Hi Ray,

Yes I think it probably is. It has a very strong taste and is quite bitter.

cheers,

Blondie

I always grind my own methi seeds to a powder!  I roast them slightly - I was told it makes them a little less hard.  Then I grind it to a powder and use it much more than the dried methi leaves (known as kasoori methi). If you are supposed to use the leaves, it is written as kasoori methi.  Pinch of methi refers to the ground powder.  Also, the methi seed does not dissolve at all - I always prefer to use the powder because of that.  All the tomato based sauces - like the makhani sauces use the methi powder to give it a very distinct flavor.  I also use it in some of my dals (in the tarka).

I have been lucky enough to see inside several restaurant kitchens
They have old yoghurt cartons with all the immediate spices and herbs required.
The general spice mix used is a blend of coriander, cummin,curry powder,turmeric and paprika.
There was chopped fresh coriander and a special mix of ground coriander and cummin.
Chopped garlic and pureed garlic ginger, ground almond, ground coconut and salt too.
There was definitely no fenugreek seeds or ground fenugreek seeds around.
But there was a whole carton devoted to dried fenugreek leaves.
In fact, I never saw anything cooked without some in.
It was in the madras, baltis,rhogan josh, vindaloos and even lentil dishes.
I reckon that any reference to "a pinch of fenugreek" has to refer to the leaf.
I am lucky in having several asian supermarkets near me.
Dried Fenugreek Leaf (Kasoori Methi) is very cheap and easy to get.
A seven inch tall box costs about 45 pence.
It also stinks the house out if it's not shut away.

Hi Pete,

It must be different down here as two of the chefs ive spoken to about vindaloo both said no methi but im sure its the leaves that are refered to in recipes.   The recipes ive seen say for a dhansak always refer to soaking it in water first before using it although ive sometimes not bothered and its made little difference.

Hi All,

I agree with most of what you are saying about fenugreek leaf (dried) being the norm, but have you seen the Balti Kitchen Video? It is definately powder that is tipped onto the dish of sauce as it is cooking.  It appears to be a deep creamy colour. This is what fenugreek powder looks like.

Cheers all,

Blondie

Hi all,

I've converted DVD 1 & 2 to a 800mb DivX AVI file for easy download. This is available via the torrent format.

http://www.torrentspy.com/search.asp?mode=torrentdetails&id=383087&query=kitchen+balti+

PS. Thanks again for the DVD Ray.

Sweeeeeeeeeeet

Nice one Blade and Ray.

cK

Yep Iv'e seen it! It does look very much like a powder and not a leaf doesn't it! I wonder if it is leaf that has been whizzed up in a mill? I am going to ask my local very huge asian supermarket this afternoon what is what as they supply a lot of the restaurants around here with their spices.

Whoops, Ive put the last reply in the wrong spot.......sorry!

O.K. So here is what I hope a definative answer to the Fengreek issue. I visited the largest Asian supermarket in Bradford today (Pakeezah). They have a Cafe in it which sells all sorts of curries and snacks. Their chef told me he only ever uses Methi Leaves and not seeds or powder. He also said they supply spices to many of the restaurants in Bradford and none of them are supplied seeds or powder. Pakeezah don't actually stock powder as it is in such low demand. Hope this helps. Still doesn't answer why the Methi on the Video looks like powder though!