Methi Matar Malai

Methi matar malai recipe – Methi matar malai is a delicious and famous North Indian curry made with fenugreek leaves, peas and cream. It can be found on the menu of most restaurants in North India or the Punjab.
It’s a winning recipe for sure. It’s creamy, delicious, smooth and of course also healthy with methi (fenugreek) and matar (green peas). It was so good that it will even beat the Matar methi malai served in restaurants.
The methi mutter malai recipe can be made in 30-35 minutes flat if you have the fenugreek leaves ready and chopped. You need to boil the peas first, and when you make the dough and fry it, you can store the peas for cooking in the microwave or on the stove.
The recipe is good for children too, especially if you want to feed them fenugreek. There is no bitterness or bitter taste. It is sweeter due to the presence of cream, onions and cashews. Also, not at all spicy.

Ingredients

For the paste

▢ ⅓ cup chopped onions or 1 medium onion
▢ ¼ cup cashews
▢ 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
▢ 1 teaspoon of minced garlic or 4 to 5 medium cloves of garlic
▢ 1 teaspoon of chopped ginger or 1 inch of ginger
▢ 1 teaspoon of chopped green peppers or serrano peppers or 1 to 2 green peppers
Also Read: Kadhi Recipe | Kadhi Pakora

Other ingredients

▢ 2 tablespoons of Ghee (clarified butter) or oil
▢ 1 cup chopped fenugreek leaves (methi leaves)
▢ ½ cup water or boiled green pea broth / water – add as needed
▢ ½ cup green peas – boiled or steamed
▢ ½ cup light cream or low fat cream
▢ ½ teaspoon of sugar or add as needed
▢ salt as needed

For garnish

▢ 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
▢ 1 to 2 tablespoons of boiled or steamed green peas – optional

Instructions

Preparation of the ground paste

1. In a bowl of a grinder, add the cumin seeds, chopped onions, cashews, garlic, ginger and green peppers.
2. Mix or grind into a smooth paste without adding water.
3. If you cannot mix, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
4. To cook the green peas, you can either boil them in a saucepan with 1.5 cups of water for 7-8 minutes until tender, or you can steam them in an instant pot for 3 at 5 minutes.
5. You can boil them in a pressure cooker for 5 to 6 minutes. Reserve ½ cup of cooked water if you boiled the peas.

Sauté the ground paste

1. Heat the ghee (clarified butter) or oil in a pan or kadai.
2. When the ghee melts or becomes slightly hot, add the ground paste.
3. Sauté the dough for 6 to 7 minutes over low heat until the fat comes off the walls.
4. Stir often when sautéing so that the batter does not stick to the pan. You should see some fat coming off the sides and the dough will have a nice aroma as well.
5. You will see the dough come together and become shiny. Do not brown the dough.
6. If the ground dough sticks to the pan or turns brown, add a few drops of water. Mix, deglaze and continue to sauté.

Make Methi Matar Malai

1. Add the chopped fenugreek leaves and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Then add ½ cup of water or the broth / water in which the green peas were cooked in two parts. Mix well and simmer the sauce for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir at intervals.
3. Add the boiled peas and cream.
4. Simmer the sauce for 5 to 6 minutes over low heat.
5. Finally add the sugar and salt. Mix again.
6. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve the methi matar malai hot or warm with naan, paratha or roti.