Methi Tomato Paneer

This Methi-Tomato Paneer curry recipe is from a Telugu cooking show. It is a simple curry with very simple ingredients, methi, tomato and paneer. It is a great side dish for rice or roti.

I planted my little vegetable garden few weeks back and the saplings have slowly started to grow. My methi plants are also slowly grwoing. Hopefully I can get to cook with my own methi leaves soon :-)

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Palak Methi Nu Muthiya (Gujarati Steamed Spinach Dumplings)

Here's a recipe for steamed Palak-Methi muthiyas. These are great as an evening snack or stirred into curries. Muthiyas are first steamed and then shallow-fried until crispy on the outside.

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Methi Muthiya (Gujarati Fried Dumplings)

There are 2 ways of making Muthiyas -- steamed and shallow fried or deep fried. I have tried the steamed version with this Lauki Muthiyas. But for the Oondhiyu meal I followed Tarla Dalal's recipe for deep fried Methi muthiyas.

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Methi Paneer Dry Curry (Fenugreek Cottage Cheese Curry)

Blogging Marathon# 55: Week 1/ Day 3

Theme: Healthy Family Dinners

Dish: Methi Paneer Dry Curry

For the final day of this week's marathon, I made a dry curry made with methi (fenugreek leaves) and paneer. This is a simple dish that can be whipped up in no time and is a yummy when served with roti or as a side dish to rice.

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Menthikura-Pesarapappu Chaaru (Methi-Moongdal Soup)

There's an overdose of Methi recipes on my blog this week. After Methi Matar Masala, Methi Chana Pulao & Methi pulusu/ stew, I have a lentil based methi dish today. Recipe is from a Telugu cooking show.

Methi and moong dal are a good combination to make pappu or dal. But in this recipe, the consistency is more like a soup instead of thick like a dal. Soup is flavored with freshly made spice powder made with coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and peppercorns. This makes the dish taste very earthy and spicy. Finally adding lemon juice to the rasam/ soup gives it the required tang or zing that makes this dish super delicious.

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Menthikura Pulusu Kura

Blogging Marathon# 50: Week 2/ Day 3

Theme: Methi Dishes

Dish: Methi Pulusu

For the final day of this week's blogging marathon, I had another recipe in mind. But then I saw this pulusu/ stew being made with methi (menthikura) on a Telugu cooking show and I thought it was an interesting way to cook with methi. So scrapped my previous idea and made this dish instead.

Pulusu or tangy stew is typically made with veggies like pumpkin, okra, bottlegourd, onion etc. I have made pulusu with spinach before and this methi version was equally delicious.

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Methi Chana Pulao (Fenugreek leaves and Chickpea Pilaf)

Blogging Marathon# 50: Week 2/ Day 2

Theme: Methi Dishes

Dish: Methi Chana Pulao

Apart from curries, lentil dishes and rotis, methi is great to use in rice dishes too. I have made spicy pulao with methi and paneer before, but today's pulao is quite mild with just a few whole spices. This recipe is my adaptation of my cousin's methi pudina rice. She usually serves the rice with a spicy curry, but I added some chickpeas to the rice to make it wholesome.

This is a one-pot dish and can be whipped up in no time (if you have the methi leaves all prepped and ready to go, that is). I usually store my cleaned methi leaves in an airtight container in the fridge once I get back from the store and then use them as needed during the week.

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Methi Matar Masala Curry

Blogging Marathon# 50: Week 2/ Day 1

Theme: Methi Dishes

Dish: Methi Matar Masala Curry

We are starting our second week of blogging marathon today and my theme for this week is 'Methi dishes'. I like methi quite a bit -- what I don't like about it is that it takes (almost) forever to take the leaves out, especially the store bought bunches which have tougher stems. I grow my own methi in summer and try to pluck them out when they are still young, so the whole plant can be used in cooking.

Other than that the cleaning part I have no issues with methi, I like it's slightly bitter taste while I know some people who stay away from it because it's bitter. So for the next 3 days, I tried to use methi in 3 interesting dishes that are both easy to make and taste delicious too.

