Dear Mamta,

I tried your method for drying methi, to be made into kasthuri methi, however it went horribly wrong! Of course you have to wash the methi first to get rid of mud, and then I laid it all out on kitchen paper on a fairly hot afternoon in my kitchen. But the next morning they all wilted, went a bit yellow and started smelling rotten.

What did I do wrong? How do you get rid of all the moisture after washing it?

Is it better to dry in out in direct hot sun?

Please advise.

Liza

This is how I do it:

Buy or cut fresh methi from shop/garden.

Pick out leaves/little clusters of leaves, discarding the stalks.

Wash in 2-3 changes of sink full of water.

Drain in a colander for a while, may be 30 minutes or so.

Spread on top of 4-5 sheet thickness of news paper, spread out on the work top in my HOT conservatory. You can do this in another hot section of your house. Newspaper absorbs a lot of more water and methi doesn't stick to it, unlike the kitchen paper.

I just leave it for 2-3 days, turning now and then. My conservatory is so hot on sunny days that it dries to crisp, in 2-3 days.

I follow the same procedure with mint laves.

Hope it works for you this time.

Fresh methi is not so expensive, so I would recommend buying some to dry. The shop might even give you a good deal, if you buy 5-6 bunches. Save your fresh methi for making 'aloo methi' bhaji or methi parathas etc.

Mamta