METHI PULAO / METHI RICE / MENTHE SOPPINA PULAV / FENUGREEK LEAVES PILAF

We South Indians can’t stay away from our staple food ..rice.Updating my recipe index few days back,i realized not even a single recipe i’ve posted till now of variety rice / pulao / biriyani or the likes of it.Its not that i haven’t cooked any of these in the past 7 months, but some how they didn’t make to the photo shoot.May be i felt ,they are all so common to get featured here.Whatever , in the coming days, i ve to update my rice section with few yummy varieties.To start off ,today i’ll share with you all simple and delicious one pot meal “METHI PULAO / METHI RICE / FENUGREEK LEAVES PULAV “

I’ve been eating methi pulao since ages, but still have not got bored of it.The flavors of whole masalas,fresh herbs and the beautiful fragrance of basmati rice , is truly a blissful meal.Addition of coconut milk enhances the flavor .This is one among the best lunchbox menu that is easy to make and healthy too. The color ,aroma and taste is so pleasant that it ll surely be loved by all including kids.

Few people don’t like methi leaves as they are slightly bitter in taste.But i love these herbs for its flavor and aroma,it adds to the dish. i’ve already posted few recipes from methi leaves like Methi dhokli, Methi thepla ,Aloo methi , Methi leaves dosa and Methi pulao is the new addition.I prepare Methi rice in two ways – one that i’m posting today and the other is the Karnataka style which i’ll post soon. Both are very tasty and a great way to include greens to our diet.So next time when you buy methi leaves , do try these flavorful rice and enjoyy.. Here goes the recipe :

METHI PULAO

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Course Main Course

Cuisine south indian

Servings 4 serving

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup Basmati Rice / Sona masoori rice - ** ref Notes
• 1 cup methi / fenugreek leaves tightly packed
• 1/4 cup green peas fresh or frozen
• 1 large onion sliced long
• 1 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 3 - 4 Green Chillies ; - slit / chopped
• 1/2 Lemon
• 1 1/2 cups Water - ** Ref Notes
• 1/2 cup coconut milk ( Optional ) ** Ref Notes
• 1 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds Jeera
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds saunf
• 1 Bay leaf / Tej patta
• 2 cardamom elaichi
• 1 piece Cinnamon/ dalchini
• 4 - 5 Cloves/ Lavang
• 1 Star Anise
• to taste Salt

Instructions

 

• Remove hard stems of methi leaves. Use only leaves and tender stems.Wash the methi leaves and  chop them coarsely.
  
• Wash and soak rice in water for 20 mins. Drain water completely.
  
• Meanwhile prepare coconut milk. Grind about 1 small cup grated coconut adding half a cup of water.Do superfine paste.Once it is ground finely,pour it on a strainer and squeeze it to get thick coconut milk. If you want you can use ready made coconut milk or completely omit it.
  
• In a pressure cooker heat oil + ghee together. Once its hot, add cumin seeds,fennel seeds,bay leaf ,star anise,cloves,cinnamon and cardamom .
  
• Once the cumin and fennel seeds splutter, add onion ,green chillies and ginger garlic paste. Fry nicely till onion turns pinkish in color.
  
• Next Add fenugreek leaves and green peas . Saute for 2-3 mins.
  
• Add rice and fry well for 3-4 mins. This will help in bringing out nice aroma from the rice.
  
• Add hot water,coconut milk and salt to the rice mixture. Mix well. Once the water starts boiling,close the lid and keep the flame to medium . Cook for 1-2 whistles and switch off the flame.** ref Notes .
  
• Once the pressure releases ,add lemon juice and gently fluff it up using a fork.Serve the delicious methi pulav hot hot with any raita of you choice.
  

Notes

• Coconut milk is optional in this recipe. If you want you can add else omit.Basmati Rice to water ratio i follow is 1: 2 . In the above recipe water + coconut milk together make 2 glass. If you are not using coconut milk , then add only water 2 glass. If using normal rice you can maintain 1 : 2 1/2 ratio.
• If you are using basmati rice ,cook for 1 whistle , keep on sim for abt 5-8 mins. Switch off. For normal rice , cook for 2 whistles on medium flame.Basmati rice will cook quickly.
• Instead of lemon juice you can add chopped tomatoes and saute it with onions.
• Instead of green peas you can also add corn /  hyacinth beans / mixed veggies like carrot ,beans etc.
• If you want you can add soaked soya chunks ( nuggets ) too. Add it along with methi leaves and peas anf saute for few mins.
• Instead of methi leaves you can add dil leaves / palak also.
• For additional flavor if you want you can add a tsp of garam masala / biriyani masala powder just before adding water.
• Another method of doing this pulao , is cook rice separately and later mixing it to the bhaji .