Methi/Fenugreek Leaves Thambuli (Mildly spiced South Indian Yogurt gravy)

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!

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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!

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Ingredients
  1. 100 grams frozen fenugreek/methi leaves (if using fresh leaves use about 1 1/2 cups fenugreek leaves)
  2. 2 tbsp freshly grated coconut
  3. 1/2 cup yogurt
  4. 1 tsp cumin seeds
  5. 10 – 12 black peppercorn ( or according to taste)
  6. 1 tsp oil
  7. 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  8. Salt to taste
Preparation Time: 5 min
Cooking Time: 10 min
Servings: 2-3

Method

  1. 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.
  2. Sprinkle some salt and saute till the leaves cook down. This might take about 5-6 minutes.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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

  1. You can microwave the frozen methi for 2 minutes before adding to pan, to help cook better.
  2. This thambuli is mildly spiced. In case you want to increase the spice level, you can optionally had some dried red chillies while grinding.

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