This year, I have decided to change my weekly meal planning a little. Normally around mid-week, I used to start looking for easier recipes to cook at home 😀 And sometimes this would invariably lead to eating out more often than planned! So this time around, I have started planning ahead for such kind of situations 😛 I decide on quick recipes that I want to try in a week and then stock my refrigerator with easy vegetables for those recipes! This recipe is a super easy, nutrition-packed, traditional south Indian side that can be put together in less than 15 minutes. It has become a regular feature for my weeknight dinners!
Fenugreek/Methi is quite popular in Indian cooking. A lot of recipes either call for fenugreek seeds, fresh leaves or even dried leaves (Kasuri Methi). It is supposed to be a powerhouse of nutrition. Thambuli is a very generic yogurt based dish that combines different herbs, greens or vegetables with coconut, yogurt and minimal spices. It makes for a great accompaniment for rice or can be had as is in the form of a cold soup. I love to make thambuli with fenugreek leaves, because the slightly bitter taste of these leaves go perfectly well with yogurt. Unfortunately, fresh methi leaves were not quite good here and I used frozen ones, but you can definitely use fresh ones!
- 100 grams frozen fenugreek/methi leaves (if using fresh leaves use about 1 1/2 cups fenugreek leaves)
- 2 tbsp freshly grated coconut
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 10 – 12 black peppercorn ( or according to taste)
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- Salt to taste
Preparation Time: 5 min
Cooking Time: 10 min
Servings: 2-3
Method
- Take a saucepan. Add 1/2 tsp oil and the frozen/fresh methi leaves. If using frozen leaves, add 1 tbsp water to help cook. (It would be best if the frozen methi is thawed before using). The fresh leaves have a lot of water content and you don’t need to add any.
- Sprinkle some salt and saute till the leaves cook down. This might take about 5-6 minutes.
- Then let the leaves cool. Add the cooked methi leaves, cumin, peppercorn, coconut and some of the yogurt to a blender and blend it well to get a smooth consistency.
- Add this blended mixture to the rest of the yogurt and mix well. If the yogurt is too thick, add some water to get a good consistency. Adjust salt to taste.
- For the tempering, heat 1/2 tsp oil in a small pan. Add mustard seed and let it splutter a little. Add this tempering to the prepared mixture and mix well.
Notes
- You can microwave the frozen methi for 2 minutes before adding to pan, to help cook better.
- This thambuli is mildly spiced. In case you want to increase the spice level, you can optionally had some dried red chillies while grinding.
