Methi Matar Malai is a popular North Indian vegetarian curry featuring fresh fenugreek (methi leaves) with green peas (matar) and cream (malai) in a rich, smooth and creamy white gravy. Enjoy with roti, naan or paratha for a perfect comforting dinner!
Table of Contents
About this methi matar malai
Also known as Methi Mutter Malai - it's a delicious Indian dish made with fresh fenugreek leaves and green peas especially during winters. You'll taste the best methi matar malai curry at home with my easy restaurant style recipe.
Fenugreek and peas is an ultimate combo that's feast for taste buds. It's a super appealing dish with green hues of fenugreek and peas peeking through the rich and creamy white gravy.
This dish has a beautiful blend of flavor, texture and taste. The pleasant bitterness of fresh fenugreek is perfectly balanced with sweet green peas, gentle spices, milk and fresh cream.
The creamy gravy base is made with onion, cashews, ginger, garlic, cream and fragrant whole spices. You can even make this onion cashew masala paste in advance!
The fine flavors and rich mouthfeel of this creamy methi malai matar is sure to beat the dish served in restaurants. Whenever we're craving for an indulgent vegetarian Indian takeout, this easy homemade methi matar malai recipe wins.
Cook and indulge in this comforting fenugreek and peas curry for your dinner tonight. And make some extra to save for yourself for next day lunch / dinner, you'll thank me later. 🙂
Why we love this recipe?
- What we love about this recipe is, it's so easy, simple, and takes only 30 minutes of time.
- I also love that this recipe is customizable. You can easily scale it to double or triple to feed the large crowd.
- The smooth, velvety texture and subtle flavors make it a popular choice of meal for festive occasions and gatherings. It's a kid-friendly dish with mild spice profile.
- This methi malai matar adds a touch of luxury to your family dinner table. It also offers a flavorful way to add greens into your diet.
*For more easy dinner, try these delicious recipes:
- Jeera Aloo
- Matar Paneer
- Chana Masala
- Methi Raita
- Yam Curry (Suran Sabzi)
- Matar Ka Nimona (Mashed Peas Curry)
Ingredients you will need
Fresh Fenugreek (Methi Leaves): Use fresh methi for its unique flavor. You can use frozen methi as it works fine too.
Green Peas (Matar): I used frozen peas (thawed). You can use frozen or fresh peas. Sweet peas also works fine.
Raw Cashew Nuts: Add thickness, and give rich and creamy consistency to the gravy.
Milk: Use room temperature or warm milk. I use low-fat milk, you can use full fat milk for this recipe.
Cream: Give richness and smooth texture to the curry. I use light cream or low-fat cream for this methi mutter malai recipe. Feel free to use heavy cream for an extra rich and indulgent dish.
Onion: I like to use red onion for Indian curries. Feel free to use yellow or white onions.
Ginger, Garlic, Green Chilies: An important flavor trio in Indian dishes.
Whole Spices: I use cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, black peppercorns, cinnamon stick and mace blade. Here whole spices adds warmth and fragrance to the dish.
Spice Powders: We don't need too many spice powders / seasonings for this recipe. I use only coriander powder and a lit bit of garam masala powder.
Oil: A good quality neutral oil for cooking gravy. Ghee or butter can be a flavorful choice to use, if you like.
Other Ingredients: Cardamom powder, kasuri methi, salt and sugar.
- Salt enhance the flavor while sugar balances the bitterness of methi.
- Cardamon powder adds sweet aroma to the dish.
- A touch of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek) gives the taste of those restaurant style curries. I like to use it, but you can definitely leave it out.
How to make methi matar malai?
Make onion cashew paste
1. In a sauce pan, add 1 cup roughly diced onion.
2. Now add
- 1½ inch roughly chopped ginger
- 6 medium garlic cloves
- 2 green chilies
- 15-16 cashews
3. Add following whole spices:
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 green cardamoms
- 4 cloves
- 10 black peppercorns
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- ½ mace blade
4. Now, add 1 to 1½ cup water into the sauce pan and switch on the heat.
5. Bring the mixture to boil and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, drain the water and let the mixture cool enough to avoid spilling while blending or grinding.
6. Add the boiled onion cashew mixture to the blender jar and blend to a smooth paste. You may add 2-3 tablespoons water to grind, if required.
NOTE: You can make this onion cashew paste a day ahead in advance and store in the refrigerator to save time.
Make methi mutter malai gravy
7. Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a heavy bottom pan.
8. Add ground onion cashew paste and stir for 5-6 minutes on a low to medium heat until it starts to release oil.
9. Then, add 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon salt and cook for another 2 minutes.
10. Add 2 cups tightly packed chopped fresh methi leaves, 1 cup green peas and mix well. Cook on 3-4 minutes on medium heat.
11. Now, add ¾ cup milk and mix. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
12. Add ¼ - ½ cup warm to hot water and mix, let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
NOTE: You can skip adding water if you like very thick gravy. Or you can simply replace water with another ¼ cup milk.
13. Add ½ cup cream, ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder, ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and ½ teaspoon sugar. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
14. Finally, sprinkle ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder and mix. Turn off the heat. Dish out and serve hot with your favorite naan, paratha, roti or rice.
