Methi Matar Malai - very popular restaurant style dish

Methi Matar Malai - creamy curry which blends the bitter nutty flavor of methi with sweetness of matar and malai 

Quantity - dinner/lunch for 3-4 people

Ingredients-

Fresh Methi leaves - 1 bunch
Mattar - 1 cup 
Onion - 1 big and 1 small or 2 medium 
Cashews - unroasted 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 2 
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic pods - 4/5
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Haldi - very little for color 
Hing - to temper 
Cumin seeds - to temper
Cinnamon - 1 stick 
Whole Black pepper - 5/6
Green Cardamom - 3
Homemade dahi - 4/5 tbsp
Water - required for cooking and grinding 
Malai - removed from top while making homemade yogurt , 1/2 cup
Peanut oil - for cooking
Homemade ghee - for cooking 
Salt - as per taste

Procedure -

1. First step is to remove methi leaves from methi bunch and soak them in water . Once all leaves are removed , wash them  nicely in this soaked water and then strain the water in a colander. 
2. In the meanwhile , roughly chop onions , ginger , garlic and green chillies . In a saucepan , boil these onions , ginger, garlic , green chillies , cashews and 1 cardamom in enough water . Ensure water is enough to cover all the ingredients . 
3. While onion mixture is boiling , drain water from methi leaves and chop them nicely . 
4. Once the onion mixture is boiling , switch off and let it cool down . Then drain the water in a colander. Boiling onion mixture is necessary because it removes the strong taste of onion which is very prominent on grinding the mixture . And it overpowers the sweetness of malai and peas .
5. After onion mixture is cooled ,add dahi to this mixture and grind it nicely into a very smooth paste. Do not add any water for grinding .
6. Now in the same saucepan , add oil and ghee to heat . Once it is hot , add cinnamon , cardamom , cumin seeds and whole black pepper and let it fry nicely .
7 . Once tadka is fried , add the onion paste and mix it well in tadka. Keep flame in medium low flame to avoid spluttering . Cover it with lid and allow it to cook for 5 mins .
8 . In another kadai , heat ghee and oil . Once it is hot , add the chopped methi leaves and fry it nicely . Add salt and mix well . Allow this to cook for couple of mins . 
9 . Once onion and dahi mixture is cooked nicely , add little water to get correct consistency of the curry . At this point also add red chilli powder , coriander powder , haldi and hing . Mix it well with the curry and allow it to cook with these masalas added for 5 mins .
10 . To the fried methi , now add boiled pease and mix well . Allow it to cook for couple of mins with the methi .
11 . Next , pour the cooked creamy curry on top of fried methi and matar . Mix everything very nicely and adjust any salt at this point . Cover it with lid and allow everything to simmer for 5 mins.
12 . Lastly , add malai on top and mix it carefully . Allow it to simmer for couple of mins .

Serve hot with poli + ghee or with ajwain paratha + ghee :)

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