If you are reading my blogs, you would remember the recipe Sukha Besan (Chick pea flour dish). This is very similar in that it is made dry (not gravy) and goes well with hot chapathis or rotis.
Fenugreek (leaf or seed) is a functional food in that it helps with many ailments such as reducing blood sugar levels (diabetics), producing mother's milk to name a few. I started to love this vegetable since my times as a diabetic during pregnancy, and I in fact started liking the bitter note it imparts.
The Methi Rice dish (previous blog) was all I knew on how to use the vegetable, however, since I came to Pune I have learned many ways of using the vegetable and creating non-bitter variations of the vegetable. This dish also has the lentils that adds protein and is preferred by parents for school lunch boxes. There are certain ways of cooking and preparing the dish that makes it non-bitter that helps with its universal acceptance amongst kids and adults.
Sukha Methi
Courtesy: Lakshmi (my maidservant)
1 bunch Methi leaves (fenugreek leaves), finely chopped
(you could substitute Methi with Dill leaves)
1 cups Moong dal (green gram), partially cooked in water
Garlic - 2-3 cloves
Green Chilli - 4-5
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 0.5 tsp
Oil - 6 tbsp refine oil
salt to taste
Directions
Boil the lentils in a separate pot of boiling water and decant in a strainer. In a blender, take the green chilli and grind it with salt into a fine paste. The more chilli you use, the better for reducing the bitterness of Methi. The dish will not be very hot due to the chillies as the bitterness neutralizes the heat from the chillies.
In a pan, take oil, add the mustard seeds. Once the seeds sputter, add asafoetida, curry leaves, garlic and chilli paste and let it cook for 2-3 min. The chilli paste should be completely immersed in oil. I was afraid that by heating the chilli paste, the entire household is going to be coughing and sneezing, but nothing happened. The secret lies in complete immersion of the chilli paste in oil - that doesn't let the fumes out.
Add the cut leaves and lentils (half cooked) and mix it well with the chilli garlic paste and oil. Let the leaves and lentils get cooked together for 10 mins or until the vegetable and lentils are fully cooked. The juice of the leaves will be enough to cook the lentils well. Don't add any extra water. Remember, it is sukha (dry) dish.The leaves will change color from light green to dark green and will curl up when cooked well.
Tips: You should add salt in ample amount that you usually do for other dishes. This helps to remove the bitterness and reduce the heat from the chillies.The combination of chilli, garlic and salt cooked in oil is the key that brings the flavor and taste to the dish. The lentils should not be too much cooked, otherwise, it will turn pasty and make the dish into one big lump.
Enjoy with hot chapathis!
The Methi Rice dish (previous blog) was all I knew on how to use the vegetable, however, since I came to Pune I have learned many ways of using the vegetable and creating non-bitter variations of the vegetable. This dish also has the lentils that adds protein and is preferred by parents for school lunch boxes. There are certain ways of cooking and preparing the dish that makes it non-bitter that helps with its universal acceptance amongst kids and adults.
Sukha Methi
Courtesy: Lakshmi (my maidservant)1 bunch Methi leaves (fenugreek leaves), finely chopped
(you could substitute Methi with Dill leaves)
1 cups Moong dal (green gram), partially cooked in water
Garlic - 2-3 cloves
Green Chilli - 4-5
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 0.5 tsp
Oil - 6 tbsp refine oil
salt to taste
DirectionsBoil the lentils in a separate pot of boiling water and decant in a strainer. In a blender, take the green chilli and grind it with salt into a fine paste. The more chilli you use, the better for reducing the bitterness of Methi. The dish will not be very hot due to the chillies as the bitterness neutralizes the heat from the chillies.
In a pan, take oil, add the mustard seeds. Once the seeds sputter, add asafoetida, curry leaves, garlic and chilli paste and let it cook for 2-3 min. The chilli paste should be completely immersed in oil. I was afraid that by heating the chilli paste, the entire household is going to be coughing and sneezing, but nothing happened. The secret lies in complete immersion of the chilli paste in oil - that doesn't let the fumes out.Add the cut leaves and lentils (half cooked) and mix it well with the chilli garlic paste and oil. Let the leaves and lentils get cooked together for 10 mins or until the vegetable and lentils are fully cooked. The juice of the leaves will be enough to cook the lentils well. Don't add any extra water. Remember, it is sukha (dry) dish.The leaves will change color from light green to dark green and will curl up when cooked well.
Tips: You should add salt in ample amount that you usually do for other dishes. This helps to remove the bitterness and reduce the heat from the chillies.The combination of chilli, garlic and salt cooked in oil is the key that brings the flavor and taste to the dish. The lentils should not be too much cooked, otherwise, it will turn pasty and make the dish into one big lump.
Enjoy with hot chapathis!
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