Jun. 28, 2021
Cooking In Season
Salad Meals to Beat the Heat
In this recipe round up, I have gathered my best and most delicious summer salad meal recipes in one post, for days when it’s too hot to cook!
September 27, 2016
Methi Murgh | Chicken in Fenugreek Curry
This is a divine chicken fenugreek curry: rich, sophisticated, flavourful, with a delicate complexity from the proper cooking of Indian spices and herbs.
I have raved about fresh fenugreek before. It is absolutely one of my favourite green vegetables – or should I call it a herb? The intense aroma of its leaves means that fenugreek can swing both ways.
Known in Hindi as methi, fenugreek has a distinctive pungent flavour that I can only describe as Ultra-Curry. . . and Delicious. Methi is used as both a herb and a leafy vegetable; its seeds are an integral component of most curry powders. I would venture to say that fenugreek on its own, along with cumin, carries the bulk of the flavour that we Westerners think of as ‘curried’.
Methi leaves are used in a variety of traditional Indian dishes: as part of mixed vegetables (often with young potatoes), as part of curry sauces, as a component of (or filling for) flatbreads, or as the main ingredient in a dish such as methi paneer.
My personal favourite use for fenugreek is Methi Murgh: Chicken in a Fenugreek Sauce. It is divine: rich, sophisticated, flavourful, ultra-curry but with a delicate complexity unknown to most who have not tried real authentic Indian food.
Methi Murgh is not only my favourite way to use fenugreek, it is my favourite Indian dish, period. Make it, and make it soon.
Methi (fenugreek) is available in late spring through early fall at supermarkets and farm markets. Find it now in Victoria at assorted supermarkets.
Methi Murgh (Chicken in Fenugreek Curry)
This favourite springtime specialty is made with the seasonal green leaves from the fenugreek plant, known as methi in Hindi. Methi (fenugreek) is available in late spring through early fall at supermarkets and farm markets. This recipe is adapted from the cookbook "A Taste of India" by Madhur Jaffrey.
Ingredients
Chicken
1-1/2 cups fresh fenugreek leaves and soft stems
90 ml (6 Tb) vegetable oil or ghee
3 large onions, peeled, halved and cut into fine half-rings
4 x 1-inxh cubes fresh ginger, peeled
8 to 10 cloves garlic, peeled
3 green chilis, stemmed and chopped
5 ml (1 tsp) ground turmeric
125 ml (1/2 cup) water
280 ml (1-1/4 cups) plain yogurt (3% to 5% milk fat)
9 g (1-1/2 tsp) salt
908 g (2 lbs) boneless, skinless chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 additional green chili, seeded amd chopped
125 ml (1/2 cup packed) fresh cilantro leaves
125 ml (1/2 cup packed) fresh dill, finely chopped
2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) garam masala
Note ~ If you can't find fresh fenugreek, substitute 1/2 cup of the dried leaves, available at any Indian market.
Instructions
- If using fresh fenugreek leaves, soak them in a bowl of salted water for 15 minutes. Drain and squeeze dry with kitchen towels. Chop and set aside.
- Heat a wide sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and let shimmer. Add the prepared onions and sauté until softened and beginning to caramelize, at least 20 minutes, probably longer. Turn down the heat, if necessary to prevent the onions from burning.
- Meanwhile, place the garlic, ginger, jalapenos, turmeric and water in a blender and blend until pureed. Once the onions are soft and golden, add the garlic mixture to the pan and sauté until the oil floats on top and the mixture is lightly browned, 5 minutes.
- Now add the yogurt, salt, and prepared chicken. Scrape up anything that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and simmer, covered, for about 15 -18 minutes.
- Meanwhile, rinse out the blender. Add the one additional jalapenos, the cilantro and half of the fenugreek leaves (whether you use fresh or dried). Add 1/3 cup water and blend until pureed. Pour this mixture into the pan with the chicken and cook for 5 to 7 more minutes, until chicken is tender.
- Finely chop the remaining fresh fenugreek. Add this to the pan along with the fresh dill. Stir well and simmer 3 to 5 minutes more. Taste to adjust the seasonings – you may want more salt. Sprinkle the top with garam masala and serve immediately, with basmati rice, warm flatbreads, and cucumber relish.
Sadly no fresh Fenugreek at Root Cellar when I checked today (Sept 28th)
Any other suggestions where I might find it in Victoria?
I made this for my family tonight. Delicious with a deep flavour that was both rich and fresh. Thank you.
Thank you and you are welcome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! It’s a favourite of mine.
Hi-looks wonderful. Am discovering fresh fenugreek leaves at farmers market here in Minneapolis MN. (My favorite Hmong farmer) In this recipe, the chicken-do you brown it first? You say “prepared” meaning just the cut up pieces of thigh meat? Do you do 1″ or 2″? Thank you-lovely blog. Stay healthy.
Hi Maureen, I just cut up the raw chicken and put it directly in the sauce. No pre-browning needed.
Picked up a beautiful big bunch today at Arnold’s fruit market Wodonga. Looking forward to trying out this recipe.
I hope you loved it!
I made this last week, and found it absolutely delicious. Something different than the usual lineup of Indian spices that are used in our version of Indian cooking. Looked at the recipe in Taste of India – you did an excellent adaptation. I don’t think I would have enjoyed all that dill in place of the fenugreek. I couldn’t find fresh fenugreek, so I used dried. Wonderful!
Hi San, so gald you enjoyed this recipe! It’s definitely one of my favourites! Thanks for letting me knwo 🙂