Tuesday 14 April 2015

Methi chi bhaaji - Fenugreek stir fry

As i had mentioned in my Methi thepla post that it is important to keep in touch with your "girl-friends", my happiness knew no bounds when recently i got in touch with all my beautiful school friends. So we have made a "girls-only" whatsapp group and kept it small and close, so we can share anything and everything there without getting biased or judgmental. Imagine a place where you can blabber anything and everything and no one really bothers to make comments about you - Just what we need in our day-to-day stressful lives, right? Well, so one of my friend there ( I don't know if she will like me taking her name here on a public page, so keeping it as N ) had mentioned about this simple Methi bhaaji that she used to get in tiffin that her mom used to make. 



"The best way to make this bhaaji delicious is to use tons of onion and garlic", these were her words. True to that, the garlic gives a terrific twist to the otherwise simple bhaaji which has nothing but regular spices (Tadka as we call it popularly). I also feel that addition of coconut takes it to other level altogether. Or maybe i am just a little biased towards coconut. I love adding fresh coconut to anything and everything. The Maharashtrian genes you see ;)



This bhaaji makes a perfect tiffin recipe and goes very well with rotis/phulkas. It tastes great with daal-chawal too.

Ingredients:

Methi leaves (Fenugreek leaves) - 1 bunch
Onions - 2 medium
Garlic - I used around 8-10 pods
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Green chillies - 2
Fresh grated coconut - to garnish
Salt - to taste


Recipe:

Remove the methi leaves from the stem and wash them well. 

You can either chop them roughly.

Crush the garlic pods in a mortar and pestle. You can also chop it or make a paste.

Chop the green chillies.

Chop the onions finely.

Heat oil in a kadhai. Wait till the oil is smoking hot.

Now add the mustard leaves. Let them pop. Add in cumin seeds, asafoetida and turmeric.

Now add the crushed garlic and green chillies. Saute for about 30 seconds.

Add in onions and saute till they are translucent (Don't over fry or brown the onions).

Now add in methi leaves, salt and mix everything well.

Cook covered for about 8-10 minutes checking and stirring after every 2-3 minutes, so the methi gets cooked well and doesn't stick to the kadhai. If you feel it is sticking to the kadhai, you can add about 1 tbsp of water or more, but methi leaves water, so normally it shouldn't stick when you steam cook.

Once the methi is cooked, stir fry it in the open (without the lid) for about 1-2 minutes.

Garnish with coconut.



Quite easy and tastes delicious!

Happy Cooking :))






22 comments:

  1. I can't get methi leaves over here. Only the dried type. I like the dish. Perhaps another leafy green veg will be good too.

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    1. Nava, you can try it with any leafy vegetable, i have made spinach in this way too and it tastes absolutely delicious :)

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  2. Lovely bhaji style preparation, Gauri and I do like the grated coconut sprinkled over it! What a great idea:)

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    1. Yeah, coconut adds a lovely flavour to it :) Thanks Peri :)

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  3. I love the marriage of different flavours in this simple, healthy wholesome Bhaji. The Methi has its own distinctive flavour which is heightened by the garlic and the creaminess from the coconut holds all the flavours together. And what a wonderful idea it was to have those Girls only days out. Have fun with your school friends and share with us more and more recipes.

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    1. That's so sweet of you Piyali :) Thanks a ton for all the good words :)

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  4. This bhaaji looks AMAZING, Gauir. Oh! those sweet memories of school days.
    My mom also used to make it. Addition of coconut is making this bhaaji more desirable. I so wish I could the bowl of green goodness. So full YUM! :)

    Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen

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    1. Thanks a ton Anu, i think the taste lies in the simplicity, isn't it?

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  5. Loved this Bhaaji.. and the sprinkled coconut is just superb..YUM!!

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    1. Thanks dear for your encouraging words always :)

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  6. Lovely bhaji. It looks super delicious. Yum yum :)

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  7. Gauri, this fenugreek sabji is my favorite with Indian style roti! loved it! thanks for sharing!

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    1. Absolutely tastes best with phulkas :) Glad you liked it :)

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  8. I totally love these kind of dishes, beautiful colour and flavour :)

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  9. Super healthy and delicious dear:)...I love methi in dal:)...Loved your addition of coconut:)

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    1. Yes Padma, i love Dal-methi too :) Glad you liked it :)

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  10. This is my fav stir fry we call it poriyal.. coconut topping makes it even tastier, nice dish!

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    1. Oh yes. There is a lot of similarity in south indian cooking and Maharashtrian cooking :) Glad you liked it, thanks :)

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  11. Yeah, this one looks almost the same.... minus the sugar. Now I can say, Maharashritian cooking is kind of similar to south indian style! Right??

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    1. Absolutely right! Both the cuisine use a lot of tamarind, coconut, jaggery and basic tadka being the same! :)

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Appreciate your comments, Thank you so much for for dropping by :)!!!