Methi Murgh

By
Prerna Singh
-
Methi Murgh

Through out the warmer part of the year, everyday after school he would have us help him out in the garden. Papa would work hard and set up a kitchen garden, by the house every year. Would work up the soil, go buy some new seeds and plants, pull out the older seeds saved from last year and sow them neatly under the soil. Tomatoes big and small, lauki (botte gaurd), squashes of several variety, onion, potatoes, karela (bitter gourd), eggplants and many more. He would have me and my brother help him out, water the plants, pick weeds and make sure Polley, our pet dog doesn’t make that garden her personal bathroom.

In the garden

There were parts of that chore that I liked, like throwing dirt and sneaking in small worms inside of my brother’s shirt but then there were some that I hated. I would rather be watching MTv or chatting with my friends over the phone than talking to the plants at that age. But it was a chore and I had to do it!

Fenugreek Chicken

I would ask Papa why he even bothers to work so hard over those vegetable plants which gave us produce barely enough to feed us a few meals through out the season. Why to sweat so much over those 14 little okras when mummy could buy a kilo for a rupee. He would smile and in his heavy deep voice would reply, “that’s because I love you!”. I never understood that answer and that expression of love.

Fenugreek leaves from the garden.

But now after 20 years when I reap the first crop of methi (fenugreek) leaves off of my kitchen garden. A garden that I prepped up following each step Papa followed 20 years back and parts of which were a “chore” back then. When I carefully wash the dirt off of each leaf, chop them make and religiously brown each methi paratha on the skillet smothering some homemade ghee on it and secretly hoping that the picky eater in the family would like it. And when my daughter finishes it up in minutes and asks for a second helping, I know exactly what he meant back then. Now I understand how something as simple as working to provide a good wholesome meal can show your immense love for a person. I am not sure if my daughter realizes this expression of love yet but I am sure in another 20 years she will and hopefully will spread the same.

Tomatoes from the backyard

After a long few busy weeks and no blogging at all something like this of a realization could only have brought me back to the blogging world again. I am glad to be back and to be able to speak with you again. Hope you are keeping well, I am too. Today sharing with you a recipe for Methi Chicken, (chicken cooked with fresh fenugreek leaves). Its one of my dad’s recipes which I absolutely love and is so simple to make. As long as you have fenugreek leaves and some chicken you will not have to run to the grocery store, I promise you that. And for those who are not familiar with fenugreek, here’s a little info. So enjoy, till I see you again!

Methi Murgh
Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds chicken (I used cut whole chicken, with bones but you can use any part and adjust the cooking time accordingly.
1 1/2 cup fresh fenugreek leaves, chopped (1 cup fenugreek leaves for 1 lb of chicken)
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (omit if not available)
1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
1 tablespoon garlic (grated) or use 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste, though fresh tastes better.
2-3 thai green chili (slit from middle)
1 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup tomato
1 tablespoon ghee (optional)
2 tablespoon cooking oil
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash the chicken thoroughly. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, mix together ginger, garlic, turmeric, fenugreek seeds, coriander powder, chili and salt. Add chicken. Rub everything well together. Cover and let it marinate for atleast 2 hours or better overnight.
Heat ghee and oil in a heavy bottom pan with a cover. Add chicken. Saute the chicken and cook it under medium heat until its cooked half way through.
Add fenugreek leaves. Mix well, cover and cook on medium heat until the chicken is cooked. Stir occasionally, scraping the sides if they stick.
Towards the last 5 minutes add tomato. Adjust salt if required and upto 1/2 cup water if the curry is too thick. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, on a medium high heat.
Once the tomatoes melt and the chicken is cooked and slightly browned on the sides, its ready to eat.
Serve hot with Naan, Roti or simple pulav

Prerna Singh
http://www.indiansimmer.com

51 Comments

  1. Dear Anita -I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I would have loved to be at your art show. To see your magical pieces in person…..to be part of your first show….what an an experience that would have been! Congratulations, Anita! I'm so proud of you. And waiting for that future book! Take care,Loi

  7. Fenugreek has herb nutrition in it. If you crush the fresh leaves of Fenugreek or make a glass of juice out of them, it could be the perfect health drink to control the hormonal level of insulin in the blood. Fenugreek is a kind of similar to bitter gourd when we consider the bitter taste and properties of regulating insulin. It is a must note point for diabetics.

