Family: Boletaceae
Common name: Penny Bun , Cep , Porcini, King Bolete, Wicsen Gron, Borowik Szlachetny, Ízletes Vargánya.
Local Name: Dounde (दौंडे)
Dounde arechunky-looking mushrooms with a cap that looks like a well-baked bread roll. They are among delicious wild edible mushrooms of Western Himalayas which are commonly found growing in the rainy season from warm subtropics to cold temperates. Mostly they are found in broadleaved and coniferous woodland, wood edges and grassy clearings upto an altitude of 2500m.
Dounde are considered one of the safest wild mushrooms to include in food plates. They are easily identified by their spongy underside. Unlike gilled mushrooms bearing gills on the undersides of caps. They have a spongy mass composed of small tubes containing the mushroom spores, which are produced by inner walls of the tubes. Spores, are released from the pores and help to multiply Dounde.Dounde is ectomycorrhizal So, unlike other mushrooms, Dounde mushrooms don’t grow on composting material. They thrive near or under specific trees like they co-occur with Pinus or Oak spp.. They share nutrients with the roots of these plants by forming a symbiotic or mutually beneficial relationship with these tree.
However, a few poisonous species closely resemble with Dounde which arebitter, causing stomach upset.but Dounde can be easily distinguished from them by careful examination. Most prominent identifying feature is that they don’t turn blue after cutting or soaking in water . Dounde boletes are the most safest and delicious wild mushroom among boletes. Their striking identifing features is their brown to reddish-brown cap; thick, cream-colored stipe mostly as wide as the cap itself; and the delicate, white pattern of netting at the top of the stipe. Spongy layer of Dounde is white when young, and turns yellow with age. Daunde with a green, slimy sponge layer, is too old to be tasty. They remain edible for 3 days and then change quickly, so to preserve for a longer period they must be preserved immediately. For this they need to be sliced lengthwise to dry or freeze.Then they can be stored for six months. To further extend their shelf life up to one year, they need to be blanched before freezing.
Dounde are one of the most sought wild mushrooms, with a fine flavour and texture, so they are considered highly delicious by locals, Except vegetable Dounde can be used as a flavouring agent in soup, addition in pulau, daliya,pasta etc. Dounde can be dried and pickled to preserve for off season too. With some legumes like black & green grams (Urad & moong daal) they make a traditional value added food item ‘badiyan’ which can be stored round the year.Like other members of Boletus Dounde offers multiple health benefits, due to their rich nutrient profile including natural antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. Being rich in fibres, low in calories, saturated and unsaturated their consumption can prevent many lifestyle diseases of the present time1.
Dounde are harvested from wild habitat for local personal use and not offered for sale. As being ectomycorrhizal they depend on specific trees for nutrients, so it is complicated to bring them under cultivation..
Dounde Mushroom:
Cap: Cap looks like a crusty bread roll. It is 7–30 cm broad at maturity. It is slightly sticky to touch, convex in shape when young and flattens with age. The colour is generally reddish-brown fading to white-yellow in areas near the margin, and continues to darken as it matures.
Spores: Underneath the cap is made of thin tubes, the site of spore production; they are whitish in colour when young, but mature to a greenish-yellow.In youth, the pores appear as if stuffed with cotton (which are actually mycelia).The flesh of the fruit body is white, thick and firm when young, but becomes somewhat spongy with age.
Stipe (stalk): the stem is thick and swollen, pale brown with a white network pattern on the upper part.
Dounde can be harvested from July to October, Generally they are seen eight days after rain around late summer to the start of autumn.
Edible Uses:
As Dounde are one of delicious wild mushrooms, once they are heavily employed as wild vegetables by most of the locals of Western Himalayas during rain. But with modernization and urbanization most people, especially young ones, are limited to fruits and vegetables available in the market. People are now almost reluctant to wild growing vegetables, hence to the traditional knowledge and methods of their identification and use too. So, to bring these pure food items back into the mainstream and to keep alive both floral diversity and tradition/ It needs of hour to transfer the knowledge of identification and method of use of wild growing mushrooms like Dounde from generation to generation .
For best use of Dounde they need to be picked small with firm fresh. Also .Dounde which are soft, wet, rotting, or filled with worms or insects need to be discarded. Older dounde don’t taste as good as younger ones, so to use them, hard or fibrous stipe, dark parts, slimy tops, and green or soggy pores need to be discarded.
