I often offer these as an appetizer. I serve them just the way they are, but you could also serve them on toasted slices of Italian bread or just buttered toast.

Ingredients

　　5 tablespoons olive oil

　　1/2 teaspoon whole brown mustard seeds

　　1/4 teaspoon whole fennel seeds

　　15 fresh curry leaves or 10 fresh basil leaves, torn up

　　1 pound cremini or plain white medium-sized mushrooms, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

　　1 clove garlic, sliced

　　Salt

　　1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

　　2–3 teaspoons lime or lemon juice

　　1–2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro or parsley

　　Put the oil in a large frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, drop in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds start to pop, a matter of seconds, put in the fennel seeds and curry leaves. A few seconds later, add the mushrooms and garlic. Stir and fry until the liquid begins to ooze out from the mushrooms, about 2 minutes. Now add about 1/3–1/2 teaspoon salt (taste as you go), the cayenne, and the lime juice. Stir for a minute. Taste for balance of flavors. Add the cilantro, stir, and turn off the heat. Serve warm or at room temperature.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.