Friday, September 24, 2010

Aloo Methi ~ with homegrown greens!


Our morning cup of coffee tastes bitter.When it comes to vegetables or greens our palates are wired to reject; but soon finds a real, almost addictive kind of acceptance.Isn't that a surprising fact?

Methi's bitterness is definitely not as brutal as that of a bitter gourd but the dominant taste is all about the crunchiness of the sprouts, enlivening, yet not overwhelming fresh bitterness that is so unique with these flavourful greens!

My very first attempt of growing methi at home proved to be a simple success!

Day-1: The seeds are sprinkled in 4 rows on top of loose, moist soil that receive abundant morning sunlight! Careful sprinkling of water is done from this day onwards.


Day-13: The tender shoots popping up!


Day-13: They receive a cool shower of rain in the morning!


Day-14: The young whiter stems topped with neat little leaves (though a little dirty coz of the showers).... I can't wait anymore! ;)


I could smell the unique flavour of the fresh young plants while holding them on one hand with the camera on the other!

Aloo Methi

I'd been wanting to make this simple, classic dish for a long time and am pleased that I could do it with fresh homegrown greens :)

To serve a small family-

Ingredients:

4 medium sized potatoes,cubed
A large bunch of fresh methi leaves(remove just the roots, wash well and chop the plants roughly into 2 or 3 pcs each)
1 Big onion-chopped-need not be fine
Garlic- 2 cloves-minced
Red chilly powder- 3/4 tsp(feel free to substitute sambhar powder for a Southie touch ;))
Oil- 1-2 tbsps
Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
Red Chillies-2 nos-each broken into 3 pcs
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Salt- to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a wide heavy bottomed pan.Throw in the cumin seeds and the broken red chillies, give a quick stir, followed by the onions and garlic. Sauté, add the methi leaves and sauté again. Add the turmeric and chilly powders. Stir to mix, sprinkle some water soon after the leaves wilt(this will take only a few seconds) and close it with a lid for a minute.

Open and add the cubed potatoes.Add salt and mix well. Sprinkle water while mixing to enhance the cooking of potatoes along with the greens and spices. Close again with the lid, keeping the flame to low-medium.Give it a gentle stir/toss every now and then until the cubes and the methi stems are cooked soft. Take care not to over cook the whole dish.A mushy aloo and methi is not what we really need to make :).Open the lid and let it be to evaporate any excess water.

Serve hot with steamed rice or any Indian breads!


24 comments:

  1. Excellent pictures bharathy! Homegrown fresh methi!! It has its own unique flavor right :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow your aloo methi looks mouth drooling Bharathi. Fresh Methi too is so tempting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. home grown methi leaves without any fertilizers,looks awesome.We used to grow manthakkalli keerai in our garden when we were kids.
    Awesome pictures and never tried this combo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. excellent day to day updated post. love your alu methi recipe. I also grow a lot of this greens in my front yard. the weather here is on our side so they grow all year around. even today I made a curry with the green seeds. I had to again go home almost for a month and when I came back saw the plants were laden with yound seeds. the curry tastes amazing and gonna post it soon.

    ReplyDelete
  5. its really a beautiful experience of growing own greens n making food from it ....ur aloo methi looks wonderful ...can feel the aroma of fresh methi leaves in ur curry

    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful lush green keerai and a lovly potato curry.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm in love with your homegrown methi. You just made bitter so much better! Love the post!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I just love the flavor of methi leaves n home grown is obviously the best..I also have a small garden in my backyard where I grow my greens..love them!
    aloo methi is my favorite combo..simple n so flavorful..looks awesome!
    First time here..one wonderful collection you have..will be here often :)

    US Masala

    ReplyDelete
  9. lovely fresh methi greens....i am gonna grow them in my garden...love methi in all forms...

    ReplyDelete
  10. I luv methi too....luv the pics of the methi grown at home...looks too gud bharathy. And aloo methi..just pass on 2 rotis to finish of that bowl :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. delicious aloo methi especially with home grown methi with the fresh smell.Lovely pictures of the fresh methi.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have 3 pots with lovely aromatic methi leaves in my balcony :-) Using fresh homegrown greens in a dish is simply outstanding.
    I love aloo methi :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. LOved the snaps....and the aloo methi looks so tempting....

    ReplyDelete
  14. Green thumbed indeed! and that's a perfect harvested bunch.

    ReplyDelete
  15. WOW!!!! U made this post & the prep seem so worthwhile..... Loved every pic which intended an experience in itself..... The result is surely commendable... Hugs ))))

    Ash...
    (http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Home grown methis looks cute and prefectly harvested, wow aloo methi looks fantastic..

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wonderful homegrown methi. Fantastic Aloo methi. Nice pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yeh, home-grown. there can be nothing better than that. :). the aloo methi look yum Bharathy. Lovely pics.

    Cheers,
    Siri

    ReplyDelete
  19. no problems Bharathy. have a great vacation. am also was having problems with my passport for which I had to go home several times in the last 3-4 months. anyways come back and let me know. enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  20. i too have planted fenugreeks. dish loos yummy.
    Can you please tell me how you have created the "Easy picks" on your blog ?
    I have been trying to create dropdowns for my menu and not able to do so

    ReplyDelete
  21. Home grown aloo methi...yum!! How I wish we cud do tat too...can we make aloo methi using dry methi? great blog!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Home grown.. without all the chemicals.. must be great.. we pay almost double for these organic stuffs.. No wonder your dish must have been great! Nice clicks as usual.. and loved your garden too.. reminds me of my childhood days when we used to pick fresh flowers out from our garden

    ReplyDelete
  23. Yummy, and that picture really shows it off!

    ReplyDelete
  24. hello bharathy! thanks very much for your message. i searched for indian curries with methi but most recipes are with methi leaves. what i have is the seeds. i found a couple of recipes which mostly combine lentils (dal) with methi. i guess i am going to try something like that or maybe i can just combine the the seeds in a curry dish. thanks anyway for the support. all the best and i will be following your lovely blog!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...