liquid released from mushrooms gets dry and the mushrooms are nicely cooked. Switch off the stove.
Ste 8: Add lime juice.
Your South Indian style black pepper mushroom fry is ready. Enjoy!
Serving suggestions
- Serve it with roti, paratha or any other Indian bread of choice.
- You can also enjoy it as a side dish with rice and dal.
- Leftover pepper mushroom can be used as a stuffing in sandwiches and wraps.
Storing suggestions
To store the leftovers, put the mushroom pepper fry in an air-tight container and refrigerate for 2-3 days.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Don't make very small pieces of mushrooms as they will reduce further in size after getting cooked. Cut them in a size slightly bigger than bite-size so that you get bite size pieces of cooked mushrooms.
- Spices get burned very quickly so before adding fennel seeds to the oil, keep the onion, chilies, and curry leaves ready. Also, make sure that the oil is at a manageable temperature.
- Don't make very fine powder of black peppercorns, grind them coarsely. Freshly ground pepper tastes the best.
- If you don't like very spicy food, reduce the quantity of black pepper.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, this dish is quite spicy. However, you can adjust the spiciness by adjusting the amount of black pepper in the recipe. You can skip the green chili peppers too, if you want.
White button mushrooms will give the best and the most authentic taste. But, if you want cremini can be used too.
To keep the mushrooms juicy, cook them on high flame and keep stirring in between.
More easy mushroom recipes
Looking for more ideas to cook mushrooms? Don't miss checking the following easy mushroom recipes from around the world:
- Matar mushroom
- Mushroom Tom yum soup
- Baozi with mushrooms and bok choy
- Mushroom noodles
- Vegan mushroom orzo
- Mushroom masala
- Mushroom rice
More vegetarian/ vegan South Indian recipes
If you also love South Indian food like me and want to try some easy vegan or vegetarian South Indian recipes at home then don't miss checking the following links:
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in the recipe card below. You can also follow me on Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest.
Recipe
Black pepper mushroom fry-South Indian style
Equipment
- Cooking pot
Ingredients
- 500 grams button mushroom cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 large red onion sliced
- 1-2 sliced green chilies adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 8-10 curry leaves
- 1.5 tablespoons lime juice adjust to taste
- ¾ tablespoon black peppercorns crushed
- ½ tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- Salt to taste
- 1.5 tablespoons Cooking oil of choice
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan and add fennel seeds. Saute for a few seconds or until they become fragrant.
- Add sliced onion, curry leaves, green chilies, and sauté until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for around a minute.
- When the raw smell of garlic goes away, add chopped mushrooms, all the spices, and salt. Mix and cook mushrooms until the liquid released by mushrooms gets almost dry. It will take around 10 minutes on medium flame. Keep on stirring in between. Once mushrooms are cooked, switch off the stove.
- Add lime juice and mix. Serve hot with roti or rice.
Notes
- This dish is spicy, to make it less spicy and reduce the heat too, add less black pepper and skip green chili peppers.
- Don't cut very small pieces of mushrooms as they shrink in size after getting cooked.
- More recipe tips and tricks are given within the post above. Please follow them to make this recipe.
Turned out really well, has lots of masala and is perfectly spiced.
Thank you Malvika 🙂
I am 15 and this is the first thing I cooked and every one loved it. it was so easy that i don't have to take help from mother and i love mushrooms. thanks for the recipe.
Thanks a lot Sukhman. I am so glad to know that you liked the recipe.
I am a German who married into a South Indian family and cooked this for my family today (we live in a joint family of 9) and everyone loved it, thank you so much!
Thank you so much, glad to know that your family loved it. Thanks for sharing with me:).
I've been a vegan for a little over a year now, and am just getting used to mushrooms...but you make them look delish! Pinning this recipe!
Thank you so much Ellen :). Yes, the initial period of turning a vegan or vegetarian is quite challenging.
Yummy! I do not eat nearly enough mushrooms, and this recipe is simply perfect. Yay for being gluten free!
Thanks a lot Nadalie.
I'm not sure if I've ever eaten mushrooms before and if I have, I really can't remember. But this dish looks so yummy that I think I may have to try it.
Thank you.
Wow, this sounds delicious and I am totally adding it to our meal rotation. I love Indian food and I have been trying to start making meatless meals.
Thank you so much Hannah.
It sounds really good, and easy to make! I think a lot about becoming a vegetarian, but I'm so scared I will miss meat too much, and not be able to stick with it.
Thanks a lot Monica. I can understand, it's not easy. I was also a meat lover and struggled a lot in the initial days of turning vegetarian. A few years ago I could never have imagined that I will become vegetarian. But now my taste buds have got adapted to the freshness of vegetarian food and I can't even think of going back.
Yum! This looks so delicious and easy to follow! I love trying new recipes, and this one definitely seems like a great one to cook, especially since it seems simple to follow and make!
Thanks a lot 🙂