Monday, May 2, 2011

Methi Malai Mutter


Methi malai mutter figures in my husband's list of most favourite dishes. So when my cousin, Aruna, gave me this recipe I tried it immediately. I have made it several times after that with some minor changes here and there. What I liked best about the recipe is that there's no 'malai' to be added, and the milk gives a creamy texture.

Ingredients:
2 medium onions
4 to 5 garlic cloves
3 to 4 green chillies
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 pinch of nutmeg powder (optional)
1 tsp cumin/ jeera powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 bunch (about 2 cups) methi leaves
1 cup coriander leaves
2 tsp maida
2 cups milk (room temp)
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp lime juice (see note)
Salt to taste
Oil

Method :
Roughly chop onions, garlic and green chillies. Wash and coarsely chop methi leaves and coriander leaves.
Heat oil. Saute onion, garlic and green chillies for a few minutes till onion turns brownish. Allow to cool. Transfer to a blender. Add all the powders and blend into a smooth paste (without water).
In the same pan, heat 1/2 tsp oil and saute methi leaves and coriander leaves for 3 to 4 minutes. Add it to the above paste and blend for 6 to 8 seconds.

[In the original recipe, you roast all the above mentioned ingredients together and blend them together into a smooth paste. However, I like to see little specks of methi and coriander leaves in the curry so I roast them separately and pulse them with the onion paste. If you don't like the taste of tiny methi leaves, blend together into a smooth paste].


Heat 2 tsp oil in a deep-bottomed pan. Add maida and stir till oil and maida mix well, making sure no lumps form. When the mixture changes colour slightly, add the ground paste and roast for a minute. Add milk little by little and mix. [Add 1/4 cup milk at a time, mixing well with each addition]. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes till the mixture boils, keep stirring so that the paste doesn't stick to the bottom.


Add green peas and cook for a few minutes. Add salt to taste, sugar (to remove bitterness of methi) and juice of lemon. [ Note - I actually hesitate to use lemon juice because I'm scared it'll curdle the milk. I mentioned it here since it's included in the original recipe].


Add cubes of fried paneer if desired. Goes well with chapati, tandoori roti, naan or jeera rice.  

Sending this to bookmarked recipes.

Comments:


24 comments:

  1. Looks like restaurant made.. It is so simple yet looks delicious:)
    Reva

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very creamy and nice side dish...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Methi malai mutter looks to be very tasty and colourful. Great preparation.

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

    ReplyDelete
  4. very inovative...I'll love to try this..

    ReplyDelete
  5. It figures in my top favourite dishes too! Yum! :D In the beginning, it looks a bit like pesto.

    ReplyDelete
  6. love the unique flavour of methi with peas and malai.....

    ReplyDelete
  7. Loved ur version,luks yum...

    ReplyDelete
  8. one of my fav dishes and ur version looks jolly good!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Curry looks soo creamy and fantastic..

    ReplyDelete
  10. I always wanted to try this, but never did. Now, I guess I have the perfect recipe, it looks super tempting :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. totally bookmarking this incredibly healthy and delicious recipe

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is new combination....interesting to try!

    ReplyDelete
  13. very innovative effort and creamy malai.love the combo.

    ReplyDelete
  14. tried this recipe was soo delicious.. with chapati.. i didnt have methi.,. but i substituted that with spinach.. i also reduced the milk to 1\2 a cup ( didnt want too much of gravy ).. and dint use the sugar at all.. it was really good.. I omitted the lemon juice as i've had experiences of it curdling the milk..but on the whole very healthy! good job!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for trying Michelle. The sugar is used incase methi leaves are bitter.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank u... I tried it out... n it was yummy...

    ReplyDelete
  17. first time in ur space....methi matar malai looks delicious dear....looks absolutely yummy....loved ur clicks ....following ur space...do check out mine in ur free time :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. wow! looks just like you get it in the restaurants. You have a great space here. Love all your pictures and the step by step pics make it look so simple.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great recipe! I have done this several times and each time it has been delicious.

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...