Alambe Butthi

Gud Gud Alambe" as it is called in Konkani, is nothing but wild mushrooms that grows in the hilly regions near the coastal area of Mangalore only during the start of the monsoon when there is lot of thunder and lightning.

Like many other Indian communities, the Konkani community is also famous for hunting all kinds of wild but edible fruits, leaves, barks, stems, flowers and roots and cooking mouth watering delicacies out of them.

Gud Gud means thunder in Konkani, hence this mushroom can be called as ‘Thunder mushrooms’.

They are little different from the regular mushrooms in that they do not have stem and they are totally round in shape and need to be peeled individually - a tedious task that is done by almost everyone in the family together with chit chats on till the end of the task.

As we do not find Gudgud Alambe here I use shimeji mushrooms for this Butthi. These mushrooms taste near to our gudgud alambe.

This is how Shimeji Mushrooms look 

Here’s the recipe for Alambe butthi

Mushrooms/Alambe– 250 gms (here I have used shimeji mushrooms)

Onions – 2finely chopped

Grated coconut – ½ cup or half coconut

Red chillies – 4-5[roasted in a tsp oil]

Tamarind -1 small piece

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 or 2 tbsp

Method :

If using buttom mushrooms then wash it and cut into 4 pieces and keep aside. I have used shimeji mushrooms, if using shimeji mushrooms wash and cut the bottom and discard, now cut them into 2 pieces and use.

Grind the coconut, red chillies, tamarind and coriander seeds to a slightly coarse paste.

In a kadai add oil and sauté the onions till golden brown.

Mix in the washed and cut mushrooms and sauté well.

Add the ground masala and salt to taste and just enough water to make it into a thick gravy consistency

Switch off the flame after 10 minutes of cooking it on slow flame.

This curry tastes awesome if prepared atleast 4 hours(or even overnight is fine) before serving. (that’s the secret of this curry)

It tastes awesome with Dosa, white rice and roti.

Aps Notes

 you can add potatoes instead of mushroom and this will turn into “Batate Butthi”

The alambe which we get in mangalore during this season is totally different compared to the regular ones.

Happy cooking,

Aps