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Bajra Methi na Thepla (Pearl Millet/ Sajjala Thepla)

I'm sticking with the theme of the week, All about Millets and made these theplas with bajra flour (pearl millet flour) and methi. This year I planted only a few greens in my backyard because with the India trip I didn't want the plants to suffer while we were away. I harvested most of them and gave some away to family and friends.

I had half a pot of methi leaves that needed to be used up. I bookmarked this recipe from 'India: The  Cookbook' by Pushpesh Pant. I borrowed this book from the library, but had to return it since ran out of my renewals. I think I renewed it about 6 times, but finally had to return the book before they snatch my library card permanently from me. Even with all the renewals, I couldn't get through most of my bookmarked recipes. So I took pictures of the recipes on my phone, this way I can get to them whenever I want to.

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Methi Thepla

Blogging Marathon# 36: Week 2/ Day 2
Theme: Travel Food
Dish: Main Course -- Methi Thepla

When I think of the good old days summer travel to Vijayawada is something that I always remember and cherish. Right after our annual exams, my mom would take us sisters for almost 2 months to my grandparents house to spend the summer vacation. We used to take the train and my mom had either pulihora or roti with potato curry packed for our meal. We were never allowed to buy anything on the train. I especially liked the cutlets that were sold on trains but never got a chance to try them. But my mom made sure we were not hungry and we had more than enough munchies to munch on.

As I was thinking of what main course dish to make for Day 2 of BM# 36 under travel food theme, I remembered one of my friend bringing Methi Theplas on a road trip we had together few years back. I think we ate them on day 2 of the trip and they were still soft and tasted delicious with some pickle she had packed.

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Menthi kura Pappu (Dal with fenugreek leaves)

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter M
Theme: A-Z Dishes from Andhra Pradesh
Dish: M for Menthi kura Pappu

Letter M stands for fruits & veggies like Mamidikaya/ Mamidi pandu (mango), Menthikura (fenugreek leaves) etc. For today's post, I made a simple dal with Menthikura. I planted methi in my container garden and used it to make this tasty dal. Methi is probably the easiest to grow, sow some methi (fenugreek seeds) and within a week you have tiny methi leaves growing.

Pappu or dal is the main source of protein in our diet and is made almost everyday. This is a very basic recipe and any greens can be used instead of methi.

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Potato Paneer Methi Curry (Alu Paneer Methi Curry)

Blogging Marathon# 29: Week 2/ Day 1
Theme: Pick 2 Ingredients & Cook from a Book
Ingredients/ Book: Paneer & Greens/ 660 Curries
Dish: Potato Paneer Methi Curry (Alu Paneer Methi Curry)

My theme for this week's BM is 'Cook from a Book'. But to make the theme a little more challenging Valli asked us to pick 2 ingredients from a list and then find a recipe from a cookbook. I got lucky and found the recipes quite easily this time (unlike the last time). 

The ingredients I picked for the first day are 'Paneer & Greens". I found a very simple and delicious recipe in 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer. 660 Curries is usually the first cookbook I refer to when I'm looking for an Indian dish. As the name suggests there are 660 recipes to choose from and it is always tough to pick just one dish.

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Soy Nilgiri Kurma and Dal Rotis

Blogging Marathon# 29: Week 1/ Day 1
Theme: Cooking with Colors
Dish: Soy Nilgiri Kurma --- Green

Today we are starting the 29th edition of Blogging marathon and my theme for this week is "Cooking with Colors". We can all agree that we eat with our eyes first and the more colorful a dish is, the more healthier and appealing it is. So for the next three days, I'm going to post dishes that have one featured color ingredient.

For the first day, I'm cooking with the color 'Green'. I saw this dish being made on a Telugu Cooking show (abhiruchi) and it looked very appealing, so I jotted down the recipe. As I was looking through my notebook for ideas of dishes to make for BM, I saw this recipe and thought this will highlight the color green really well. 

This dish tastes very earthy and is quite delicious. It is a little time consuming to make, but ones all the components are ready, the curry takes no time to finish.

