Aloo Methi Recipe | How to make simple Aloo Methi

Learn how to make Aloo Methi ~ Simple stir fried potato and fresh fenugreek leaves with aromatic spices

I reach out for a bag of spuds when I am craving for comfort food. I reach out for the same bag of potatoes when I have very little time to cook dinner for the family. I reach out for this bag of tuber when I am cooking for friends, or a large gathering because I know that there is hardly anyone who says no to the food made using humble potato!

Since I am going through the so called writer’s block as I am juggling hundreds of things at once, I decided to just write an ode to potato! So you can simply skip to the recipe part if you are in no mood to listen to my rants and rambles about my love for this brown, unattractive tuber!

There is something about Potato, isn’t it? The humble, modest and unassuming tuber grows out of sight, underground and when pulled up it looks like a part of earth. Have you ever seen it competing with other colourful vegetables or trying to take away the spotlight from other vegetables? This spud is neither good looking with frills of cauliflower, nor has beautiful glossy colours of bell peppers. This tuber neither has the clear complexion of white eggplants, nor the radiance of sweet corns. It is oddly shaped unlike slender beans or round tomatoes and sometimes even comes with ugly black spots on its muddy body! Have you ever seen any vegetable seller singing its songs of praise, trying to attract his buyers? When he is praising the goodness and beauty of other vegetables, you will find the dirty sack of potatoes sitting quietly in some dark corner, trying very hard to stay out of spot lights and looks of admiration! 

That is how I see the potato; humble, unpretentious and highly adaptable. Cook it with any ingredient, vegetables or spices and it transforms into something irresistible. The down to earth and simple looking raw potato transforms into exquisite and tantalising dish! It teaches the great lesson of life that one should never judge a book by its cover. Yes, we need to learn a lot from this humble spud!

Potato perhaps is the most loved and cooked vegetable in our home. We have to have a potato dish at least once a week or we feel deprived of good old comfort food and act little weird. It may be the carbs or the taste or the ease of cooking or just the fact that they are so comforting makes it our favourite veggie. What not to love? Cook it with any other vegetables and it makes the dish taste better. Cook it with any spice and it enhances the taste. Deep fry, roast it, pan fry, mash it, and cook it whole with its peel or without, the potato tastes good every time!

The best way to cook the potatoes is in pressure cooker. To cook in a pressure cooker, place the scrubbed and washed potatoes in a container and place it in the pressure cooker with 1- 1½ inch high water in the pressure cooker. Do not add any water to the container with potatoes. Cover the cooker with lid and place the weight/whistle. Cook the potatoes on high flame for 6-7 minutes or 2 whistles. Lower the flame and let it simmer for another 7-8 minutes before turning off the gas. The large potatoes will take little longer to cook. Let the pressure release completely before opening the lid. Check if the potatoes are cooked through by inserting the sharp knife or fork. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skin and dice them in to 1½ inch cubes. Do not rinse the hot potatoes under running water or cold water as the potatoes will turn soggy.

Today I am posting one of my favourite ways to cook the spuds, Aloo Methi! Soft, almost melt in mouth potatoes cooked with bitter fenugreek leaves along with few aromatic spices makes this dish a crowd pleaser! I cook this classic Aloo Methi at least once in a month as it is a quite simple recipe that goes well with rice and dal or with any Indian flat breads. I use just a handful of ingredients as I like to keep the fresh flavour of fenugreek leaves to come through without the overpowering taste from spices. Feel free to add your favourite spice mixtures and you will still be pleasantly surprised to find a bowl of delicious tasting spuds with greens.

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Aloo Methi (Simple stir fried potato and fresh fenugreek leaves with aromatic spices)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Spice Level: Low
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Serves: 4-5 people
Shelf Life: Best served fresh but can be refrigerated for up to 3 days
Serving Suggestion: With rice and dal or with any Indian flat breads or as a stuffing for sandwich and rolls

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Ingredients:
2 large Potatoes (about 3-4 cups)
1 bunch/1 packed cup Methi/Fresh Fenugreek Leaves (only the leaves and not the stem)
1½ tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
2-3 Green Chillies, slit (adjust as per taste)
½ tsp Sugar
1 tbsp Lime/Lemon Juice (Optional, but recommended)
Salt to taste

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli, broken into 2-3 pieces
A generous pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
½ - 1 tbsp Oil

Spices Used:
½ tsp Haldi/Turmeric Powder
¾ - 1 tbsp Dhania/Coriander Powder

Method:

1. Pressure cook or boil potatoes until they are well cooked. When cool enough to handle, peel the skins and dice the potatoes into 1 inch cubes.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilli and hing to it. When mustard seeds start to pop and splutter, add split green chillies and ginger-garlic paste. Fry them till the raw smell of ginger-garlic paste disappears, about 30-40 seconds, on a medium flame.
3. Mix in turmeric powder and fenugreek leaves and stir fry them on a medium flame until the leaves welt, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add sugar, coriander powder and diced potatoes and salt to taste. Mix them all well so that the spices are equally distributed. Saute them on medium flame for 5-6 minutes until the potatoes start to turn light golden in places.
5. Turn off the flame and mix in freshly squeezed lime juice. Serve this delicious Aloo Methi with rice and dal or any flavoured rice or with any Indian flat breads like roti, naan, paratha or chapatti. You can also use this Aloo Methi as a stuffing for sandwiches or rolls. Enjoy!

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Sia’s Notes:

• I have served this Aloo Methi as a side dish with steaming bowl of pulao and dal and rice/chapattis. You can also use it as a filling for sandwich and rolls with some dipping sauce and salad sauce.
• The best way to cook the potatoes is in pressure cooker. To cook in a pressure cooker, place the scrubbed and washed potatoes in a container and place it in the pressure cooker with 1- 1½ inch high water in the pressure cooker. Do not add any water to the container with potatoes. Cover the cooker with lid and place the weight/whistle. Cook the potatoes on high flame for 6-7 minutes or 2 whistles. Lower the flame and let it simmer for another 7-8 minutes before turning off the gas. The large potatoes will take little longer to cook. Let the pressure release completely before opening the lid. Check if the potatoes are cooked through by inserting the sharp knife or fork. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skin and dice them in to 1½ inch cubes. Do not rinse the hot potatoes under running water or cold water as the potatoes will turn soggy.