I am a strong believer in sense of smell and taste when it comes to cooking rather than asking for a recipe. My kids love the frozen 'Methi Malai muter' that occasionally we heat and serve with either home made rotis or naans. Since they like it so much, I even try make a big batch sometimes and freeze it myself. This recipe is my own imagination of what could be there based on the taste, so there could be hundred and one recipes for the same and they might be entirely different. I am not saying mine is authentic because I don't know what the authentic recipe for this dish is.
Ingredients:
- Methi / fenugreek leaves - 1 big bunch cleaned and only leaves are picked and chopped
- Frozen green peas - 2 1/2 cups (You could use fresh peas, it'll take longer to cook)
- Red Onion - 2 big chopped to chunks
- Green chillies - 7 or more depending on your taste (This much is not hot at all and perfect for kids)
- Cashews - 1/4 - 1/3 cup
- Garlic - 1 pod chopped
- Ginger - 1/2 inch piece peeled and chopped
- Cloves - 5
- Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Cinnamon - 1" stick
- Oil - 3 TBSP divided use
- Ricotta cheese - 1 cup (I used part-skimmed, but you can go for fat free too)
- Half and Half - 1/2 cup or enough to thin down the curry to desired consistency (You could use heavy cream or use just milk)
- Salt - to taste
- Red chilli powder - optional if you want to increase the heat
Method:
In a skillet, heat 2 TBSP of oil. When hot, add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add green chillies, garlic, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Saute till the coves pop. Add cashews and let them toast well. Now, add onions and stir. Sprinkle some salt and let it cook stirring occasionally. When they are cooked, take it out into a blender or mixie jar. In the same pan, heat the remaining 1 TBSP of oil. When hot, add green peas and chopped fenugreek leaves. Sprinkle some salt and saute till peas are tender. If you are using fresh peas, you might want to boil them in water and then use. Meanwhile blend the ingredients in the blender. You can add a little bit of water to facilitate the blades. But don't make it too runny. Add this paste and stir. Add the ricotta cheese and the half and half or heavy cream and stir well. Adjust the salt. Let it simmer for couple of minutes and turn off the heat. Serve hot or warm with rotis, naans, chapathis or even rice. I usually take out part of this for kids and add chilli powder to the remaining for adults (I and my husband).
Notes:
You could use butter in place of oil and use lot more than what I have used if you don't care about the fat content. Anything that has lot of fat in it will definitely taste better. You could use homemade paneer in place of ricotta cheese if you prefer. You could use yogurt in place of half and half to get a tangier curry. Your palate is your best guide. Use it.
Happy Cooking!!
Love it Champa. I have never tried it at home, always wanted to. Thank for the recipe, will surely try it.
ReplyDeletehi champa,
ReplyDeleteVery healthy recipe dear! luks delicious...Lovely colour.
looks delicious.
ReplyDeletelooks creamy and delicious..I never tried making this but always order f or this in restaurants..
ReplyDeleteLooks so creamy and rich. Love it with stuffed parathas.
ReplyDeleteI love methi malar malai. Your recipe is a little different than mine!
ReplyDeleteI love this dish,yumm!!
ReplyDeleteLooks yum..and little different recipe....
ReplyDeleteCurry looks super rich and creamy..
ReplyDeleteyum yum, this looks delicious! I love methi :-)
ReplyDeleteChampa methi and peas shuld complement each other very well. Nice recipe.
ReplyDeleteI always used to order this in the restaurants in India. Your recipe sounds good and simple enough to make.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am not just "mutter"ing it, I mean it. :)
Looks yummy!! Lovely combination of ingredients!!
ReplyDeletethis is really a good idea ..methi peas cheese wow sounds delicious ..and somewaht its healthy too..good one
ReplyDeletelooks bful and delcious dear..awesome color..pls collect ur award from my blog as a token of gratitude and love...my fav dish
ReplyDeleteWow! What a delicious looking Curry!!! Adding Ricotta cheese is a wonderful idea :)
ReplyDeleteVery delicious curry adding ricotta cheese is new to me sounds delish will try soon.
ReplyDeleteI love methi in any form but never tried with pea combination...love the addittion of cheese...
ReplyDelete