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Soy Methi Rice

Blogging Marathon# 27: Week 4/ Day 2
Theme: Miscellaneous - Rice dish using leftover rice
Dish: Soy Methi Dill Rice

I sometimes crave for simple and easy dishes that don't take too long to cook and are filling and tasty. Even though I love spicy and masaledar (does this translate to more spicy in English?), sometimes all you want is food with simple flavors. Today's dish is just that and much more in terms of healthy ingredients used.

Recipe is courtesy of my new found Telugu cooking show. This dish is a great way to use up leftover rice and if you really want to amp up the health quotient of this dish, use brown rice instead of white or even better use quinoa or any other whole grain.

It has soy in the form of granules or TVP, methi (fenugreek leaves) and dill leaves (called 'soya'kura in Telugu). I'm not a big fan of dill, because I feel it is a little strong to my palate, but I didn't even notice its presence. It blended with the methi and the taste was very pleasant.

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Alu Methi Curry with Sesame Seeds powder

VeganMofo Day 21: Organizers of VeganMofo have planned some very interesting contests for this month. Iron Chef Challenge is one of them, they announce the secret ingredient on Friday and the dishes using these secret ingredients are then compiled and posted on the site. 

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Methi-Paneer Pulao (Fenugreek Leaves & Cottage Cheese Pilaf)

For Day 5 of our blogging marathon I made this quick and easy one pot rice dish. Recipe is adapted from Vidhu Mittal's Pure & Simple: Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine cookbook. I had borrowed this book from the library and I was really impressed with the way the recipes were laid out and the mouthwatering pictures. I had to return the book, but I jotted down the recipes that I really wanted to try and this Methi & Paneer Pulao is one of them.

Original recipe was made in a pan, but I used my pressure cooker to make it quicker. I added some carrots for added nutrition and some biryani masala for some spice. 

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Potatoes Go Green

Dill, to me, has a very strong flavor and too much of it really ruins the dish. I made full bunch of dill and potato curry some time ago and it was way too much dill that I didn’t dare to buy it again for a while.

During one of my recent trips to farmer’s market, I saw this beautiful bunch of dill for 99¢ and I wanted to give it a try again. With quarter bunch my MIL made a really tasty green veggie stir fry. With another quarter bunch, I added potato (to stretch the curry a little bit) and it was awesome.

Ingredients:
Potatoes – 3 medium, peeled and diced
Spinach – half a bunch, about 3 cups
Methi leaves (fenugreek leaves) – 1 cup
Dill – ¼ cup, chopped fine
Onion – 1 medium, chopped
Ginger+garlic pastes – ½ tsp
Red Chili powder – 1 tsp
Green chilies – 3, chopped fine

For tempering:
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp


Method:

• First microwave the potatoes with little bit of water for 4-5 minutes until they are fork tender.
  
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add the tempering seeds and after they splutter add onions and green chilies. Sauté onions till soft and starting to brown.
  
• Add ginger+garlic paste and potatoes and stir fry on medium high for 2-3 minutes. Add all the green veggies; reduce the heat to medium low, and cook covered for 10-12 minutes. Stir occasionally; add ¼ cup water if the curry starts sticking to the pan.
  
• Add salt and red chili powder, mix well and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
• Serve with rice or roti.

JFI-WBB: Green Leafy Vegetables - Methi Upma

Hearty congratulations to Indira on the 1st anniversary of Jihva for Ingredients blog event and making it such a big success. This month's theme is "Going Green with Green Leafy Vegetables" (keeping Earth Day in mind) and Indira & Nandita (@ Saffron trail) have come together to make it JFI & WBB joint event.

To cover all the bases for this event, I incorporated greens for a breakfast recipe and also made it on a weekend. Here's my entry "Methi Semya Upma". This recipe is extremely simple and quick to make.

Ingredients:
Semya (Vermicelli noodles) - 1/2 cup
Methi (fresh or frozen) - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 large, chopped fine
Green chilies - 4, chopped fine
Lemon juice - 1tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 1 (optional)
Curry leaves - 6
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Bring 3 cups of water to boil, add semya and salt. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Keep aside.
• Heat 1tsp of oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and chana dal. Saute till the seeds splutter.
  
