Mushroom Tikka Masala

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This Mushroom tikka masala is a flavorful, rich, creamy and delicious restaurant style curry made with marinated grilled/sauteed mushrooms in a smooth, silken gravy base of onions, tomatoes and cashews. Make it for special occasions for a luxurious meal with a side of roti, naan, paratha or cumin rice.

mushroom tikka masala garnished with coriander leaves and served in a white bowl placed on a white plate.

Sharing one more Restaurant-style gravy of mushroom tikka masala. I had got a few requests to post this gravy recipe. this tikka masala gravy is different than the usual one I make with paneer or grilled veggies. Here I have not added fresh curd and used cashew paste. Thus the gravy is creamy and slightly sweet.

Preparing any tikka masala gravy takes time. So you can divide the prep work like marinating the tikkas a night before and then grilling & preparing gravy, the next day.

Mushroom tikka can be made both in the oven or on stovetop. i have listed both the methods in the step by step pics below. So choose one which suits you.

Serve mushroom tikka masala hot with tandoori roti, butter naan, lachedar paratha, chapati or Phulka. The gravy also goes well with jeera rice, saffron rice or veg pulao.

How to make Mushroom Tikka Masala

Preparing tikka marinade:

1. We will need hung curd/yogurt or thick yogurt for this recipe. I used ½ cup fresh curd and strained it in a muslin cloth with a light weight kept on it, overnight in the fridge.

From ½ cup fresh curd, I got 4 tablespoons hung curd. If using thick curd, then also use 4 tbsp of it.

hung curd in a muslin cloth

2. Now add 4 tablespoons of the hung curd or thick curd in a bowl along with the following ingredients:

  • ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder or 2 to 3 pinches of turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
  • ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch
  • ½ teaspoon chaat masala powder
  • 1 to 1.5 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
  • ½ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)
  • ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
  • Add black salt as required. You can also use rock salt or regular salt instead of black salt.
spices for mushroom tikka masala recipe

3. Mix the marinade mixture very well.

marination mixture in the bowl

4. Then add ½ tablespoon of besan or gram flour.

besan added

5. Stir and mix again very well. You can also add ½ tablespoons oil if grilling the mushroom tikka in the oven or a tandoor grill. If pan-frying or sauteing, then no need to add oil.

mixing marination mixture again

6. Now add mushrooms to the marinade mixture. The mushrooms can be rinsed and then wiped if too many mud particles on them or just lightly wiped with a moist cloth, if they are clean.

Slice the stalks a little bit and keep them ready before adding to the marinade.

mushrooms added to marinade mixture

7. With your hands, gently mix and coat the mushrooms with the marinade. Cover the bowl with a lid and allow the mushrooms to get marinated for 30 minutes at room temperature or in the fridge. You can also keep for a couple of hours in the fridge or overnight.

marinating mushrooms

8. Meanwhile add 2 large tomatoes and 8 to 10 cashews in a bowl containing hot water. Cover and keep aside for 20 to 30 minutes.

The tomatoes will get blanched and the cashews will soften. You can heat the water on a stovetop, in a microwave or in an electric heater. Use almonds or a mix of almonds and melon seeds (magaz) if you don’t want to use cashews.

tomatoes and cashews in hot water

9. After 20 to 30 minutes, chop the blanched tomatoes. You can also remove the peels if you want.

chopping blanched tomatoes

10. Add the tomatoes along with its juices and the cashews to a grinder or blender jar. Without adding any water grind to a smooth paste.

tomato paste in a blender jar

11. These are the marinated mushrooms after 40 minutes.

marinated mushrooms after 40 minutes

Baking method:
1. Line the pan with an aluminium foil. Thread the mushrooms on a skewer and bake/grill for 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated oven at 200 degrees celsius.

