Methi Chaman (Restaurant Style)

This Methi Chaman is a delightful way to enjoy fenugreek leaves in a creamy and delicious curry. It has plenty of fresh greens, paneer, cream and aromatic spices that anyone will love. All you need is some flatbreads or plain basmati rice to enjoy this.

Originally Methi Chaman is a dish from the Kashmiri Cuisine, where methi refers to fenugreek and chaman to paneer. But various versions exist all over India and we fell in love with this recipe because it’s so good with tons of flavors. It’s senior & kids’ friendly, and gluten-free. You can also make a vegan version by substituting paneer with tofu.

Like many other restaurant paneer dishes this one does not have a smooth silky sauce but it’s got a texture from the chopped onions, tomatoes and methi leaves. Cashews and heavy cream add a lot of creaminess to the dish. It is not made in Kashmiri style but uses some of the spices that are common to the Kashmiri cuisine.

This recipe is roughly adapted from Chef Harpal Singh. The dish is easy to make and does not take too long if you have the methi leaves ready. It is ideal to have smaller servings if you are on a low fat diet because of the higher calories. If you can’t eat paneer you may omit that or use some oven roasted veggies. It still tastes delicious

Like the Methi Matar Malai, this Methi Chaman too gives you a break from all the spice loaded and tomato based curries. If fenugreek leaves are not your thing or they are not easily available in your country, simply substitute them with baby spinach.

Photo Guide

How to make Methi Chaman (Step-by-Step)

Preparation

1. Pluck only the methi leaves and discard the stalks to prevent bitter tones. This recipe requires 2 cups of loosely measured leaves (35 grams). Rinse them well thrice and sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt all over the leaves and rest for 10 mins. Later rinse them off well and drain to a colander.

2. Prepare the following:

• 2 tablespoons ghee
• ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
• chop 1 medium onion to make ¾ cup fine chopped (about 90 grams)
• deseed and chop 2 medium ripe tomatoes to make 1 cup finely chopped (140 grams, I peel the tomatoes first)
• 1 small green chili (deseed & chop, omit for low heat & for kids)
• peel and grate (or crush) 1 inch ginger to make 1 teaspoon (5 grams) 
• peel and mince (or grate) 4 to 5 medium garlic cloves to make 1 teaspoon (5 grams)

3. Here are more ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon sea salt (+ more to adjust)
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon red chili powder (adjust to taste, use Kashmiri for low heat)
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon fennel powder (saunf powder)
• ¼ teaspoon ginger powder
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
• ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder (if using store bought double the amount)
• ½ tablespoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• ¼ cup cream (use more if you want, forgot to picture, used Arla whipping cream)
• 12 (25 grams) whole raw cashews soak in half cup boiling water for 10 mins and grind to a puree with ¼ cup water (or use almond flour or boiled & blanched almonds, soaked overnight)

Make the curry

4. Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds.

5. When they begin to sizzle, add the onions and saute on a medium heat until deep golden, for 7 to 8 mins.

6. Stir in the ginger, garlic and green chili. Saute for a minute, until aromatic.

7. Add the tomatoes and salt. Saute until they break down and turn mushy. If you want, you may splash little water and cook covered.

6. Stir in turmeric, red chili, coriander powder, ginger powder, garam masala and fennel powder.

7. Move the sauteed masala to a side in the pan and add the fenugreek leaves. Saute on a medium heat for 4 to 5 mins, until aromatic & wilted. Do not burn. If you are making 2x or 3x, consider sauteing separately in a pan and add it here.

8. Pour the cashew puree. (Please don’t get confused, the 7th and 8th steps got reversed by mistake but is fixed for you. Just follow as written. Saute the methi leaves first and then add the cashew puree).

9. Pour ¾ cup hot water & mix well. Cook covered on a medium heat until thick and the methi is completely soft (not crunchy). It takes about 10 mins for me. If your methi is more mature it may take longer, so add more hot water if required.

9. Add the paneer, cardamom powder and kasuri methi. Let the paneer heat through and turn off.

Add cream

10. Stir in the cream and taste test to adjust salt and garam masala. Add more cream if you want, to adjust the consistency. The curry turns very thick after cooling down. I have cut down the cream to control the calories and fat. But if the curry becomes too thick add more to loosen it.

Garnish methi chaman with 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves.

Serve Methi Chaman hot with Tandoori roti, plain parathas, kulcha, naans, roti or with plain basmati rice. We served it with Saffron Rice and Indian cucumber salad. Store the leftovers in the fridge up to 2 days or freeze up to a month. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat on a low heat when frozen.

Expert Tips

• Under cooking methi leaves can cause acidity. So saute them well first and cook down until tender.
• We prefer to peel the tomatoes else you get a lot of tomato skin in the curry which many don’t like.
• If you want you may pan fry the paneer to crisp and golden, like the way I did in this Saag Paneer. But I felt the sauce is already full of flavor and does not require that.
• You can substitute cashews with 1/4 cup almond flour.

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