Chatu Ambula Besara/Mushrooms in mustard gravy with sun dried Mango
“Pancha Phutana” or “Paanch Phoran” is a colourful blend of five flavourful spices which is used extensively in Odia cuisine and the neighbouring states of Bengal and the North Eastern States. It comprises of Cumin, Mustard, Fenugreek, Nigella and Aniseed in equal quantities. It gives a unique flavour when added to mustard oil while cooking as is generally done in Odia cuisine. Apart from imparting a subtle and unique flavour, a distinct aroma and delectable taste the Pancha Phutana has immense health benefits too. The spice blend helps to bring forward the flavours of fish, vegetables and lentils. It is sometimes roasted and ground coarsely and used for marinades, soups and stews.
Chatu Ambula Besara is a tangy and spicy curry, very common to my home state Odisha. Locally grown mushrooms or Pala Chatu as known in Odisha cooked in a mustard paste called Besara with dried raw mangoes or Ambula with a tempering of Pancha Phutana. The ground mustard paste with garlic imparts a little pungency to the curry, the dried raw mango pieces or Ambula gives a nice tanginess and the red chillies make it fiery and spicy making the curry not meant for the faint hearted. A bowl of steaming hot rice to go with it and it’s comfort food for us.
This tart, spicy, flavourful authentic Odiya curry goes as an entry for the 44th Foodie Monday Bloghop. The theme this time for the Bloghop being #Indianspicesorted I decided to use the five blend spice ” Paanch Phoran “ as the entry.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 serving | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 20 minutes |
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A tart, spicy, flavourful, authentic Odiya curry made with locally grown mushrooms, tempered with Paanch phoron or the five spice blend in a mustard gravy with sun dried Mango.
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- 200 gms button mushrooms or Chatu
- 01 medium potato or Alu
- 01 big pc sun dried Mango or Ambula
- 02 tbsps mustard oil
- 1 tsp five spice blend or Pancha Phutana
- 1/2 tsp turmeric or Haldi powder
- 2 green chillies or Lanka (slit)
- A handful coriander or Dhaniya patra
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp Black mustard seeds or Sorisha
- 1 tsp cumin seeds or Jeera
- 4-5 flakes garlic or Rasuna
- 3-4 dried chillies or Sukha Lanka
- Soak all the ingredients of the paste in very little water for 20-30 minutes and grind them in a grinder with as little water as possible as the paste has to be thick and smooth.Soak the dried mango piece in 1/3 Cup warm water.
- Cut the Mushrooms into quarters and the potatoes into equal sized cubes.
- Heat 1 tbsp mustard oil to smoking point in a wok, lessen the heat and saute the potato cubes with little salt till nearly done. Keep aside.
- Add the rest of the oil, follow the same process for heating the oil, add the Pancha Phutana,let it crackle for it to leave its flavours in the oil.
- Add the quartered mushrooms and sautxe9 till half done in medium high flame.Add the cooked potatoes and sautxe9 for a minute.
- Now add the ground paste, turmeric, green chillies and salt ,fry for 2 minutes and add water according to the consistency you want. I added 1 cup of water .
- Give a nice boil to the curry for 2 minutes and add the Soaked Ambula with the water.
- Boil the curry for 4-5 minutes more or till the consistency you prefer.
- Switch off the flame and garnish with fresh coriander, serve and enjoy with steamed rice.
What a flavourful preparation Saswati. It’s amazing how the combination of the same spices can create a whole new taste.
super tempting display…lovely share..simply want to grab
Thank you so much Mayuri Dee and Nisa.
I came upon this post when I was looking for vegetables cooked with pancha phutana. Such a lovely post, Saswati, and the images are colourful as well as giving clarity to the texture and consistencies in the dish. Can we use fresh raw mango instead of sun dried one, will it make a difference in flavour?
May be use aamchur powder but not mango for sure.