These Tandoori Portobellos Bring On The Spice!
Award-winning food blogger Laura Wright has a new collection of vegan recipes out that will reinvigorate your entire cooking game, like these hearty tandoori portobellos. Imagine a vibrant plant-based diet that satisfies and delights, then whip up her healthy, imaginative and flavor-packed fare at home.
This main looks deceptively meaty on the plate, and it satisfies on the same level. I buy a tandoori spice mixture from a local company, and the intense spicy flavor of it meets its match with rich, unctuous portobello mushrooms cooked on the grill. The cool cilantro sauce offers a creamy counterpoint and is entirely sunflower-seed based. Cashews tend to be the go-to for creamy vegan sauces, but I find sunflower seeds to be just as effective, and as a bonus, they're typically more affordable.
If you don't have access to a grill, you can certainly roast the marinated mushrooms in a 400°F oven for 20 minutes and then finish them under the broiler for 1 minute per side for a similar effect.
- 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons filtered water
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 green onion
- Salt and pepper
- 4 large portobello mushroom caps
- 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon tandoori spice blend
- 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger
- 1 clove garlic
- Salt and pepper
- Warm cooked brown rice
- chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- :::sauce:::
- Drain the sunflower seeds and transfer them to a blender. Add the filtered water, garlic, lime juice, and olive oil. Whiz the mixture on high until you have a mostly smooth puree. Stop to scrape down the sides or add another tablespoon of water if necessary.
- Scrape the sauce base out of the blender into a small bowl. Stir in the cilantro, green onions, salt, and pepper. Cover and place in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.
- :::mushrooms:::
- Preheat a grill to high.
- Take the portobello mushroom caps and, using a spoon, scrape out the gills — the dark brown strips that line the underside of the mushroom. Transfer the scraped mushrooms to a plate.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, tandoori spice, ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper. Rub this wet spice mixture on both sides of the portobello mushrooms.
- Lightly rub some oil on the grill with a wad of paper towel. Place the spice-rubbed portobello caps on the grill and close the lid. Let the portobellos cook for 4 minutes, then flip them over. Cook for another 4 minutes. The mushrooms should be tender, be lightly glistening, and have char marks on both sides. Remove from the grill.
- Slice the grilled portobellos and serve with cool cilantro sauce, warm rice, and extra chopped cilantro.