Delicious Tamil Nadu style mushroom gravy/mushroom kuzhambu made in Instant Pot! A perfect gravy that you can pair with rice, biryani, roti, and other tiffin items.
Check out how to make this mushroom kuzhambu (vegan and gluten-free) with step-wise pictures.
My love for kuzhambu, especially vathal kuzhambu is a known secret. More than sambar, I prefer kuzhambu varieties and explore different ones. Also, I love recipes that you can pair it with different dishes, and this mushroom kuzhambu, or as we say in Tamil, the kalan kuzhambu is one such recipe. The coconut, coconut oil, and the curry leaves and whole spices make this gravy lip-smackingly good and a perfect side for all the dishes.
This gravy is the vegetarian version of popular chicken kuzhambu. When Sharmila from happietrio shared that chicken recipe, I was intrigued as the gravy base sounded delicious with the freshly ground coconut paste. I was contemplating if I should make it with veggies or mushrooms or soya chunks. Finally, mushroom won, and that’s the story behind this kuzhambu.
You can very well make this gravy with mixed vegetables, tofu, paneer, soya chunks for the vegetarian version. Naturally, this gravy is vegan and gluten-free as well.
Initially, I tried it on stove-top, but when I tried again, I made it Instant Pot, and today I am sharing the Instant Pot version. You can very well make this on stove-top, and Instant Pot is not mandatory.
All-in-one Mushroom Gravy:
What’s so special about this gravy is that it is delicious and pairs well with idli, dosa, plain steamed rice, biryani, chapati, and more. Make this gravy in the morning and serve it with idli or dosa for breakfast and serve it with rice or biryani for lunch and relish it with roti for dinner. Amazing huh?
This gravy became kiddo’s favorite gravy, and when I made this, I paired it with Chettinadu veg biryani.
How to make the mushroom gravy
We first roast the coconut and some whole spices and grind it along with spice powders. I usually grind my spice powder along with coconut instead of adding them one-by-one to the gravy. It just speeds up the process. Then we saute some onions and tomatoes, and pressure cook the mushroom along with the ground paste, and that’s it.
It’s pretty straightforward, but you have to be careful while roasting the coconut in Instant Pot. We need to let it brown slightly but make sure not to overcook. I used the “Normal” mode in the saute setting.
Other mushroom recipes on the blog
Mushroom kuzhambu with detailed step-wise pictures
Prepare the coconut paste:
- Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the coconut oil. Spread it evenly, and after 30 to 45 seconds, add the coconut.
- Roast for 5 minutes until it turns light brown. Keep stirring, and don’t leave it unattended.
- Now add the curry leaves, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, fennel seeds, black stone powder, and mace. Roast for three more minutes and turn off the Instant Pot.
- Transfer the coconut and spices immediately to a mixer jar. Don’t let sit in the IP. Allow the coconut mixture to cool and then add the red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, ginger-garlic paste and grind it into a smooth paste by adding ½ cup water and set it aside.
Prepare the gravy:
- Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add the bay leaf, fennel seeds, and the curry leaves. Let the fennel seeds sizzle for 20 to 30 seconds and then add the onion.
- Saute the onion for 4 to 5 minutes and then add the chopped tomato. Saute for a minute and then add the mushrooms and the ground paste.
- Add salt and half more cups of water. Mix well and simmer it for two minutes. Make you scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot thoroughly.
- Press the cancel button, close the Instant Pot lid and make sure the vent is in the sealing position. Select manual/pressure cook and set the time to 2-minutes at high-pressure mode. When the cooking is complete, wait for 5 minutes and quickly release the pressure.
- Carefully open the lid after releasing the pressure and check for consistency. If it’s thin, you can simmer again for 5 minutes in saute mode. I did not simmer it.
- Garnish it with cilantro and serve hot.
Recipe Notes-
- Adjust the salt and spices as per your liking.
- I highly recommend coconut oil for this recipe, but you can use any other oil of your choice if you can’t source it.
- Instead of brown mushrooms, you can use white mushrooms or tofu, paneer, mixed vegetables, or soya chunks. In the case of mixed vegetables, the Instant Pot cooking time will vary. I would cook for 5 minutes instead of 2 minutes. If you are using tofu, one minute should be sufficient.
