These Tandoori Mushrooms have a cheesy and spicy filling and are baked to golden perfection in the oven. They are then cooked over direct heat until a little charred for that smoky flavor! Makes a great vegetarian appetizer for just about any occasion.
For this recipe, I have used 16 oz/454 grams of white mushrooms. Start off by scrubbing the mushrooms and then pat them dry using a paper towel. Then remove the mushroom stems by giving a twist and then pulling out. It comes out easily this way or you can even use a paring knife.
Transfer all the mushroom stems that you just removed to a food processor or chopper. Pulse few times until finely chopped and then set them aside.
Make the stuffing
Start making the stuffing by heating oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the ginger, garlic, green chili and chopped onion. Cook for 2 minutes until the onions soften.
Then add the chopped peppers and the chopped mushroom stems. Also add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Stir and cook this mixture until the moisture from mushroom stems dries out, around 5 to 6 minutes. Then remove pan from heat.
Take a large bowl and add 4 oz cream cheese (room temperature) to it along with cilantro chutney and mix with a spatula until combined.Then add grated mozzarella cheese, prepared onion-mushroom and pepper mixture, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and crushed kasuri methi. Mix everything with a spatula until well combined. The stuffing for the mushrooms is now ready.
Now, take the prepared mushrooms and fill them with this filling. Fill them really well, all the way to the top. You may be left with some filling, that's okay. You can use it on a sandwich or fill more mushrooms if you have extra!
Make the marinade
To make the marinade, take a large pan and add thick yogurt to it. Make sure the yogurt is thick, you can drain the yogurt using a strainer for 3 to 4 hours and then use in the recipe.
To the yogurt now add 2 oz cream cheese, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, 2 & 1/2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon cardamom powder, 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix until everything is well combined and your marinade is ready.
Now, add the stuffed mushrooms to the marinade. Mix until all the mushrooms are well coated with the prepared marinade. Pre-heat oven to 400 F degrees.
Bake & Char the mushrooms
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with a oil spray. Arrange the stuffed tandoori mushrooms on the baking sheet with the stuffing side facing up. Spray with more oil on top. Bake at 400 F degrees for around 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. I baked mine for 25 minutes.
Take them out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. To give the mushrooms that smoky flavor (which is really important for tandoori mushrooms) we need to char the mushrooms over direct heat. Arrange them on a skewer. Don't overcrowd, place only 3 to 4 mushrooms per skewer.Place them over direct heat (I placed a wire mesh first) and hold the mushrooms few inches above the direct flame. Rotate the skewer 30 seconds each side, until the mushrooms get little charred. They will have that smoky flavor now. Squeeze some fresh lime juice on top and serve immediately with cilantro chutney and onion slices.
Notes
We don't have tandoor at home (unlike restaurants) and so charring them over heat is important to replicate that flavor. So, do not skip the last step.
If you want, you can skip the stuffing and just make plain tandoori mushrooms. But they are 10 times better with the filling, I can guarantee that!