Dark Mushroom Curry - Vegan Recipe

This is a vegan mushroom curry  that features a dark, rich, thick mushroom gravy. It's mildy hot, but mostly mushroom and ginger forward. It's got an Indian backbone, but a little bit of American muscle.

2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
3 large cloves garlic, sliced
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
1 charred jalapeno, diced *
1/4 can black beans/liquid
1/4 can pinto beans/liquid
1/4 can garbanzo beans/liquid
3 tbls olive oil
1/4 cup water

2 tsps turmeric
2 tsps paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp crushed pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1/2 tsp celery seed
2 tsps salt
1 tsp black pepper

Did you know that you can use the liquid in your canned beans to add both salt and starch to your homemade soups, stews and sauces. This is especially helpful for vegan dishes since we don't want to add butter to thicken our sauces. We could use vegan roux or corn starch slurry, but the brine from the bean can has a nice salinity to add and a good hit of the bean essence to impart as well. I find it adds depth in a similar way that bones and meat add depth to traditional preparations. It also utilizes something you might otherwise discard.

Cook down the mushrooms in the oil.  When mushrooms are soft add garlic, ginger, jalapeno, beans, water, spices. Simmer until sauce is thickened.

 * Char the jalapeno over an open flame. Deseed/derib and then dice. It adds a smoky flavor and additional depth.