Dounde can be pickled or cooked as vegetable, vegetable curry etc. They also make an excellent addition to pulau, pasta, pizza, daliya and soup etc in the following mannar.
Vegetable:
Dounde can be cooked exclusively or in combination with potatoes or other vegetables of the rainy season.
Ingredients required:
Freshly harvested and washed dounde, 1/2 kg; medium sized potato; 2-4, mustard oil, 3-4 tablespoons; coriander powder, 1 tablespoon; fenugreek powder, 1 teaspoon; cumin seed, 1 tablespoon turmeric powder, 1 tablespoon; red chillies, 2-4; medium sized ground onion, 2-3; ground garlic cloves, 4-5; tomato puree 2 cup, cream, 3-5 tablespoon, green coriander leaves(chopped), 1/2 cup amount; branded garam masala,1/2 tablespoon amount; salt, according to taste.
Method:
Dounde and chopped potato (chopped vegetable for preparing mix veg) are sauteed in hot oil along with spices listed above like coriander, cumin seeds, chillies, turmeric, onion and garlic paste, tomato puree and cream in sequence. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes till it becomes soft. Garnish recipe with chopped green coriander leaves and garam masala before serving.
Pulao/ Dalyia:
Palao or daliya is a spicy rice/ wheat/millets dish prepared by cooking rice/ wheat/millets with, dounde green vegetables and spices.
Ingredients:
Rice/ wheat/millets, 2 cup amount; chopped dounde, 1-2 cup amount, peas, ¼ cup amount; finely chopped beans, ¼ cup amount; mustard oil, 3-4 tablespoons; coriander powder, 1 tablespoon; fenugreek powder, 1 teaspoon; cumin seed, 1 tablespoon turmeric powder, 1 tablespoon; red chillies, chopped medium sized onion, 1-2;chopped tomato,2; cinnamon powder, ¼ tea spoon; cloves, 4;turmeric powder, ½ table spoon; 2-4; green coriander leaves(chopped), 1/2 cup amount; branded garam masala,1/2 tablespoon amount; salt, according to taste.
Method:
Take oil in a pressure cooker and saute spices listed above with rice, green vegetable and dounde in hot oil. Add 6 cups of water to it and stir well. Add garam masala. Close the lid and cook for 2 whistles. Reduce the flame to low after 1st whistles and cook until another whistle. Turn off the flame and let it cool down. Open the lid carefully and fluff the rice with a fork. Transfer palao to a serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve with desi ghee or curd
Nutritional value per 100 g
Dounde are rich in food value they are excellent source of energy, 342.4 kJ; fats,1.70 g; proteins ,7.39 g; vitamins like ,Thiamine (B1),0.105 mg; Riboflavin (B2),0.092 mg; Niacin (B3);6.07 mg; Pantothenic acid (B5);2.64 mg; Vitamin B6,0.051 mg; Folate (B9),290 μg, Vitamin C,4.21 mg; Minerals,Calcium,1.195 mg; Copper,0.786 mg; Iron;0.739 mg;Phosphorus,22.26 mg;Potassium,203.3 mg;Zinc,4.172 mg1,2.
Seek professional advice before treating this plant medicinally.
Medicinal Uses:
Like most of other wild mushroom Dounde are rich in antioxidants so offer multiple health benifits, Literature review shows that they have potential anticancer effects. Their can reduce the growth of human breast cancer cells.Its use prevent constipation, protect liver, control high blood pressure and shows antimicrobial activity 3.
Other Uses:
Dounde makes a popular food for fly, insects and their larvae.
References:
- https://kids.kiddle.co/Boletus_edulis
- Su, Jiuyan; Zhang, Ji; Li, Jieqing; Li, Tao; Liu, Honggao; Wang, Yuanzhong (6 April 2018). “Determination of mineral contents of wild Boletus edulismushroom and its edible safety assessment”. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part B. 53 (7):454463. doi:10.1080/03601234.2018.1455361. ISSN 0360-1234. PMID 29624491. S2CID 4665228.
- Tan, Y., Zeng, N. K., & Xu, B. (2022). Chemical profiles and health-promoting effects of porcini mushroom (Boletus edulis): A narrative review. Food Chemistry, 390, 133199.