Take a wok and heat on a medium flame on a gas stove. When it is hot enough, put 3 tsp of white refined oil in it. When the oil heats up put 1 tsp of black gram lentils (urad dal) and 1 tsp of split chickpeas (chana dal) in it. Stir them for a minute or two to fry them nicely. (Pro tip: You can use any type of white oil you have at home to make this chutney).

Now, add 6 small pieces of finely chopped onions (shallots) in it. Stir them continuously for about 2 to 3 minutes until the onions turn soft and translucent. At this stage, add 5 cloves of deskinned garlic, 1 piece of fresh ginger of about ½ an inch in size, and a piece of tamarind not more than the size of a small gooseberry, 4 whole pieces of dry red chilies, without their stalks, to the ingredients. Stir and let it cook for about a minute. Now add roughly diced pieces of 1 fresh tomato. Stir them for about a minute as well. (Pro tip: The number of dry red chilies may vary according to the taste preference. Do not add too many tomatoes. The tamarind added before will already make it tangy. Adding more tomatoes will make the chutney unnecessarily tangier).

Then add 50 gm of fresh mushrooms after washing and cutting them into small pieces. Stir everything nicely for about 2 to 3 minutes. When the mushrooms become a bit soft, add 1 tsp of regular table salt and just a few fresh coriander leaves to the content in the wok. Mix them.

Stir the ingredients continuously and let them cook for about 2 minutes until everything is cooked nicely and gets reduced. Turn the flame of your gas stove off and let the pan sit for a while for the ingredients to cool down completely. When the ingredients are cool enough, transfer them to a mixer grinder. (Pro tip: Cooling the ingredients is very important because their heat as well as the heat generated by the rotating motor may affect the color and texture of the chutney. You may transfer it to a separate plate to end the cooking process and expedite the cooling process).

Grind them to a fine paste. Transfer the paste from the grinder to a separate bowl and keep it aside.

Now, for tempering the chutney, take a frying pan or tadka pan and then put 1 tbsp of white oil in it when it is hot. When the oil heats up, put 1 tsp of mustard seeds, 1 tsp of black gram lentils (urad dal), and about 8 to 10 pieces of fresh curry leaves in it. Stir them to cook them nicely. (Pro tip: Be careful of the hot oil sprinkling due to the crackling mustard seeds).

When done, transfer the tempering ingredients to the bowl containing the chutney paste. Your tasty and spicy homemade mushroom chutney is eventually ready to be consumed with a variety of dishes and snack items.