• Add onions, curry leaves and chilies. Saute till onions turn transparent, but not brown.
• Add the chopped methi leaves (thawed if using frozen) and salt, cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the cooked semya, stir well and continue cooking for couple more minutes. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, mix well and serve hot.
  

Note: If the vermicelli turns into a blob, just add some cold water to refresh it. Cooking vermicelli separately (my mom's trick) makes the noodles nice and separate and not sticky.

Methi Chaman

This recipe is from one of the cook show I watched in India and jotted down in my little diary. The dish is rich with cashews, paneer (cottage cheese) and cream. I replaced cream with low-fat milk and it tasted just as rich and delicious.

Ingredients:
Methi – 1 bunch
Spinach – 1 bunch
Onion – 1 large
Green chilies – 5
Cashews – ¼ cup
Grated Paneer – ¼ cup
Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tsp
Tomato puree – ¼ cup
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – ½ tsp
Kasoori Methi – 2 tbsp
Garam Masala – 1 tsp
Cream – 2 tbsp (optional)
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Thoroughly clean and chop methi and spinach leaves. I use Rachel Ray’s method for cleaning my greens. I fill up my kitchen sink (scrubbed well of course) with cold water and put the greens (ends chopped off) in the water. I gently move them around in the water and after 5 minutes take out the greens into a colander for draining. The dirt on the leaves, being heavy, moves to the bottom of the sink and all you have to do is run water and clean up the sink later. Quick and efficient way to cleaning greens.

• Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, sauté onions, chilies and cashews till onions turn translucent. Remove and when cool grind to a smooth paste along with ginger-garlic paste.
  
• Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the pan and sauté the onion paste for 2 minutes. Add tomato puree, coriander powder, red chili powder and half of the grated paneer. Cook on medium-low flame for about 7-8 minutes.
  
• Add the chopped greens, cover and cook till the leaves wilt and don’t smell raw, about 5-6 minutes.
  
• Add cream (or milk), rest of the paneer, kasoori methi (crushed with your fingers) and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes.
  
• Finally add the garam masala, cover to let the flavors mingle and take off the heat after 2 minutes.
  

Serve with rotis or rice.

Methi-Soya Chunk Masala

I’m back from my short and sweet India trip. Had a great time with the family, great home food, good long chats, quick shopping and bam.. I was on my flight back. I was a little sick when I started in India and was totally sick after getting here (I guess home sickness and the cold weather hit right in my face). I’m slowly getting back to routine cooking and blog hopping.

I had planned on participating in JFI-Jaggery and I had my mom cook Chalimidi with jaggery, but due to technical difficulties I couldn’t post anything from India. I’m going to post it sometime soon.

Getting back to the dish in question, Methi-Soya Chunks masala, I remembered seeing a dish with methi leaves and soya chunks on one of the food blogs, but I completely forgot which one and couldn’t find it again. I just went with my instincts here and it turned out pretty good. This would go well with Jeera rice or chapathis.

Ingredients:
Methi leaves – 1 big bunch
Mini soya chunks- ½ cup (boiled per package directions)
Onion – 1 big
Tomato – 2 ripe
Green chilies – 2
Milk – ¼ cup
Corn flour – 1 tsp (mix with little water to form a smooth paste)
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric – pinch
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds (jeera) – ½ tsp
Salt – to taste
Method:

• Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan, add jeera and let the seeds splutter. Fry onions till they turn light brown.
• Add tomatoes and cook covered till done.
• Add methi leaves, turmeric, cumin powder and red chili powder. Cover and cook till the leaves wilt, about 5 minutes.
• Mean while dry fry the boiled soya chunks (optional). I just like the texture of fried chunks.
• After the leaves are wilted, add the milk and bring it to a slow simmer. Add the fried chunks and salt, cook for 3-5 minutes. Add corn flour mixture and cook for 1 minute or until the gravy thickens. Serve with rice or chapathi.