Methi Chaman

Clearly Lulu and I have pretty much done every paneer dish we possibly knew and like. Yet since we both are constantly buying paneer we can’t help but go deep into the alleys of the internet looking for morepaneer recipes. This blog experience in itself has been an adventure in terms of stepping out of my comfort zone. I have always thought of cooking as a necessary skill and didn’t really ever bother too much with the whole concept of plating and photographing the dishes I make. I primarily don’t like taking photos while cooking because I am constantly worried that I might end up putting my phone in the pan/wok/kadai! And the reason why I don’t like taking photos of dishes after they are cooked is because I am hungry and I don’t particularly like waiting to get the most perfect photograph because my brain and stomach keep egging me on to eat. Yet, over the past few months I have come to develop skills that help me distinguish between gadget and food and the sense to figure out the most flatteringly lit area in the house to get done with my photography in a jiffy!

Today we have for you Methi Chaman and I learnt this while I was looking for paneer recipes that Chaman means Paneer and hence what we see on menus as “Paneer methi chaman” is quite redundant. This is a Tarla Dalal recipe and may I just say how wonderful the recipe turned out! This is a recipe I’ll urge everybody who likes green leafy vegetables to try.

Ingredients:

200gm Paneer diced

4 Bunches spinach (Palak)
2 Bunches Fenugreek (Methi) leaves
1 Tsp dried fenugreek leaves (Kasuri Methi)
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tsp cumin seeds (Jeera)
1 Small onion chopped

1/4 Tsp asafoetida (Hing)
1/4 Tsp chilli powder
1/4 Tsp coriander powder
1 Tsp ginger-green chilli paste
1/4 Tsp garam masala
1 Tbsp fresh cream

A pinch turmeric powder (Haldi)

Salt 

Method:

1. Roast the dried fenugreek leaves in a pan till crisp. Set aside.

2. Blanch the spinach and fenugreek leaves in boiling water for 4 minutes only to retain the lush green colour of the leaves.

3. Drain the water and let it cool. Then blend in a mixer till smooth.

4. Take a small piece of ginger and one spicy green chilli and blend in a mixer to make the ginger-chilli paste.

5. Heat the oil in a pan; add cumin seeds and onions and sauté till the onions turn golden brown.

6. Add hing, turmeric, chilli  and coriander powders.

7. Then add ginger-green chilli paste, spinach-methi puree and dried fenugreek leaves and fry for 2-3 minutes.

8. Then add the salt, paneer, garam masala and cream and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve hot with chapatis.

Notes:

•You can skip the ginger-green chilli paste and just add ginger paste if you want to reduce the spiciness or accordingly add more chillies as per your taste.

•Blanching should be kept to a maximum of 4 minutes or the leaves will lose their colour.

•Add water if you want a ‘gravy’.

Happy Independence Day!