Saturday, January 12, 2013

Fenugreek leaves and peas curry / Methi Malai Mutter - Version II

Even though we eat frozen ready food maybe once or twice a month, my freezer always has a pack of Methi Malai mutter. That is because my kids love it with kulcha or naan. I had tried to mimic the exact dish and you can read about it here. I took the same recipe, added few spices, subtracted few and made a big change in the recipe to use tomatoes or canned tomato paste rather. Result was amazing and I think I like this new recipe more even though the older one is more kid friendly. This is easy to make and perfect for huge crowds since not much effort is put in making it. This freezes well too.
One Year Back - Hakka Noodles
Two Years Back - Tofu Butter Masala, Whitebread with tangzhong starter
Three Years Back - Eggless Almond Brownies
Ingredients:
Dry green peas - 2 cups soaked for at least 6 hours (Or use about 5 - 6 cups of frozen peas)
Onions - 3 medium chopped into chunks
Tomato paste - 6 Oz can (Or use about 4 large tomatoes)
Fenugreek leaves - 1 bunch cleaned and chopped (discard thick stems)
Oil - 3 TBSP
Garlic - 2 pods crushed
Whole raw almonds - 1/3 cup (Or use cashews)
Cinnamon - 2" stick
Cardamom - 2 whole
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp or to taste (1 tsp is very mild)
Sugar - 1 TBSP (optional, but preferred)
Salt - to taste
Garam masala - 3/4 tsp
Ricotta cheese - 1 cup (I used part skim, you can use whole milk or homemade paneer crumbled)

Method:
If using dried peas, pressure cook them in enough water. Set aside. In a pan, heat 1 TBSP of oil. When hot,  add cinnamon, cardamom, almonds, garlic. Let almonds get toasted a bit. Add onions and sprinkle some salt. Let onions wilt. If you are using fresh tomatoes, chop them into chunks and add it to the onion mixture when onions are cooked. If using canned tomato paste, you can turn off the heat when onions are done. When the tomatoes are cooked, turn off the heat. Let it cool a bit. Take the contents of the pan into a blender and make a puree. You can add a bit of water if required. In the same pan, heat the remaining 2 TBSP of oil. Add fenugreek leaves and stir fry. Let them wilt. Now, add the cooked peas (if using frozen peas, they can be added at this point. No need to thaw) and stir. Add the ground paste and mix well. If you are using the canned tomato paste, you can add that now. Add enough water to get the desired consistency. Add red chilli powder, garam masala, sugar and mix well. Taste for salt and add if necessary. When it comes to a boil and the peas (if using frozen) are cooked, add ricotta cheese. Simmer for few minutes and then turn off the heat. Serve with roti, naan or kulcha. This tastes good with rice also.

Enjoy.
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5 comments:

  1. Just wow, fabulous methi malai mattar, rich and fingerlicking definitely.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Delicious and lovely looking malai mutter.
    Deepa

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely curry ! Loved the handi you have displayed the curry too :)

    ReplyDelete

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