MUSHROOM MAGIC

Wild mushrooms come in waves with the rain in central India. These can't be farmed. One week it is red, another week brown, then slender tall and white -- the variety is mind-boggling. But only a few are edible and to a  practised eye this is a bonanza that all foodies eagerly await. 

As the monsoons arrive soaking the soil and moistening the air with life-giving rain, the underground web of fungi mycelium, literally fungi tree trunks (which unseen to our eyes can run millions of miles long) starts to wake up. Moisture helps all things to rot, and rot means that the fungi are happily eating. This is a time of plenty and a time to reproduce. Thus mushrooms are in plenty! 

Most of us don't know that mushrooms are actually the fruits of fungi sent up by the underground mycelium network to spread its seeds. Fungi lack chlorophyl, so either they are parasitic, or they eat dead matter, or set up symbiotic relationships with plant roots to exchange food.

In Kanha, mushrooms are generically called Piri, but there is one which comes up first and has a name all of its own - Put-pura. Shaped like a small flat potato, it actually just peeps out of the ground under old sal trees. It has a white outer skin that tends to thicken as it grows older. Its insides are white and tender to start with, and then steadily blacken till the Put-pura bursts open to send spores up in the air. Put-pura are the most coveted when tender and white. They have a hint of almonds and a touch of musk. And sadly the season lasts about two weeks!

Just when the Put-pura are going, a reddish mushroom (see picture above) from the Russula or the brittlegill family pops up. It is not as tasty, but has the bulk to keep the kitchen running. 

Next in line is a long legged mushroom wearing a domed cap called Bhoondu piri. For some reason it prefers red soil and pops up on termite mounds. If left alone it turns tall and thick, and has a solid meaty texture that stays firm when cooked. 

As Bhoondu piri starts to phase out Bans or bamboo piri takes over. From the Oyster family, this one's prolific and has a mild bamboo flavor. Although said to prefer the base of old bamboo groves, it is found all over the forest around tree roots. Driving along forest roads you will see little kids selling these in small piles.