Methi Matar Malai

Today is the first day of Blogging Marathon 61 for this week and I have chosen the theme 'One Pot Meal/ Meal Ideas' for this week. For the next three days, I Shall be sharing meal ideas. For the first day, I start with a simple North Indian recipe: Methi Mutter Malai served with Rosemary infused Parathas. Stay tuned for the upcoming recipes tomorrow and Friday.

Whenever we are glancing at the menu of a North Indian Restaurant to order a meal for the family, few main dishes are generally always ordered. Paneer Makhani, Palak Paneer, Paneer Butter Masala or Chole. The way my family used to view the menu years ago was to order one red curry, one paneer dish and a green curry. Almost always the green curry happened to be Palak Paneer. But sometimes it was essential to take a break from that and then we chose something new, like Methi Mutter Malai!

Most restaurants serve this as methi leaves and green peas simmered in a creamy gravy made from cashew nuts and onions. The dish is probably ordered less because of the word 'Methi' which people generally relate to bitter taste. But this way of making the sabji completely eliminates the bitter taste. Also, there is a hint of sweetness in the dish, from the added sugar to reduce the bitterness of fenugreek leaves. 

The simple way of making this dish at home would be to add fenugreek leaves, fresh peas and malai into a pressure cooker and cook. But this leads to a simple, no frills recipe that is home-style. It can be modified to make the recipe just like the restaurants serve it. Start with fresh fenugreek leaves, fresh or frozen peas and a paste made from onion, garlic, ginger and chilli. Then add the cream or malai, and you get the dish just like they serve it at the restaurants! And the best part is that it can be made in under 15 minutes from start to end, in just one pan. Serve it with parathas, roti or kulchas, salad and jeera rice too, if you like. 

Ingredients

Fenugreek leaves/ methi leaves 2 cups

Green Peas 1 cup

Onion 1 medium

Garlic 2-3 pods

Ginger 1 inch piece

Green Chilli 2-3

Cashewnuts ¼ cup

Fresh Cream 1 cup

Cumin seeds 1 tsp, Mustard seeds 1 tsp

Oil 2-3 tbsp

Garam Masala 1tsp

Salt 1 tsp, Sugar 1 tsp

Cilantro to garnish

Method

Boil the peas in a microwave or pressure cooker. Wash and chop the methi leaves. Set the peas and methi aside. In a blender, add diced onion, minced garlic, chopped ginger, green chilli and cashew nuts. You can substitute cashew for watermelon seeds (magaj seeds). Crush without water to ensure the sabji is not runny. Use some water only if needed.

In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they pop, add the ground paste and saute till it becomes aromatic. Once the raw flavors disappear, add the methi leaves and mix well. Cover and let the leaves cook on medium flame for 5-6 minutes. Next, add in the peas and cream, mix well. Then add the garam masala, salt and sugar. Let everything cook for 4-5 minutes. Turn down the heat. 

Serve garnished with cilantro leaves. To complete the meal, I served the sabji with parathas. To add a zing to the meal, I added finely chopped fresh rosemary to the dough of the parathas. Also, serve some chopped onions and a slice of lime.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for more recipes from other blogging marathoners doing this BM#61.

Looking for a low calorie version? Try this Methi Mutter Masala Curry.