- It’s optional to grind the spice powders along with coconut. You can add it along with tomatoes and cook. I recently started following this way as it’s easy, and I don’t need to worry about lumps. The spices integrate well in the gravy. But make sure you simmer the gravy so that the raw smell of spices weans away.
PS – If you try this mushroom kuzhambu, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it asap. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Mushroom Gravy | Mushroom Kuzhambu | Kalan Kuzhambu
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
To Roast-
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 cup coconut grated (tightly packed)
- 2 cloves
- 2 cardamom
- a small piece of mace
- ½ inch cinnamon pice
- 10 curry leaves
- ½ tbsp fennel seeds
- ¼ tsp black stone flower powder
Other Ingredients
- 2 tsp red chili powder or to taste
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ¾ tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 cup water
To Temper and Saute
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 10 curry leaves
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 tomato chopped
- 500 gram mushrooms cleaned and roughly sliced. I used brown bella mushrooms
- 2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tbsp cilantro finely chopped to garnish
Instructions
Prepare the coconut paste:
- Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the coconut oil. Spread it evenly, and after 30 to 45 seconds, add the coconut.
- Roast for 5 minutes until it turns light brown. Keep stirring, and don’t leave it unattended.
- Now add the curry leaves, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, fennel seeds, black stone powder, and mace. Roast for three more minutes and turn off the Instant Pot.
- Transfer the coconut and spices immediately to a mixer jar. Don’t let sit in the IP. Allow the coconut mixture to cool and then add the red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, ginger-garlic paste and grind it into a smooth paste by adding ½ cup water and set it aside.
Prepare the gravy:
- Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add the bay leaf, fennel seeds, and the curry leaves. Let the fennel seeds sizzle for 20 to 30 seconds and then add the onion.
- Saute the onion for 4 to 5 minutes and then add the chopped tomato. Saute for a minute and then add the mushrooms and the ground paste.
- Add salt and half more cups of water. Mix well and simmer it for two minutes. Make you scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot thoroughly.
- Press the cancel button, close the Instant Pot lid and make sure the vent is in the sealing position. Select manual/pressure cook and set the time to 2-minutes at high-pressure mode. When the cooking is complete, wait for 5 minutes and quickly release the pressure.
- Carefully open the lid after releasing the pressure and check for consistency. If it’s thin, you can simmer again for 5 minutes in saute mode. I did not simmer it.
- Garnish it with cilantro and serve hot.
Notes
- Adjust the salt and spices as per your liking.
- I highly recommend coconut oil for this recipe, but you can use any other oil of your choice if you can’t source it.
- Instead of brown mushrooms, you can use white mushrooms or tofu, paneer, mixed vegetables, or soya chunks. In the case of mixed vegetables, the Instant Pot cooking time will vary. I would cook for 5 minutes instead of 2 minutes. If you are using tofu, one minute should be sufficient.
- It’s optional to grind the spice powders along with coconut. You can add it along with tomatoes and cook. I recently started following this way as it’s easy, and I don’t need to worry about lumps. The spices integrate well in the gravy. But make sure you simmer the gravy so that the raw smell of spices weans away.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
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Mushroom gravy looks so flavorful with freshly grounded masala. Love the bowl you have used to serve the gravy.
Thank you :-)
Thank you for this recipe, just loved it. I am loving the use of fresh ground masala here and it looks super flavourful and tempting. My family does not like mushroom and this one is too good.
You can also use soy chunks or mixed vegetables for this.
This surely is a very flavoursome gravy with all that roasted masala. Excellent dish Srividhya..must try one!
Thanks Valli. It is a delicious one. Please do try it.
Wow! This gravy sounds so flavorful. I am sure to try it with paneer or even aloo.
Thanks Harini. It works well with veggies and paneer or just potatoes.
The curry sounds delicious , well i might try it with paneer or mix veggies , since I am not very fond of mushrooms .
We like coconut gravies and this one sounds quite interesting , love the rich look it has . Let me pair it with the Biryani – yes Chettinad Biryani !
Thanks Vaishali. With paneer it will be good too.