  8. made a big mistake of cooking this in a cast iron skillet, ruined the entire dish, will try it again! Like your blog!

  9. Prerna,
    Love your blog and photography is AMAZING.I love methi and we cooked a lot growing up in India but here in Texas,haven’t seen the fresh fenugreek leaves(or not paid attention to,i guess).I keep dry ones(seeds and leaves).Can you use that seeds to grow the plants or some special kind of seeds that you need?(i am willing to sprinkle around and see).

  10. heyy..im a coll student..this was the first time i worked with methi..n i din kno that it get be bitter after cooking..so well i addded a lil extra..n i tot i had messed it up..bt finally it turned out to be good..how did i kno tat? well my frens emptied my lunch box ..:):D thanku for sharing a wonderful recipe..:)

  11. I was inspired by your blog this weekend and made your methi murgh recipe. It was delicious! I am new to Indian cooking and methi and was pleasantly surprised at how delicious and easy this recipe is. I look forward to leftovers for dinner tonight (*drool*) and trying out some of your other dishes. Thank you for sharing your memories and recipes.

  17. This is such a lovely post and such a wonderful story I guess we all learn to appreciate the things our parents did for us as kids only when we grow up!

    Its just such a good feeling to nurture and grow something yourself and then use it to provide a nourishing meal for your family.

    My mamiji makes methi chicken much like yours only that she uses kasoori methi….ill surely try your version next time im making chicken!

    Thank you for the great recipe and the lovely photographs

  18. Love the idea of growing methi!!Never tried it before, but will try now in a pot on my garden window!Lovely recipe and story to go with it!Thanks for sharing Prerna 🙂

  19. Just tried your recipe after picking up some methi at our farmers market last weekend. The dish came out terrific. Love your blog. Can’t wait to try your recipe for methi with dal.

  20. I love the flavor of methi and seem to buy a lot of it these days on my trip to the indian grocery store. This is so amazing that you grow it in your backyard.
    The chicken looks very flavorful! Would love to try this recipe out!

  28. I love the bitter hint that fenugreek leaves impart to any dish!
    A lovely recipe with lovelier clicks and heart touching memories!

    Great post Prerna 🙂 Good to see you back 🙂

  29. What a great memory… it’s funny how we don’t understand these acts when we’re younger, but seem to really appreciate them as we age.

    Still haven’t tried fenugreek, but it’s now on my list. Must find it ASAP!

  30. one of my fave ways to have chicken curry and even better with the homegrown. I always loved gardening and grew up with it. The simple joys of harvesting even if its only a fistful! 🙂

  31. Finally!!!
    You know ur post really brought back some memories from my childhood, my grand mom use to grow veges in her small yet absolutely beautiful garden… Someday I would love to have a garden of my own…
    Beautiful Recipe… I adore methi, God Prerna I ma so craving this with some rice right now…
    Lovely pics my dear!!!

    • Aww Reem, you just melt my heart with these kind little gestures! Thanks o much for looking forward to the post and also for dropping by. Mean so much to me!

  32. Your post transported me to my grandmothers’s vegetable garden & associated memories. Oh I miss those days..This chicken recipe looks mouthwatering…just like anything with methi does. I feel so inspired to grow methi in my little patio now. love the shot with methi in little A’s glove covered hands.so cute!

  33. Prerna, it is lovely how you are passing on this tradition in your family; first your Papa grew these vegetable for you and now you are doing the same for your little girl. love this idea. beautiful post, full of love. x shayma

  36. What a wonderful post! I agree that kind of expression of love, though maybe not apparent to us when we are young, is so deeply meaningful. I know what you mean exactly because I now try to do the same for my daughter as well 🙂

    This sounds delicious!

  39. Wow P!! Love this post in every way. I love methi murgh but have never tried growing methi! Can I do it in a pot? tips tips!! Oh and the photos are amazing. I get super excited when you post as you can see:)

    • Thanks my love! YES you can grown it anywhere. Just wet the pot soil, sprinkle methi seeds, cover with another thin layer of soil and water it regularly. You will be amazed how hassle free it is.

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