These Fried Masala Mushrooms – Deep-fried Vs Air-fried are such a treat! You can serve these as an appetizer or snack. They can also be an accompaniment to any meal.
I like mushrooms but struggle to find different ways of cooking them. So I decided to cook them this way as let’s face it, who does not like fried food?! As I am a big fan of the Air Fryer, I decided to try them in an Air Fryer as well. So read on to find out how it is done, and how it turned out!
If you have any leftovers(if there are any!😁), give them a makeover and make Mushroom Manchurian(bonus recipe included)!
Whichever way you eat it, these mushrooms will be your new favorite!
What are the ingredients required for Fried Masala Mushrooms – Deep-fried Vs Air-fried?
Mushrooms- Button mushrooms, I’m sure you could make these with baby Bella mushrooms as well. If you do try them out let me know if it works.
I wash the mushrooms and dry them thoroughly. I know most people say don’t wash mushrooms but I do as that’s the only way to get rid of stuck-on dirt. Moreover, I have never had a problem with washing and then cooking them.
Oil – For deep frying use a high heat oil like Vegetable Oil, Canola Oil, Peanut Oil, or Sunflower Oil.
For the masala coating:
Chickpea flour or Besan – you can find this flour in any Indian store. Bonus it is gluten-free!
Rice flour – This flour can be found in an Indian store as well.
Ginger garlic paste (optional)
Kashmiri Chili Powder
Turmeric powder
Cumin powder
Pepper powder
Chaat masala powder
Salt to taste
Water to mix
How do you make these Fried Masala Mushrooms – Deep-fried Vs Air-Fried?
Add all the dry ingredients for the batter together in a mixing bowl, and use a whisk to mix them.
Add water a little at a time to get a smooth batter. I used about 1/2 to 3/4th cup. The batter should not be thin, it should be on the thicker side.
Add the mushrooms to this mixture and coat them well.
How do you fry these mushrooms? I tried 2 ways. DEEP FRIED Vs AIR FRIED
DEEP-FRIED
In a cast-iron pot, heat oil, I used canola oil.
When the oil is hot, add mushrooms one by one, they should start sizzling as soon as you put them in. That’s a good indication that the oil is at the right temperature. Let the flame be on medium.
Turn them after a few minutes. Fry them till they are crispy about 8 to 10 minutes.
Take them out and put them on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.
Serve them hot! They will become soft as they sit. But you can always warm them up in a toaster oven or air fryer.
AIR-FRIED
If you have seen some of my previous recipes, you probably know that I love the Air Fryer! So I had to test this out in the Air Fryer to see for myself how they compared to the deep-fried Mushrooms.
First, line the air fryer basket with foil. Then brush a little bit of oil on the foil.
Drizzle some oil (1 tablespoon) on the coated mushrooms and mix.
Using tongs, place battered mushrooms on the foil in the Air Fryer.
Close the Air Fryer basket and switch it on to 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Turn the mushrooms once in between.
After 10 minutes your crispy air-fried mushrooms are ready!
Taste-wise I would say surprisingly both tasted equally good!
The only thing with using the Air Fryer was that you can only put it a little at a time. So it might take longer depending on the quantity you are making. And it does tend to stick to the foil a bit. Next time I would try parchment paper.
Enjoy your fried masala mushrooms with some tomato ketchup or Sriracha sauce!
Fried Masala Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 15-20 Button Mushrooms
- 2 cups Canola Oil (for deep frying)
For the batter
- ½ cup Chickpea flour (Besan)
- ¼ cup Rice flour
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Chili powder
- ¼ tsp Turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp Cumin powder
- ¼ tsp Pepper powder
- ½ tsp Chaat masala powder
- 1 tsp Ginger garlic paste (optional)
- 1 tsp Salt (or to taste)
- ½ to ¾ cup Water
Instructions
- Wash and dry the mushrooms. Cut them into 4 depending on the size of them If they are small you can cut them in half. Keep them aside.
To make the batter
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl using a whisk or a fork.
- Add water a little at a time, using a whisk, mix until you get a nice batter consistency. It should not be too thick nor too thin. The batter should be able to coat the mushrooms.
- Add mushrooms to the batter and mix until all the mushrooms are coated evenly with the batter.
To deep-fry:
- Heat oil in a cast-iron pan. When the oil is hot, drop the mushrooms into the hot oil. It should sizzle as soon as it goes in. Fry the mushrooms on both sides till crispy. This should take about 6 minutes or so.
- Take them out and drain them on a paper towel. Fry them in batches without overcrowding the pan.
- Serve hot with Sriracha or Tomato Ketchup.
To Air-Fry
- Line air-fryer basket with foil or parchment paper.
- Brush the foil or paper with oil. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of oil on the battered mushrooms. Mix well.
- Using tongs, put the mushrooms into the Air-Fryer basket leaving space in between each one.
- Close the basket and switch on your Air Fryer to 400° for 10 minutes.
- Turn the mushrooms once in between.
- After 10 minutes, take them out of the Air-Fryer and enjoy!
Notes:
- To make it spicier, use more Chili powder or add chopped green chilies or jalapenos.
- You can use the same batter for other vegetables as well. Good options are onions, cauliflower, bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, etc
- If you do not have an Air fryer and want to make this without deep frying it, I am sure you can use your oven at 400F, and bake the mushrooms for maybe 15 minutes. Let me know if you do try it out in your oven.
- To re-heat these mushrooms, you can use a toaster oven or the Air-fryer. They do become soft after a while.
If you happen to have leftovers, I did because I made so much! I decided to experiment with making Mushroom Manchurian.
Bonus recipe using Fried Masala Mushrooms!
Mushroom Manchurian
Chop up a quarter of an onion (or use scallions), 5 cloves garlic, 1-inch ginger, and 2 green chilies.
Sauce – To make this easy sauce, add 1/4 cup soya sauce, 1 tbsp vinegar, 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup, 1 tablespoon chili sauce(I used Sriracha) to a bowl. Mix it up.
In a pan, heat some oil. When the oil is hot, add all the chopped ingredients. Fry well till slightly brown. Add your sauce and mix well.
Put in your fried mushrooms and mix well to coat them with the sauce. I did not add any salt and didn’t need to. But you can taste it and add if required.
I also added a squirt of tomato ketchup as I felt it was too spicy.
So you can adjust the spice accordingly. Garnish with lots of chopped cilantro or scallion greens. Enjoy your easy and tasty Mushroom Manchurian
It turned out delicious in the end!
If you like easy recipes like this, you might also be interested in:
Potatoes and Dill Indian Style
Easy and Tasty Chickpea Burgers
Thank you for visiting! Hope you will try out this easy recipe, let me know if you do, by leaving a comment and rating the recipe. I would love to hear from you!
Take care and Happy Cooking!
Photo by Anthony Garand on Unsplash