Since oven temperatures vary, do keep a check. The time taken to grill the mushrooms can be less or more.

thread the mushroom tikka for baking

2. The oven grilled mushrooms below. You can also brush oil on the mushrooms before baking and its optional.

grilled mushrooms

Sauteing method:
1. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of oil in a pan. You can use any neutral flavored oil.

heat oil in a pan

2. Add the marinated mushrooms.

marinated mushrooms added to oil

3. Let each side of the mushrooms get cooked a bit and then turn over. Use a well-seasoned pan or non-stick pan for sauteing the mushrooms, otherwise, the marinade sticks to the pan.

pan frying mushrooms

3. Saute the mushrooms on a low to medium heat.

sauteing mushrooms on low heat in the pan

4. Turn over and saute so that each side gets browned and cooked well. A time will come when the mushrooms will begin to release water and the oil will begin to splutter. Just cover the pan with a lid half way and continue to cook the mushrooms.

sauteed mushrooms in the pan

5. Saute till the marinade coating on the mushrooms is nicely golden and crisp. Remove the sauteed mushrooms with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

sauteed mushrooms removed in a plate

Making mushroom tikka masala gravy

6. In the same oil, add ½ cup finely chopped onions. If you have grilled all the mushrooms, then just heat 2 tablespoons of oil.

onions added to pan

7. Stir and mix very well. Begin to saute onions on a low to medium heat stirring often.

sauteing onions

9. Saute till the onions start turning golden.

sauteing onions till golden

10. Next add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste. Stir and saute till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away or for a few seconds.

sauteing ginger garlic paste

11. Now add ⅓ cup chopped capsicum (green bell pepper) and 1 to 2 slit green chilies. Green chilies give the dish some heat. Skip if making for kids or if you or family members cannot tolerate heat.

capsicum and green chilies added

12. Stir and saute for a minute.

sauteing capsicum

13. Now add all the dry spice powders mentioned below:

  • ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder
spices added to pan

14. Stir the dry spice powders very well with the rest of the mixture.

mix the spices with rest of the mixture

15. Add the tomato-cashew paste.

cashew tomato paste added

16. Stir and mix again.

mix the paste with the masala

17. Also add leftover marinade. I just had about 1.5 teaspoons of the leftover marinade.

add leftover marinade mixture

18. Stir and saute for 4 to 5 minutes.

saute the gravy

19. Now add 1 cup water.

water added to pan

20. Stir and mix again so that the water gets evenly mixed with the rest of the masala.

mixing water with the gravy

21. Add salt as required.

salt added to gravy

22. Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon sugar or as required.

sugar added to gravy

23. Bring the curry or gravy to a simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.

simmer the curry and bring to a bowl

24. Add the sauteed or grilled mushrooms. If you want, you can prepare the gravy first. Then while serving, pour the gravy in the serving bowl. Place the mushroom tikkas on the gravy.

adding the grilled mushrooms

25. Add ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder, a pinch or two of grated nutmeg or nutmeg powder and 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (crushed).

spices added

26. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of low fat cream or whipping cream.

Substitute for fresh cream is 1 tablespoon milk powder or 1 tablespoon grated Khoya. if using either, then add them after you add the tomato-cashew paste and saute.

cream added to mushroom tikka masala gravy

27. Stir very well and then switch off the heat. Check the taste and add more salt or sugar if required.

stir mushroom tikka masala recipe

28. Lastly add 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves and ½ inch ginger, julienne.

coriander leaves added to mushroom tikka masala gravy

29. Stir and serve mushroom tikka masala hot or warm with tandoori rotis, butter naan, pudina paratha or chapatis or phulkas.

You can also serve it with rice based dishes like jeera rice, veg pulao, biryani rice or even with steamed basmati rice.

mushroom tikka masala recipe


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mushroom tikka masala recipe, mushroom tikka masala gravy recipe

Mushroom Tikka Masala

Restaurant style recipe of mushroom tikka masala gravy. 
4.87 from 15 votes
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cuisine North Indian, Punjabi
Course Main Course
Diet Vegetarian
Difficulty Level Moderate
Servings 4
Units