FAQs
Yes you can. Swap cream and milk with coconut milk or coconut cream. Keep in mind that flavor of the curry will be different (of coconut).
Fresh methi leaves are slightly bitter.
If they're too much bitter, then here are the two things you can do reduce the bitterness of methi:
1. Sprinkle little salt on chopped methi, mix and let it sit for 15-120 minutes. Then, rinse and squeeze to drain water before using them.
2. Blanch chopped methi leaves for 2 minutes and the immediately add it to the icy cold water. This will not only reduce the bitterness but also helps maintain the green color of the leaves.
Yes, you can use fresh peas (hari matar) for this recipe. All you need to do is either blanch them for few minutes or boil/ steam them until tender. Do as you like.
Keep in mind that if you add fresh matar directly, it may need a little longer time to cook than the frozen ones.
Yes, you can use. Replace 2 cups fresh methi leaves with 2-3 tablespoons of dried methi, if fresh ones are unavailable.
However, I would highly recommend to use fresh fenugreek leaves for this recipe. Or frozen methi also works fine.
Yes, absolutely! It tastes great.
Swap cashew nuts with almonds. And if you're allergic to nuts, then try replacing it with 2-3 tablespoons melon seeds (magaz).
Serving Ideas
Like most delicious Indian curries, this absolutely yummy methi matar malai pairs perfect with plain or tandoori rotis, lachha paratha, or tawa naan. It also goes very well with steamed basmati rice or some flavourful rice dishes like Jeera Rice, easiest Zafrani Pulao, saffron rice, peas pulao, Veg Pulao and even this spicy Matar Pulao.
Storage and Freezing
To store: Transfer the leftovers in a clean airtight container and refrigerate up to 2 days.
I highly recommend not freeze the cooked curry. Instead, you can freeze the onion cashew masala paste (in portions) in a clean freezer safe box until use.
Thaw the paste in the refrigerator overnight and cook the curry just before serving.
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Methi Matar Malai Recipe
Ingredients
To make the onion cashew paste
- 1 cup Onion (roughly chopped to diced)
- 1½ inch Ginger (roughly chopped)
- 6 medium Garlic Cloves
- 2 Green Chilies
- 15-16 Cashews
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 Green Cardamoms
- 4 Cloves
- 10 Black Peppercorns
- 1 inch Cinnamon Stick
- ½ blade Mace
- 1-1½ cup Water
Other ingredients for gravy
- 4 tablespoons Oil (butter or ghee)
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt (or to taste)
- 2 cups Fresh Fenugreek Leaves (methi leaves- chopped)
- 1 cup Frozen Green Peas (soaked in water 10 minutes to thaw.)
- ¾ cup Low-Fat Milk (warm, you can use full fat milk)
- ½ cup Low-Fat Cream (you can use heavy cream)
- ¼ teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- ½ teaspoon Dried Fenugreek (Kasuri Methi)
- ½ teaspoon Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Cardamom Powder
Instructions
Making onion cashew paste
- In a sauce pan, add roughly diced onions, ginger, garlic, green chilies, cashews, cumin seeds, green cardamon, cloves, black peppercorns, cinnamon stick, and mace.
- Now, add 1 to 1½ cup water into the sauce pan and bring it to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, drain the water and let the mixture cool enough to avoid spilling while blending or grinding.
- Add the boiled onion cashew mixture to the blender jar and blend to a smooth paste. You may add 2-3 tablespoons water to grind, if required.You can make this onion cashew paste a day ahead in advance and store in the refrigerator to save time.
Making methi mutter malai gravy
- Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan.
- Add ground onion cashew paste and stir for 5-6 minutes on a low to medium heat until it starts to release oil.
- Then, add coriander powder, salt and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add chopped fresh methi leaves, green peas and mix well. Cook on 3-4 minutes on medium heat.
- Now, add milk and mix. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add ¼ - ½ cup warm to hot water and mix, let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. You can skip adding water if you like very thick gravy. Or you can simply replace water with another ¼ cup milk.
- Add cream, garam masala powder, kasuri methi and sugar. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
- Finally sprinkle cardamon powder and mix. Turn off the heat. Dish out and serve hot with your favorite naan, paratha, roti or rice.
Notes
- You can add corn, paneer, mushroom or tofu.
- I have used low fat milk and cream, you can use whole milk and heavy cream instead.
- If methi leaves are bitter, either sprinkle salt and let rest for few minutes or blanch. This may help to reduce the bitterness.
- To make vegan curry, replace milk and cream with coconut milk and/or coconut cream. the flavor.
- The leftovers in a clean airtight container and refrigerate up to 2 days.
- I recommend not freeze the cooked curry. Instead, you can freeze the onion cashew masala paste (in portions) in a clean freezer safe box until use.
Bhakti Doshi says
Looks delicious!! Can I make this by using kasuri methi instead of fresh methi leaves?
Farrukh Aziz says
hello Bhakti
yes you can, but as the Kasuri methi has intense flavour, just add few spoons of it only, it may differ a bit in taste. However, I would highly recommend you to use fresh methi leaves only.
Atiya says
Assalamalaikum. I tried this recipe and my family loved it. Thank you. You have a lovely site and an amazing repertoire of recipes.