GOOD NEWS, one pot, fistful of aromatic basmathi rice and a bunch of fenugreek leaves to get your TUMMY FULL
Yes am still around to give you some healthy and one pot ideas so we can all spend more time EATING EATING and EATING, my evergreen obsession and this time , the methi pulav recipe
This recipe is not for your green leafy veggie lovers, I know you will somehow sneak in those green in the form of soups,curries, salads or whatever you like, but there is a group that hates greens to the core and (you please don’t ask about me ) I have a way for them.
1. Cut the green ahead and store in freezer food bags so you don’t have time to hate them
2. Don’t buy them
Kidding, let’s plan to eat them in one or the other way. Goal it to cook for less time and eat healthy.
The less time in the kitchen the simpler our life gets , you don’t want to spend more time in kitchen unless you are cooking for lot of guests or when experimenting with new recipe. I keep checking for easy to make and less calorie meal recipes often. One pot meals are such simple stuff to prepare even on a week day after work without ccompromisingon my taste buds, Before I dig into the details of Methi Pulav recipe, I wanted to share some good things that’s happening over here.
- I re-STARTED my gym routine , mind the winter and still I am determined to hit the gym in the early mornings, time to get fit!
- And September gave me another luck, I cleared my driving practical test which MEANS I have one thing off my head and which means I have more time for cooking and more time for clicking and more time for blogging..
- It also means I CAN DRIVE now..I can DRIVEEEEEEEEE…driving,exploring and clicking more nature pics which is something I LOVE love to do,
- And I started growing little plants in my kitchen, the one you see above sits in my kitchen window giving me immense happiness every time I look at it while I cook, the cute little roses make me smile everyday and tells me that smiling is actually a healthy exercise to do without shedding sweat 😉
Talk something something methi now, Methi or Fenugreek leaves are the last in my greens list for
- the bitter taste it gives sometimes when cooked along with other vegatables like potato
- the time time it takes to pluck those tiny leaves
I have used a little sugar in this methi pulav recipe as it takes away any bitter taste that the leaves impart to the dish,but there is absolutely no need to add any sugar if you are making this methi dal as the lentils give soem sort of sweetness which will balance out the bitterness.
I started buying frozen to get rid off my problem #2 but the taste is far away from that of the fresh leaves. So decided to buy them on Saturdays so I have time to pluck it over the time I watch any movies and store in fridge for the week ahead.
The methi pulav will be some sort of fenugreek smell but overall its a win to serve for any simple get together or a lunch box.More than this, I like the methi dal for its divine taste and texture when mixed with hot ghee and rice..
Since I wanted a one pot meal that can satisfy the pilaf lover in me with less effort for cooking and cleaning dishes, I opted for this. Enjoyed with onion raitha
- • 1 Bunch Fenugreek Leaves/Methi leaves plucked(Fresh or Frozen)
- • 2 Cups long grain Basmathi rice
- • 3 tablespoon Oil
- • ½ inch cinnamon
- • 1 Teaspoon Shajeera or black cumin
- • 3 cardamoms crushed
- • 3- 4 Cloves
- • 1 Star anise
- • 1 Big Onion sliced
- • 1 tablespoon salt(adjust according to your taste)
- • ½ tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- • 2 Green chillies slit
- • 1 Big Tomato chopped
- ½ tablespoon coriander powder
- ½ tablespoon cumin powder
- ½ tablespoon red chilli powder
- • ½ Cup thick Curd/Yoghurt
- • 1 teaspoon sugar
- • 1 tablespoon ghee
- • 2 tablespoons Chopped coriander
- Soak basmathir rice in plenty of water for atleast 45 minutes. soaking helps in reducing the cook time and also gives nice texture to the rice.
- If using frozen thaw the leaves and wash themm well, use 2 cups. If using fresh leave spluck them and wash them under hot water so as to kill any germs or dirt tagged to the leaves.
- Heat oil in a pressure cooker or a rice pot and crackle black cumin, then add all other spices cloves,cardomom, cinnamon, star anise and fry for 30 seconds until they give nice aroma.
- Add the sliced onions and green chillies , fry until the onions turn pale pink.
- Add in the ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes off,To this add in the chopped tomatoes,salt and cook it covered until they turn out soft.This might take 15 min or so in simmer
- Add in the fenugreek/methi leaves and cook along with mashed tomatoes untill the leaves blend well into the tomatoes for about 6-7 minutes.
- Add in all the spice powders like cumin, coriander and red chilli powder, mix well until the raw smell goes off.
- Add int he thick yoghurt,(sugarif using) and mix really good so all the spices get mixed, adjust red chilli powder if you want more as the addition og yoghurt will reduce it.
- Add in the drained rice that you soaked and mix well to incorporate all the flavours into it.
- Add 3 cups of water and adjust salt if required, put on high flame for 5 min without lid,you will start to see the grains almost half cooked at this point, simmer the stove and cover with lid.
- Cook for 10 more minutes until all the water evaporates, Swithc off the flames and do not open the lid for atleast 10 min.
- Once opened fluff it up with a fork so all the leaves get mixed ino the rice, garnish with chopped coriander and serve it woth any cury or raitha.
Always soak basmathi rice when making pulav as it helps reducing cooking time and also gives a nice textire to the rice.
Sugar is used to get rid off the bitter atste sometimes the leaves can give, it is optional.
use nay green in place of fenugreek like spinach,mint or even coriander.
Serve it along with raitha or any curry.It tastes equally good as it is or with plain curd.
Healthy pulav Siri.. I too follow same method.. Happy Diwali to ur family… 🙂
Have a look on my blog in ur free time and hope u will drop ur valuable comments..
http://sreshtaskitchens.blogspot.in/2014/10/vellulipalkova.html
yummy and tasty recipe i will definitely try this!!
This rice looks delicious!