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 :))

Methi Thepla : Gujrati cuisine

Recently, i came across a very beautiful image shared by a friend on her Facebook wall. Here it is :

The painting says so much...

As much as we are busy with our everyday lives of work, husband, kids, family etc. we should never forget our "girl-friends" or "sisters" !! Just as much, life surprised me a few months back by getting me in touch with my college bestie Beena. We had lost contact and touch for all those years, and now am happy to be chatting almost everyday with this ever smiling lady. On and off, we share recipes with each other and this one is her recipe.

Being a Mumbaiite, i have had Gujrati friends right from childhood. My mother, in fact had a lot of Gujrati neighbors and speaks the language fluently. Having brought up eating a lot of the cuisine, i have developed an immense liking and taste to it, to which a lot of people find it sweet. But khandvis, dhoklas, fafdas... the names itself gets me drooling. 

Thepla is basically a flatbread that is eaten in Gujrat. The difference between paratha and thepla would be parathas are thick, whereas thepla is a think bread. Also the dough of thepla is made with curd and no water. Theplas are light, healthy and mostly eaten as a snack. But they are filling too as a meal when served with curd or "chunda" or any chutney or pickle. They make a great travel snack, as they stay good for almost 2-3 days or even more if packed well.

Methi theplas are so easy to make, and so yummy that i often make them now to incorporate Methi (Fenugreek fresh leaves) in our diet.

Ingredients:

Fresh fenugreek leaves (Methi) - 1 cup

Whole wheat flour(Atta) - 1 cup

Besan (chickpea flour) - 1/2 cup

Ginger - 1/2 inch

Green chillies - 1-2

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (Adjust according to taste)

Salt - to taste

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Hing - a pinch

Oil - to fry the theplas

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Curd - Use as much required to make a dough (Took me about 1/3 cup)

You can also add sesame seeds for change of taste. 

Recipe:

Wash the methi leaves well and chopped them finely.

Mash the ginger and green chillies to a paste in a mortar and pestle.

Mix Atta and besan, and add the paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, hing, lemon juice, and salt. Mix well.

Now add the methi leaves and set aside for 5-10 minutes, just in case methi leaves water. That way we will know how much curd to add and the dough wouldn't become too sticky later on.

Now add curd little by little and knead it into a nice soft dough.

If the dough becomes sticky, add a tsp of oil and knead again.

Now divide the dough in equal sized balls.

Roll each ball into a flat roti (The size should not be thick, make it medium or really thin. If you make it too thin, make sure you lift up the thepla carefully or else it will stick and break.)

Now heat a tava, and fry the thepla with oil on both sides till golden spots are seem on the thepla. 

Serve when hot, but tastes great even when they become cold. I served it along with a sweet and spicy carrot chutney, the recipe of which i will post soon.

Wrap them up in an aluminium foil, so they remain soft.

Happy Cooking :)