Back in Delhi, methi matar malai used to be one of my favorite things to order at restaurants. This luxirous punjabi dish is most commonly made during winter months, when fresh methi is in season. It has a beautiful medley of flavors and textures and the taste is mildly sweet and milky with slight bitterness of methi leaves.
What is Methi Matar Malai
Like many indian dishes, this creamy and delightful dish gets its name from the two main ingredients - methi (fresh fenugreek leaves) and matar (green peas). Malai denotes the creaminess in the gravy achieved by adding a paste of ground cashews, white poppy seeds and heavy cream.
In indian cuisine, malai, or heavy cream is both used as an ingredient as well as a term used to refer to smooth and creamy texture of indian gravies. On the same lines, dishes like malai aloo or chicken malai tikka have creamy gravy or marinades.
Methi Malai matar, also called as Methi Mutter Malai is a mild tasting curry. It can be made in 30-40 minutes especially if you have fresh methi leaves already picked out.
To make methi matar malai, we are going to make a onion, spices and cashew paste and then simmer the methi leaves and peas in it, before finishing the curry with heavy cream.
This recipe is pretty easy and quick, however, you do need to clean fresh methi leaves which takes up most of the time. As I mentioned in my aloo methi sabji post, I usually pick 4-5 bunches of methi a few days ahead and store them refrigerated. This really saves time and happens to be one of my favorite meal prep tip.
Methi Matar Malai is quite an indulgent dish and I make it once or twice a year on special occasions or when entertaining during festival time. I highly suggest that you don’t cut down on the richness of the dish. Cook it in an authentic & traditional way and consume in moderation.
What is Methi
Methi is loved winter green in the indian subcontinent. It serves as a spice, known as methi dana, a fresh leafy vegetable, and as dried herb, often referred to as kasuri methi. This versatile green boasts of an irresistibly tangy, bitter-sweet flavor. In the United States, methi is readily available in Indian grocery stores starting from the autumn months. Additionally, the frozen section usually offers methi year-round. You could easily use frozen methi in this recipe! It works beautifully! Pro Tip - Always taste a few leaves of fresh methi bunch to make sure that they are not super bitter. This way you will be able to decide whether to use it in your recipe or not. Sometimes, methi is really bitter and it is not suitable for cooking, however in most cases, you can reduce its bitterness slightly. Read some of my tips on how to reduce bitterness of methi.
About My Recipe
A few things about my recipe
I do not blanch or boil the methi leaves beforehand. The reason for blanching methi leaves is to get rid of the bitterness. Here, in America, I have hardly come across super bitter methi. Also, it adds additional steps to the recipe. I add chopped methi straight to the gravy and simmer with peas. Do read the tips and faq section for more. I use frozen peas after thawing. You could use fresh peas in this recipe, however blanch them first in salted boiling water.
Ingredients
Fresh or frozen methi - Easily available in produce aisle or freezer section of indian grocery stores or in farmer’s market of certain states. Green Peas - Use fresh or frozen. I use frozen. You could use sweet green peas too. White Poppy Seeds (Khus-Khus)- White poppy seeds are often used in indian curries to thicken as well as to add creaminess to the gravy. Don’t add a lot. Raw cashew nuts Whole Spices - Cumin Seeds, Green Cardamom, Cloves, Bay leaf Onion - I prefer using red onion for indian curries. You could use yellow or white onions. Ghee - I love to cook this dish in ghee for a rich nutty taste. You could use oil. Whole Milk - To thin out the gravy. We are not going to use very less water. Heavy Cream - For the creamy taste. Other Ingredients - Ginger, Garlic, Green Chillies, Salt, garam masala powder, kasoori methi
Variations
Vegan Methi Matar Malai You can easily make vegan version of methi matar malai by using cashew milk instead milk. You could also use coconut milk, however in that case, the dish will have a pronounced coconut taste. Use plant based oil like avocado oil or vegan butter instead of ghee. Methi Matar Malai Without Cream If you do not want to add it, skip the heavy cream. To preserve the creaminess of the dish, I suggest adding a few extra cashews. Methi Matar Malai Paneer Add tiny cubes of pan fried paneer or some people also like adding grated paneer similar to paneer lababdaar. I prefer the latter method. Grated paneer maintains the lacey texture of the gravy. Methi Matar Malai Without Cashew You could add unroasted sunflower seeds to create a creamy texture when blended. They have a slightly nutty flavor but are less sweet than cashews. When substituting cashews, the flavor and texture of the dish may be slightly altered. Methi Matar Malai With Milk Powder You can milk powder (not non-fat) and warm water to this curry. Skip the milk. Methi Matar Malai With Kasuri Methi Kasuri Methi or dry fenugreek leaves have a very strong flavor and aroma. Though fresh fenugreek is the best, you may add 3-4 tablespoon of kasuri methi instead.
How To Make Methi Matar Malai (Step By Step Pictures)
Preparation
Pro Tip - Don’t chop methi in a food processor to use in this recipe. It will bleed and your gravy will become green.
