Wishing all my reader’s a Happy and prosperous New Year! Hope everyone had a fabulous and fun filled day 🙂 I’d like to share yet another of my favorite North Indian dishes- Methi matar malai | methi mutter malai recipe, with the addition of paneer here. Like most North Indian dishes this one doesn’t fall short of all the rich ingredients as well. Loads of cream is what makes this dish so rich, but the interesting part is the use of fenugreek leaves. Methi matar malai such a well-balanced dish despite all it’s glorious, nutty richness. The fenugreek leaves add a distinct bitterness yet palatable flavor, one that is truly addictive and makes this dish so unique. Then there is the sweetness from the green peas which also makes for a great textural element in this ultra creamy dish! The addition of mava/khoya makes it even more luxurious.
I simply adore the North Indian white gravy any day over its red counterpart. It’s sweet and very mildly spiced. I love the red gravy too, but If I had to pick then I’d definitely choose the former. Since it is so rich, I make this dish very rarely. Yes, you can definitely make a low-calorie version of methi matar malai by omitting the cream, the mava/khoya, butter, and the nuts. But what’s the fun in that, right? So I rather make it once in a blue moon and enjoy it 🙂
Unfortunately, we do not get fresh fenugreek leaves here, so we grow our own. But it takes a good 4 weeks to harvest the fenugreek. So yes we have to wait that long to enjoy a fenugreek dish 🙁 I made this methi matar malai paneer using our very own homegrown methi, and that makes it even more special 🙂 We love gardening, but space constraints in an apartment restrict how much we can plant. We still have a few plants, like a banana plant, Ichiban eggplants, Thai chillies, curry leaves, lemongrass, basil, mint, and a few other herbs.
So when I made this methi matar malai paneer, I had to share it here on the blog, coz it’s going to be a while the next time I make this. Sometimes when I feel like having this dish, and I don’t have fenugreek, I make palak methi matar malai by simply substituting fresh fenugreek leaves with frozen spinach and adding extra kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves). You may also use only dried fenugreek leaves, just rehydrate them in water for 15-30 minutes and add it at the same time you would add the fresh ones.
ENJOYED THIS METHI MATAR MALAI PANEER RECIPE? THEN DO CHECK THESE DELICIOUS NORTH INDIAN DISHES TOO,
Malai Kofta in white gravy Shahi Paneer Paneer butter masala
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE METHI MATAR MALAI IN WHITE GRAVY | METHI MATAR MALAI RESTAURANT STYLE
1.Heat water in a pot, once it comes to a boil, add roughly chopped onions, cashew nuts. Let it boil until they both are tender, will take about 2-3 minutes. Switch off the heat, drain the onions and cashew nuts in a colander. Let it cool down. 2.Make a fine paste of the boiled onions, cashew nuts, poppy seeds, green chillies in a blender. The onions have enough moisture, so there is no need to add any water. Add minimal water if required.
3.Shallow fry the paneer pieces and immerse them in warm water until ready to use.
4.In a heavy bottomed pan, heat butter and oil. Add cumin seeds. Once cumin seeds crackle, add in the coarsely crushed ginger garlic paste. Saute until fragrant on medium heat.
5.Now add the prepared onion paste, saute for another 2 -3 minutes.
6.Add mava and continue sauteing until the onion-mava paste starts leaving oil from the sides of the pan. Do not brown the paste.
7.Add in chopped methi leaves ( Refer notes to reduce bitterness), saute until the leaves wilt, for another 2-3 minutes.
8.Now add green peas, salt, sugar, garam masala, and milk. Mix well and cook this mixture for another 2-3 minutes.
9.Add fried paneer pieces, and cook for another 2 minutes.
10.Finally add the cream, crushed kasoori methi and cardamom powder. Mix well, and let it simmer for 2 more minutes. Switch off the heat, and serve with naan/paratha/kulcha/chapati or any other flatbread.
NOTES
HOW TO MAKE METHI MATAR MALAI PANEER | METHI MALAI MUTTER?
I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at [email protected] You can also follow me on : Facebook Pinterest Instagram Twitter Regards, Freda