Ingredients

for mushroom marinade

  • 200 to 250 grams buttton mushrooms
  • 4 tablespoon Hung Curd (thick curd) or hung curd made from ½ cup fresh curd (yogurt)
  • 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder or 2 to 3 pinches of turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
  • ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch
  • ½ teaspoon chaat masala powder
  • 1 to 1.5 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste or 3 to 4 garlic cloves and ½ inch ginger – crushed to a paste in mortar-pestle
  • ½ teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
  • ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
  • ½ tablespoon oil, to be used only if grilling or baking the mushrooms in the oven
  • ½ tablespoon besan (gram flour)
  • 3 to 4 tablespoon oil for sauteing mushrooms
  • black salt or rock salt or regular salt as required
  • some oil for brushing while grilling (optional)

for tomato-cashew paste

  • 200 grams tomatoes or 3 medium to large tomatoes
  • 8 to 10 cashews
  • hot water as required

for mushroom tikka masala gravy

  • 80 to 100 grams onion or 1 medium to large onion or about ½ cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste or 2 to 3 garlic cloves and ½ inch ginger – crushed to a paste in mortar-pestle
  • 1 small to medium capsicum (green bell pepper) or about 1/3 cup chopped capsicum
  • 1 or 2 green chilies – slit
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder
  • ¼ teaspoon Garam Masala
  • 1 to 2 pinch grated nutmeg or nutmeg powder
  • 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves) – crushed
  • 2 to 3 tablespoon low fat cream or whipping cream
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

Instructions
 

marinating mushrooms

  • We will need hung curd/yogurt or thick yogurt for this recipe. 
  • I used 1/2 cup fresh curd and strained it in a muslin cloth with a light weight kept on it, overnight in the fridge. From 1/2 cup fresh curd, I got 4 tbsp hung curd. If using thick curd, then also use 4 tbsp of it.
  • Now add 4 tbsp of the hung curd or thick curd in a bowl along with 1/8 tsp turmeric powder or 2 to 3 pinches of turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder, 1/2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder, 1/2 tsp chaat masala powder, 1 to 1.5 tsp ginger-garlic paste, 1/2 tsp carom seeds/ajwain, 1/4 tsp lemon juice and 1/2 tbsp besan or gram flour.
  • Mix the marinade mixture very well.
  • You can also add 1/2 tbsp oil if grilling the mushroom tikka in oven or a tandoor grill. If pan frying or sauteing, then no need to add oil.
  • Now add mushrooms to the marinade mixture.
  • With your hands, gently mix and coat the mushrooms with the marinade.
  • Cover the bowl with a lid & allow the mushrooms to get marinated for 30 minutes at room temperature or in the fridge. You can also keep for a couple of hours in the fridge.

preparation for mushroom tikka masala gravy

  • Meanwhile add 2 large tomatoes and 8 to 10 cashews in a bowl containing hot water. Cover and keep aside for 20 to 30 minutes. 
  • The tomatoes will get blanched and the cashews will soften. You can heat the water on a stove top, in a microwave or in an electric heater.
  • After 20 to 30 minutes, chop the blanched tomatoes. You can also remove the peels if you want.
  • Add the tomatoes along with its juices and the cashews to a grinder or blender jar. Without adding any water grind to a smooth paste.
  • Chop the onions and capsicum too. Crush the ginger-garlic to a paste in mortar-pestle. Slit the green chilies.

method 1 – for baking mushroom tikka

  • Line the pan with an aluminium foil. Thread the mushrooms on a skewer and bake/grill for 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated oven at 200 degrees celsius.
  • You can also brush oil on the mushrooms before baking and its optional.

method 2 – for pan frying mushroom tikka

  • Heat 3 to 4 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the marinated mushrooms.
  • Let each side of the mushrooms get cooked a bit and then turn over. 
  • Use a well seasoned pan or non stick pan for sauteing the mushrooms, otherwise the marinade sticks to the pan. Saute the mushrooms on a low to medium flame.
  • Turn over and saute so that each side gets browned and cooked well. 
  • A time will come when the mushrooms will begin to release water and the oil will begin to splutter.
  • Just cover the pan with a lid half way and continue to cook the mushrooms.
  • Saute till mushrooms are nice golden and crisp.
  • Remove them with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

