About Aloo Methi
Aloo methi is a North Indian dish of stir fried potatoes with fenugreek leaves, whole and ground spices. Aloo is the Hindi word for “potatoes” and methi is the word for “Fenugreek leaves”. These faintly bitter tasting leafy greens have a unique aroma and tons of health benefits. This dish of starchy potatoes together with the immune boosting and health-giving leafy greens is simply delicious, aromatic and is sure to please even the picky eaters. You will commonly see this being served in an Indian meal with rice, puri or roti. My kids love aloo methi wrapped up in their rotis for their school lunch. These kathi rolls also keep well in the school/ office lunch boxes without becoming soggy. I mash up the aloo a bit and roll them. This dish also goes well as a side with flavored rice like lemon rice, jeera rice, ghee rice or bagara rice. A well-made aloo methi is so delicious and flavorful. No matter how you serve this it will taste so good with anything. Find more Methi recipes,Methi parathaMethi pulaoTawa methi riceMethi dalMethi leaves chutney
How To Make Aloo Methi (Stepwise photos)
- Pluck methi leaves from the stalks and add them to a large pot of water. Rinse them thoroughly in enough water a few times. I always sprinkle some salt and spray vinegar to get rid of the pesticide residue. Drain completely to a colander. Chop them roughly when you are ready to cook. Meanwhile peel and chop 250 grams potatoes to 1 inch pieces. Add them to a bowl of water. This helps the aloo to cook/ fry faster. Set aside.
- Heat a pan and pour 2 tablespoons of oil. If you have mustard oil you can use it. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter.
- Add 2 cloves of chopped garlic or ¾ inch ginger.
- Add slit or fine chopped green chili. My recipe does not use red chilli powder so use more green chilies as needed for heat. Sprinkle hing if using.
- Then remove the cubed potatoes from the water and add them here. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon turmeric. Mix well and stir fry on a medium for 2 to 3 minutes. Cover and cook until the potatoes are almost fork tender. If the potatoes are too dry, sprinkle some water so they cook faster.
- Then add ½ teaspoon garam masala and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix them well.
- Add chopped methi leaves. I have not used red chili powder. The heat comes only from green chilies.
- Lastly fry until the leaves wilt off well and you begin to get a nice aroma. Serve aloo methi with rice or roti. More potato dishesAloo tikkiAloo chaatJeera alooAloo palakAloo matar.
Pro tips
Use only the leaves and not the stalks as they taste bitter. Avoid chopping methi leaves very fine. Chop them roughly.A lot of people rinse and squeeze the leaves so some of the bitter juices drain away from the leaves. I do not do it as the leaves we use don’t taste so bitter.You can add more or less amount of leaves to suit your taste. I usually do not add a lot as aloo methi can taste bitter.Many people use mustard oil for stir frying as it gives a nice aroma. You can use any oil or even ghee for flavour. If using mustard oil, heat it until smoky hot, reduce the heat and then begin to cook.Generally aloo is stir fried until tender and then methi leaves are added. However if your potatoes are too old and take a lot of time to fry, then you can par boil or grill them in the oven for some time and then stir fry here with tempering & methi leaves.Soak cubed potatoes in water while you prepare the methi leaves. Potato will soak up some moisture and stir fry faster in the pan.If you do not have fresh methi leaves, you can use kasuri methi but the flavour will be different. You can use 3 to 4 tbsps for this recipe.
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