Methi Matar Malai

This yummy methi sabji is a favorite at our home. I have adapted Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe. This recipe comes from the Punjab region of India. This dish is made up of methi leaves, or as they call it in English, fenugreek leaves and green peas cooked in a rich cream based gravy.

Methi leaves are not always available and tend to be very costly. In the summers I sometimes grow my own in my backyard. But the other day there was some fresh methi leaves on sale here so I grabbed up as much as I could. We had methi that whole week and my son got sick of it.

I love the bitterness of the methi leaf combined with the sweetness of the plump peas. It is very easy to make and it tastes like you slaved in front of your stove for hours. As it was a weekend, I wanted to spend most of my time with my family, so I made this dish with some hot puris. Traditionally this would go very well with some hot naans, but I did not make it this time. We all sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of the TV watching a Hindi movie eating our delicious lunch.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 big bunches of methi leaves / fenugreek leaves
1 1/2 cup frozen green peas
2 onions, finely chopped
10 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsp oil
1-2 tsp red chili powder ( cayenne )
1 tsp amchur powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 cup fresh cream ( you can add more depending on the consistency of the gravy you like )
salt, to taste

Method

• Pick the methi leaves from the stalks. Discard the stalks, wash the leaves and chop them up. Blanch the methi leaves in hot boiling water for 3 minutes, remove and drain the leaves, shock in ice cold water, drain again and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and saute till translucent. Add the ginger and garlic paste and saute this for 3 minutes.
• Add the drain methi leaves, green peas, cayenne powder, amchur powder and cinnamon powder. Mix it all together. Saute this for 5 minutes on medium heat.
• Add salt and fresh cream and let it sit for another 3 minutes on low heat. Check seasoning and adjust accordingly. Remove from heat and serve with fresh hot naans, puris or rotis.