Hello my dears!! Long-time no see…. I missed you all a lot and I am sure you missed me too!!
Winter’s just about over and I am sure each of you enjoyed the abundant variety of winter veggies that thronged the vegetables markets over the last two months. It’s such a pleasure to visit the vegetables market during these winter months as we get to choose from the freshest of the produce. I love the refreshing green veggies that this season offers.
Ensuring one gets the daily dose of greens can prove to be a challenge, not so much because one doesn’t like it, but because many of these green leafy veggies put forth a humongous task of sorting and cleaning them before one can actually cook them. Well I used to certainly find this activity to be a real tedious task.
Back in 2005, I had been married a few years and we were living in Vile Parle, Mumbai. My husband and I, both of us would leave home early with packed lunches and by the time we got back home it was anywhere like 8.30-9pm. I would cook for the two of us and I remember how I would dread buying leafy veggies thinking of the nightmarish activity of cleaning them, for which I had neither the time nor the inclination. However, it was then that I discovered a store near my house called 9 to 9 Super market. They stored the freshest of cleaned, cut fruits and veggies. And suddenly I was cooking lot of Palak (Spinach) and Methi (Fenugreek) and Amaranthus (Green and Red Maath) and now I even bought some of those “I am never ever going to venture into” greens like Ambadi and Chakwat!!
The advent of packed pre-cleaned greens has sure been a blessing for all persons who love to cook, but would rather spend time on other meaningful and rewarding activities, than cleaning, sorting and cutting these veggies!
Eventually I have even ventured into cooking greens like Shepu (Dill) and Kardai (Safflower). I enjoy cooking all those greens and I am glad that my kids love eating all kinds of veggies. Most of these greens taste great when cooked in a particular traditional way. However, that’s not true with the ever versatile Methi and Palak and one can create some really amazing, rich, mouth-watering dishes using these two.
Methi Mutter Malai is one of our favourites at home and I love the fact that it can be dished out in a matter of minutes, if you have all the ingredients at home. I am going to share with you my quick recipe of Methi Mutter Malai…
To get going, you need…
2 cups of Methi leaves
1 cup peas
2 pods Cardamom
1 inch cinnamon
3 garlic cloves, peeled
½ inch ginger
1-2 green chillies
2-3 mid-sized onions, chopped coarsely
2 tbsp Cashews
Salt to taste
2 tsp sugar
½ cup milk
3 tbsp Fresh Cream
2 tbsp Oil
To start with, wash, chop and blanche the Methi leaves. Parboil the peas with a pinch of salt.
In a grinder, add cardamom, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, chillies, onions and cashews and grind it to a soft paste adding few tsp of water if necessary.
In a non-stick pan, heat oil and fry the cashew –onion paste till it starts leaving the sides. Add blanched methi , peas and salt and fry for 3-4 minutes stirring intermittently. Add ½ cup milk and ½ cup water, mix well and cook till the gravy thickens. Add the fresh cream and sugar and mix well.
Serve hot with Rotis or Parathas.
Go dig in to your bowl of Methi Mutter Malai, serve it your family and friends and see those lovely bright smiles and glowing lit eyes as they enjoy your creation.
And don’t forget to inbox me your favourite Methi recipe….. Theplas, Methi Dal, Methi Puris, Aloo Methi, Muthiyas? There are loads of them and I am eager to find what you really fancy…
So tell me about it and I will see you soon with more….
S’long and Yummy Expressions!!
Yummy Expressions 