I AM in the kitchen of our family home at Dehra Dun, surrounded by the aroma of mushrooms cooking. How things have changed!

Ten years ago, when I first came to Dehra Dun, I caused considerable comment when I bought button mushrooms and stir fried them into starters. They had just enterd the market then.

Mushrooms were rare, expensive and relatively unrecognised as a cooking ingredient outside of Mumbai restaurants.

Those in the know, especially my mom, used the canned-in-brine variety sourced from Mumbai's foodie mecca, Crawford Market. Horrible mushy things that never really made an impression on my palate!

I have come a long way since. I am a certified mushroomoholic nowadays. And it has to be said: these mushrooms have spoilt us. The ones in Mumbai pale in comparison.

Harvested just a few hours prior to delivery, these mushrooms are fat, almost white, meaty and dense and do not diminish on cooking the way their city cousins do.

Photograph: Miles Willis/ Getty Images