Wild Mushroom Pilau – Dehydrated Backpacking Meal Recipe

This dehydrated wild mushroom pilau has fast become one of my favourite trail meals. It’s inspired by a recipe from Meera Sodha’s brilliant book Made in India — a dish I’ve cooked countless times at home and was curious to adapt for the hills. Turns out it dehydrates beautifully and tastes absolutely delicious when rehydrated after a long day on the trail.

Fragrant basmati rice, mushrooms, warming spices – it’s satisfying on its own, but you can amp up the calories and protein by pairing it with dehydrated red lentil dal. Together they make a proper trail curry feast, especially when you add some well-chosen garnishes (more on that below).

A Note on Fat and Shelf Life

One thing to note: I make this recipe using the recommended amount of oil and butter, just like in the original. It’s a big part of what makes the dish so rich and comforting.

But — and it’s an important “but” — added fats reduce the shelf life of dehydrated meals. If you’re planning to eat this within a week or two, you’ll be fine. For longer-term storage, you can modify the recipe:

• Skip frying the mushrooms — just slice and add them raw to the mix before dehydrating
• Reduce or eliminate oil and butter (and add a bit of ghee or oil on the trail when rehydrating)

These tweaks will help the dish last longer without sacrificing too much on taste.

Trail Tips & Garnish Ideas

This pilau is great on its own, but like most of my camping meals, it really comes to life with a few trail garnishes.

• Feta cheese surprised me — it adds that creamy, salty hit I’d usually get from yoghurt at home. Plus, it packs better and holds up longer on the trail.
• A spoon of chilli pickle, mango chutney, or a squeeze of fresh lemon goes a long way.
• Pack a handful of fresh spinach, chard, kale or herbs (like coriander or dill) and stir them in during rehydration for a hit of freshness.

✨ Trail cooking tip: Use a wide-mouth insulated jar or a pot cozy to make rehydration easier and more efficient, especially if you’re combining this with dal or other sides.

Rehydration Instructions

Rehydrating this meal is simple. Here’s my go-to method:

1. Add just enough boiling water to cover the dried food
2. Cover and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Dehydrated rice is great because it rehydrates super fast!
3. Stir, check consistency, and add more water or reheat if needed

If you’re new to DIY backpacking meals, check out this beginner’s guide to homemade dehydrated trail food and my in-depth post on what to eat when wild camping.

Final Thoughts

The beauty of this mushroom pilau is that it feels like a real meal. It’s comforting, aromatic, and deeply satisfying — the kind of dish that makes you feel like you’re treating yourself, even when you’re tucked into a sleeping bag in the middle of nowhere.

I’d love to hear what you think if you try it — and feel free to share your favourite trail garnishes in the comments.

Wild Mushroom Pilau

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Calories: 490

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 300 g basmati rice
• 80 g dried wild mushrooms like porcini or ceps or 250g fresh wild mushrooms
• 275 g mushrooms sliced
• 5 tablespoons rapeseed oil
• 30 g unsalted butter
• salt
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cm cinnamon stick
• 2 large red or yellow onions sliced
• 6 cloves of garlic finely sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 11/2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 600 ml hot vegetable stock
• 25 g fresh dill or coriander
• spinach a few handfuls

Garnish ideas (to pack with you)

• Feta cheese
• Mango chutney
• Chilli pickle
• Lemon or lime wedge
• Toasted cashews or almonds

Method

 

At home:

1. Rinse the rice in at least 3 changes of water, until the water runs clear, and leave to soak in a bowl of cold water.
2. Put 1 tablespoon of oil and 10g of butter into a large, lidded frying pan on a high heat. When the pan is hot and the butter starts to foam, add a third of the mushrooms. If you overcrowd them, they’ll steam rather than brown. Leave them to cook for a minute without stirring them, then turn them over. When they’re nicely coloured, season and tip them on to a plate. Use the same amount of oil and butter per batch. Set aside.
3. Put 2 tablespoons of oil into the same pan on a medium heat. When hot, add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaf, and cinnamon stick. Stir for a minute, then add the onions. Cook for around 15 minutes, or until they are soft and have caramelized.
4. Next add the garlic, black pepper, garam masala, chilli powder and 11⁄2 teaspoons of salt and stir well. Drain the rice, add it to the pan and gently stir. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then cover the pan and turn the heat down to its lowest setting. Add the dried mushrooms now.
5. Cook the rice for 20 minutes, or until tender, then add the mushrooms, folding them in gently so as not to break the rice up, and put the lid back on for a final 10 minutes. Fold in your fresh herbs and spinach if using.

To dehydrate:

1. Spread the cooled mushroom pilau rice thinly on dehydrator trays lined with parchment or silicone sheets.
2. Dehydrate at 63°C / 145°F for 6–8 hours, or until completely dry.
3. Let it cool, then pack into airtight bags or containers. Vacuum seal for longer shelf life.

On the trail:

1. Put the pilau your cooking pot add just enough water to cover the rice. Bring the water to a rolling boil then turn off the heat and cover.
2. Soak: Let sit for 5-10 minutes or longer. Give it a stir and a taste. Rice typically rehydrates very quickly!
3. Heat again (optional): For best results, simmer gently after soaking to heat through then serve with some of those optional garnishes.

Notes

Serves 4.

Nutrition per serving: 490 Calories | 23g Fat | 6g Protein | 63g Carbs