Methi Matar Malai

Methi matar malai is a mild rich flavored creamy green curry made with fresh fragrant fenugreek leaves, green peas, cashew nut and cream.

Methi matar malai is my favorite mild n rich curry made with fenugreek leaves and the creaminess from cashew nut and cream. I grow my own fenugreek leaves these days they are soooo tender and good unlike the woody mature ones available in the Indian stores. Needless to say nothing goes on it other than water and veg compost. May be one day I would be so self sustained that I could just step out into garden and come back with everything to be cooked for the day like our forefathers did.

     When you are in the mood to treat yourself  this is the ideal way to go. A mild  n flavorful curry with soft buttery naan some delicious pilaf and wash it down with fragrant  Rose lassi. The potato fried is spiced just so everything doesn’t turn too bland for the masala beaten tongue of ours.

Methi mattar malai recipe :

Ingredients:
Methi leaves / Fenugreek leaves – 2 cups
Green peas / Mutter – 1 cup
Whole milk – 1/2 to 3/4 cup
Coriander powder – 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 1/2 tsp
Ghee – 1-2 tsp
Cooking oil -2 tsp
Salt to taste

To grind to paste:
Red onion -1 (large)
Cashew nut – 1 tbsp broken
Green chili – 1
Garlic – 5 flakes
Ginger – 1 inch piece

To coarsely powder:
Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
Cloves – 4
Cardamom – 3
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

To season:
Cream  – 1 tbsp or more
Kasuri methi – 1 tsp
Ghee – 2 tsp
Method:

1. I used the fenugreek leaves I grew on my patio from seed for 15 days. The stalk is very tender so I discarded only the root part.
2. Wash the fenugreek well.Chop and then blanch it by putting it in 1/2 cup boiling water for few minutes when it wilts and becomes very soft  drain the liquid and put it into cold water to stop the cooking.(I used the water as it is very nutritious but beware it will be bitter) 
3. Heat the ghee and oil together in a pan and add the ground onion mixture saute until the raw smell goes off and the paste dries up and leaves the sides. Make sure to do this carefully so that the masala does not brown.
4. Add coriander powder, spice powdered and saute until a nice aroma comes. Now add the milk, sugar, salt and green peas and simmer on low flame until the peas is cooked.Finally add the fenugrek leaves and simmer for a few more minutes.
5. Add cream let it just heat up well. Before removing from flame add the kasuri methi crushed between ur palms.
6. After pouring the curry into the serving bowl drizzle cream on top of it.

Other mild leafy green curries to try are :

• Spinach tofu curry
• Indian cottage cheese in spinach curry
• Spinach with lentil curry

Hope you like it.

Meena