making mushroom tikka masala gravy

  • In the same oil, add 1/2 cup finely chopped onions. If you have grilled all the mushrooms, then just heat 2 tbsp oil.
  • Stir very well and begin to saute the onions on a low to medium flame.
  • Saute till the onions start turning golden.
  • Next add 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste. Stir and saute till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
  • Now add 1/3 cup chopped capsicum (green bell pepper) and slit 1 to 2 green chilies. Green chilies give the dish some heat. Skip if making for kids and if you cannot tolerate heat.
  • Stir and saute for a minute.
  • Now add all the dry spice powders – 1/2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp coriander powder.
  • Stir the dry spice powders very well with the rest of the mixture.
  • Add the tomato-cashew paste. Stir again.
  • Also add the leftover marinade. Stir and saute for 4 to 5 minutes.
  • Now add 1 cup water. Stir so that the water gets evenly mixed with the rest of the masala.
  • Add salt as required. Add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp sugar or as required.
  • Bring the curry or gravy to a simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.
  • Add the sauteed or grilled mushrooms.
  • Add 1/4 tsp garam masala powder, a pinch or two of grated nutmeg or nutmeg powder and 1 tsp kasuri methi (crushed).
  • Add 2 to 3 tbsp low fat cream or whipping cream. Substitute for fresh cream is 1 tbsp milk powder or 1 tbsp grated khoya. If using either, then add them after you add the tomato-cashew paste and saute.
  • Stir very well and then switch off the flame. 
  • Check the taste of gravy and add more salt or sugar if required.
  • Lastly add 1 to 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves.
  • Stir and Serve mushroom tikka masala hot with tandoori rotis, butter naan or chapatis or phulkas.

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This Mushroom Tikka Masala post from the archives first published in May 2015 has been republished and updated on 26 June 2022.

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35 Comments

  1. Hi!
    I made this yesterday and it was amazing! Thank you for the recipe and for posting the photos!5 stars

  2. I tried this recipe and it really turned out well. Thank you so much for making it easy.

  3. I make recipes from this site on a regular basis. I made this for the first time a week ago and ever since, my wife could not have an Indian meal soon enough. And it had to include this recipe …

    1. thankyou philippe for trying so many recipes and glad you follow us thankyou so much 🙂

  4. I made this for my dad for father’s day and oh my… this is crazy good. We’re vegan so I just made this thick cashew yogurt with some bio-k (cashew + water + bio-k, cultured in a yogurt maker for 9 hrs) and used that for the yogurt at the beginning and the cream at the end, but followed everything else exactly… So so good. Did the pan-fried version and it worked great. Will be making this again. I did this recipe x4 and it filled up my 4-quart crockpot perfectly if anyone is making this for a crowd.5 stars

    1. thanks for the feedback gwen. in most indian recipes, especially the tikka recipes cashew yogurt works very well. also nice to know that the recipe worked even after increasing the proportions. will help the readers for sure.

    1. cannot be substituted. but you can just skip and add 1 to 1.5 tbsp more of the besan. add more lemon juice if required.

  5. Hi. Dasana. My computer screen never looked so appetising with all your fabulous images! I am looking for a good vegetarian schwarma recipe. Can you assist. Thanks Khushi

    1. welcome khushi. thanks for your positive comment. i will try to post one vegetarian schwarma recipe.

  6. Lovely recipe! Turned out really yummy and striked the right balance in taste. My son thought it was his favourite non veg item. Keep up the good work.

    I just want to request you to try and share some newer recipes in dosa. Look forward to it.5 stars

    1. thank you sonal. good to know. i do plan to add various dosa & idli varieties and slowly steadily, i will add them.

  7. I tried this recipe today.
    It was yumm…couldn’t stop eating.my 3 year old also kept asking for more.
    Thank u so much for such great recipes.5 stars

  8. I particularly like the tomato/cashew step. It is applicable in many sauces/gravies where one wants a creamy dairy richness but cannot use actual dairy due to allergies or religious restrictions.5 stars

    1. thanks luis. even almonds can be used instead of cashews to give a creaminess in the gravy.

  9. Very well described, in details, excellent photos. Thanks. I/we shall surely try.5 stars

  10. I really like the mushroom tikka masala receipe. i will try toda. thank u for sharing. pl send me some more veg receipe.4 stars