Make Methi Matar Malai
Recipe Tips
Fresh methi - Go for fresh methi for the best flavor. Fresh greens contribute significantly to the taste of this dish. Adjust the quanity of methi - I love the taste and flavor of methi and hence I add slightly more quanity. You could reduce the quantity to 1.5 cups if you wish. Kasuri methi really helps in bringing out the flavor of fresh methi. Dont skip kasuri methi and dont forget to toast it before adding for the best flavor. Yellow Hue - Add a touch of turmeric powder while frying the masala if you dont like white gravy. Cook on gentle heat - Since there is a lot of dairy in this recipe, avoid high heat else the milk or heavy cream might curdle. Dont go overboard on heat or spices - In general, whenever you are cooking anything with methi, avoid adding a lot of green chillies or red chilli powder or garam masala. Methi on its own has a bitterness and it balances out the flavors. Add Vegetables - You could add some sweet corn if you prefer. Tastes great.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with indian flatbreads like naan, roti or paratha. Pair with jeera rice or steamed rice and a crunchy salald like kachumber. You could serve it for festive meal with bedmi poori, aloo sabzi and boondi raita.
Storing
Methi Matar Masala stores well for 3-4 days in the fridge. Naturally, due to nuts and poppy seeds, it will thicken as it sits. While reheating, you could thin it out using milk or water. Freezing - I am not a fan of freezing such dairy based curries. Once thawed, they get pretty bland, so I won’t recommend.
More Methi Recipes
ALOO METHI SABJI METHI MURGH METHI PURI METHI DAL METHI KE PARATHE (FENUGREEK FLATBREAD) INSTANT NO YEAST NAAN (WITH METHI)
title: “Methi Matar Malai” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-16” author: “Peggy Diggs”
I love everything green and that includes fresh greens and green peas. I stock up on fresh green peas when in season and buy fresh greens almost every other day. After Palak (spinach), Methi (Fenugreek leaves) is my absolute favorite. Mix it in with the roti dough to make quick flavorful parathas or cook it with the lentils for a good side dish for rice – it is so versatile just like the green peas.
Methi Matar Malai is a creamy fenugreek leaves, green peas gravy served alongside roti or naan. It is a popular curry recipe from Punjab and over here in Bangalore, I hardly see it in the restaurant menus. It is wonderful just on its own and I wonder why it is not featured as much as it has to be! Probably not many are fond of methi or the matar. Never mind, when it can be made so easily at home, why do we even have to worry about the restaurant menus?! 😀
Methi means Fenugreek greens, Matar means green peas and Malai is the cream. But this Methi Matar Malai is creamy without the use of cream. Strange right? Not really. I used a little trick I learnt along a few years ago. I hardly ever buy cream and if I do get it, there is this immense pressure to use it off. So, I had to find a perfect cream substitute. Often times I would just use milk in the place of cream. But then, with Methi Malai Matar, cream is an essential part of this dish. So my trick was to use milk powder in the place of cream. A thick paste of milk powder and water makes this gravy so creamy – with no cream being used at all. This is definitely a low calorie methi matar malai and one can devour it with no guilt at all 🙂
Methi leaves are slightly bitter. Cooking them with fresh green peas and a creamy onion gravy, helps take down the bitterness to a great extent. But then, for me that slight bitterness is what makes this curry absolutely delicious. The sweetness of the peas and cream combined with the mild bitterness makes this gravy perfect!
Clean the methi/fenugreek leaves and wash in running water for 1-2 times. Chop off the hard stem parts and use only the tender stems. Chop finely and keep aside.
Chop onions roughly. Remove the peels off of garlic and ginger. Set aside.
In a microwave safe bowl, add chopped onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic. Add a teaspoon of oil and toss well. Microwave high for 5-6 mins until the onions have been cooked and turn transparent. Let the mixture cool down. Add it to a mixer jar along with the cashews and grind smooth. Set aside.
In a pan, heat 2 teaspoon of oil. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add the prepared onion paste and stir fry on a low flame for 4-5 mins. As the oil is released from the edges, add chopped fenugreek leaves. And stir fry for another 5 mins until the leaves are wilted. Add some water if required. Add fresh green peas and stir fry for 5 more mins on low flame.
Add salt required for the gravy. Keep cooking on low flame for 5-7 mins until the gravy begins to boil. Make a thick paste of the milk powder and water. Add it to the boiling gravy. Mix well. Let the gravy simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat.
Serve hot as a side with roti, naan or kulcha.
Clean the fenugreek greens thoroughly so that there is no dirt or slit. Remove off the hard stems and use only the tender parts. I used only ginger, garlic and green chillies for the heat or spiciness. For a spicier version, red chilli powder can be added but that affects the beautiful color of this gravy. I haven’t used garam masala powder. Can be added if required. Fresh green peas work best for this gravy. In case of non-availability, use frozen peas. As my gravy was already watery, I directly added the milk powder and mixed it in. Either methods can be used. For a rich version, ½ cup of fresh cream can be added instead of the milk powder. Onions, garlic and ginger can be cooked on stove top too. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil and stir fry onions, green chillies, garlic and ginger. Microwaving simplifies the task. Don’t overcook after adding milk powder or cream. Don’t use high flame. The gravy can curdle.
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