Recipe : Aloo Methi - Potatoes and fenugreek greens

On my trip to the market yesterday, I found some really fresh and clean looking methi bhaji (fenugreek greens) The trick with methi bhaji is to cook it as soon as you get it, otherwise it tends to droop in the fridge. Also if you get cleaner leaves, (since they are pulled out by the roots) then its easier to prep them and eliminate all the mud.

This dish can also be made with dried fenugreek leaves.  but then you would use much less. Maybe a few tablespoons of dried leaves, steeped in just a little hot water (like dehydrated mushrooms) and use the water too in the dish.

Ingredients:
250gms fresh methi leaves (Fenugreek Greens)
2 large potatoes or 3-4 medium ones
1 medium onion
3-5 cloves garlic (optional)
3-6 green chillies (optional)
1" piece ginger
1/2 tsp haldi powder (turmeric)
1/2 tsp dhaniya powder (corriander)

1/2 tsp jeera powder (cumin)1 tsp methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)
1/2 tsp jeera seeds (cumin)
a grain of hing (asafoetida)
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste


Preparation:
Clean the methi leaves of all soil (by soaking the roots in water, then cutting off the  roots, then soaking the leaves in fresh water again. the mud will sink to the bottom of the bowl) then chop roughly 1/2" to 1" size. - It may seem like a lot but it will shrivel up on cooking
Peel and chop the potatoes to cocktail cheese stick size.
Finely cut the onion, garlic, ginger and chillies.

Method:
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a hot pan.
Add the methi seeds and hing.
When the hing releases its aroma, add the jeera seeds.
When the seeds splutter, add the garlic if using and then the onion, ginger and green chillies.
Saute for a couple of minutes, then add the potatoes and the powders.
(A tastier way to make this is to use more oil and actually fry the potatoes till crisp on the outside and then add the methi leaves, but in the interests of health, I prefer to use less oil and then steam the potatoes in its own moisture rather than fry them)
Cover the pan, let the potatoes semi cook.
Open the pan, stir the ingredients gently. Now add the methi leaves and a little salt to taste.
Cover the pan and let the moisture from the leaves cook the potatoes. Keep an eye on the dish and stir once in a way. Add a little water if it starts to stick to the bottom.
Turn off once the potatoes are cooked (how long it will take to cook, depends on how large/small you have chopped the potatoes)
Squeeze the juice of the lime over the dish and stir gently and cover for a few minutes.
Serve hot with rotis or rice and dhal.

The other item in this picture is Khatta Moong Dhal