Topic: Fresh Methi

[Invisible Mike]

Hi All

I have found somewhere that sells fresh methi/fenugreek by the bunch. Obviously most recipes i.e madras call for dried methi. Am I right in assuming fresh would be better? Has anybody got any experience of using it and does it giver better results?

Cheers

MM

[chewytikka]

No, Its chalk and cheese MM,
Dried is Kasoori Methi, fresh is not used in the same way,
treat fresh like you would Spinach, in say a Chicken Saag,
IMO it has an acquired taste and quite a different flavour to dried.

cheers Chewy

[mickdabass]

Hi MM
Dont think I would put as much fresh methi in a dish as I would spinach.
Maybe 2 - 3 tbl spoons per portion?

Cheers

Mick

[tommy99]

You can also buy frozen Methi. I have some in the freezer by a company called Shana. I think I bought it in Asda.

[curryhell]

Now that is good to know and could be a handy addition to the freezer if your partial to fresh meethi 

[Invisible Mike]

I wondered if it could be frozen as I got quite a lot so that is good to know. Mick, I didn't want to use it as a 'green' like you would spinach more just a teaspoon for flavour like you would dried methi. I figured the fresh taste would be better than dried. Having said that I made 3 curries tonight for the first time from the curry2go ebook and didn't have the bottle to try it in fear of ruining them. I used dried instead. I will freeze it and try it next time.

Mike

[Naga]

Having just made a double portion of Methi Chicken dish last night using fresh methi from the garden for the first time ever, I can definitely agree with Chewy that it has a quite different flavour from dried.

Raw, it tasted a bit nutty to my palate - but a very delicate and pleasant taste. As you can see from the ingredients in the thread above (the methi leaves are in the rectangular dish), I used a good handful for the meal. It undoubtedly added flavour to the dish, but I just couldn't put my finger on the taste. Whatever it was, it was good anyway!

So having made it now, I support Chewy's view that it should be used like spinach and I'll use two good handfuls of the leaves next time - 1 handful per head. I don't think you would notice any difference in flavour if only a couple of tbsps were added.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Echo that fresh leaves can/should be piled into a methi chicken.  The 30-40 g I used is a good sized bunch.

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,11980.0.html

Been meaning to update this thread.  I made this dish again some time ago, but using a bag of frozen methi.  Came unstuck. Very different (and I felt unsatisfactory) result compared to fresh.

Rob