Topic: fenugreek leaves

[matty123]

Hello  I have been trying to get hold of these leaves but as yet have not found them , I have got hold of fenugreek powder. Would it be ok to use as a substitute until i find them, and at what ratio for a tablespoon of leaves say .   Thanks Matt.

[Whandsy]

Hello  I have been trying to get hold of these leaves but as yet have not found them , I have got hold of fenugreek powder. Would it be ok to use as a substitute until i find them, and at what ratio for a tablespoon of leaves say .   Thanks Matt.

Hi matt

Large asda stores stock these in the indian section, and obviously asian stores do! They are extremely cheap, asda was 32p for a large box. If you really have no joy, next time you go to your local takeaway for a curry, ask to buy a small tub and i'm sure they'll give you some for free   

If you can locate an asian store i recommend you get get your spices from there. They are soooo much cheaper and appear much more vibrant and fresh than their commercial counterparts (imo) 

Wayne

[curryhell]

Hello  I have been trying to get hold of these leaves but as yet have not found them , I have got hold of fenugreek powder. Would it be ok to use as a substitute until i find them, and at what ratio for a tablespoon of leaves say .   Thanks Matt.

Hi matty.  Unfortuately the two are different animals.  You can try substituting at a ratio of 1/4 - 1/2 tsp per tsp of kasoor meethi (fenugreek leaves) but the results will not be the same.  I'm surprised you can't get them as i know Tesco is now stocking it in their world foods section

[matty123]

Thanks for the replies I should mention that i live in Australia  no Asda or Tesco's, here supermarkets here do not have the same variety of supplies  . Did find a indian store where i got the powder. Will have to look elsewhere. Thanks Matt

[artistpaul]

hi Matty

readily available cheaply on ebay with international worldwide postage too

[gary]

Possibly you can get hold of some seeds and grow some? Apparently it's very easy to sprout and grow on.

Gary

[spiceyokooko]

Would it be ok to use as a substitute until i find them, and at what ratio for a tablespoon of leaves say .   Thanks Matt.

Hi Matt

You can get them from here - http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/ and I think they do ship worldwide but no idea whether it would be financially viable to ship them to Oz. I have no vested interest in that shop apart from that's where I get a lot of my spices from and so far I've been pleased with the product and quality of service.

You can substitute the powder for the leaves, as I did recently when trying CA's Madras recipe (because at the time I was out of leaves) and to be honest, I didn't notice a huge amount of difference from when I cooked the dish with the leaves.

I can't remember exactly how much I upped the powder to compensate for the lack of leaves in the spice mix but I would suggest starting with about a level teaspoon of powder per tablespoon of leaves and adjust it either way on tasting the dish.

You could experiment with what point you introduce it into the dish and see which combination works the best. Adding it to your spice mix, add some to the spice mix and some into the tomato puree and water if you use it and perhaps a small amount sprinkled in 5 or 10 mins before the end of cooking.

It would be best to get the leaves as I think the flavour is better and they're more flexible in how they're used than the powder, but in terms of overall flavour in the dish you can work a solution that comes close with using the powder.

At least that's what I've found in my experience!

[martinvic]

Hi Matt

Differing views again, but I've got to disagree with spiceyokooko here.
I personally have found that using fenugreek powder, as a substitute, isn't anywhere near as good as using Methi leaves.
I found a great deal of difference in the taste of the final curry.

Martin

[bamble1976]

Hi

I am with Matt on this.  The flavour is dramatically different for me.  I would not go down the substitute route as you will end up ruining a good curry if you get it wrong.  I would wait to get the leaves

Barry

[chewytikka]

Hi Matt
Welcome to the forum.
Just done a search, plenty of on-line stores and reference in OZ

My take on the three elements of The Fenugreek Plant

1. Fresh Fenugreek Leaves (The Plant)
Wash Well, use as a green, i.e. Spinach etc... (An Acquired Taste)

2. Dried Fenugreek Leaves (usually sold as Kasoori or Kasuri Methi)
Sweet, Pungent, Aromatic Herb. (Formerly used extensively in BIR curries)

3. Fenugreek Seeds (The Spice)
Hard Seeds, ground to a very fine powder (usually sold as 'Fenugreek')
Very Bitter, used in masalas, spice mixes. Use sparingly.

Would not substitute the herb with the spice.

Hope this helps
cheers Chewy