I have a bunch of fresh Methi I bought today, it was only 60p so I thought what the heck.

Could I substitute dried methi for fresh in a recipe? Would I double the amount?

I have seen a few recipe's using fresh on this site anyway, so it won't go to waste.

I love the variety in ingredients, cooking is never boring is it?

Fresh methi leaves are lovely Kev, they can be added to many things. One bunch is not a lot, about 2 tbsp. dry methi leaves.

You can add them to (de-stalked, washed and chopped) to 100's of dishes; any of the meat or chicken or fish curries, make Alu methi bhaji (just realised, I haven't written down this recipe-cook it like carrot-methi), or a Carrot methi bhaji or add them to a Paratha dough, to besan batter to make pakoras or chillas (pancakes) or Dal methi. The list is endless :-), so you will use them up soon. In small amounts, they are nice in an omelette too.

Thank you Mamta. There's always fresh bunches of Methi at Bolton Market, I usually go every few weeks to stock up on the freezer herbs. There's a lot of things that I do not even know the name of and have to ask. Had a Green Coconut (Jellynut) last year which was fab....anyway...

Yet to decide what to make. Currently the bunch is in a glass of water keeping fresh, chopped the bottom of the stalks off.

I have seen a methi chicken recipe I have been recommended which looks quite simple and kevproof hehe. ;-)

Will definitely be buying more fresh methi with those recipes Mamta.

Also just looked up how to dry them.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7682449_dry-fenugreek-leaves.html

May have to buy some dried to see how the taste compares though. (What an excuse to eat hehe). That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Kev, I usually buy a whole box of them and dry them. I don't like the shop IThen sit in front of the T-V with my box, place a newspaper on the floor and then sit and remove stalks/bad leaves from them. Then I wash them in a sink full or two of water. Next, I spread them over a few layers of newspaper in my very hot conservatory (May-June). They are dry and crisp in 2, maximum 3 days. If they take longer, they may go mouldy. I store them in small zip-lock bags, with air squeezed out of them. They last for at least 2 years.

I envy you all: I've never had fresh methi leaves!

Phil

I've grown it from seed a few times but the plants always seem to be leggy and don't mount to much really. I may grow some more this year for drying out and see how it goes. Any tips on growing it would be greatly appreciated.

Andrew, methi grown from spice box seeds is leggy and has quite hard stalks, too hard to cut up and use. That is the reason I stopped growing. I use fresh when in season and dry my own for the rest of the year.

There's no way I'll get fresh methi leaves here in the south of France, but I wonder whether I might procure some in Manchester (England)next month. Any ideas, anyone? Some Indian grocer?

Meanwhile, there's a lot to be said for dried methi leaves, both in Mum's Curry, and also in the Methi Chicken I do, with both methi leaves and ground fenugreek powder. The recipe is here on the Mamta's Kitchen website, if anyone is interested.

Happy cooking, folks!

Phil

Type this into Google Maps and see if you will be any where near.

Bolton Market, Ashburner St, Bolton, Lancashire BL1 1TJ

It's about 12 miles away from Manchester city centre. If you're on the train it's only less than 5 minutes walk from the station. The market will be nothing like you're used to in France though I bet.

There most likely will be somewhere closer you could try though.

Found this on Tripadvisor...

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g187069-i236-k5941166-Asian_Indian_grocery_stores-Manchester_Greater_Manchester_England.html

"Ayres Road is the place to go - the next road going north along Seymour Grove & runs parallel to Kings Road. Plenty of Asian foodstores, greengrocers etc. all along Ayres Road. General postcode is M16."

Mamta wrote: Andrew, methi grown from spice box seeds is leggy and has quite hard stalks, too hard to cut up and use. That is the reason I stopped growing. I use fresh when in season and dry my own for the rest of the year.

Shame that. I'll have to check out some seed vendors and see if I can buy seeds for it and grow my own. If it is possible to buy them and grow your own then I imagine it will solve Phil's problem also. I use dried fenugreek leaves quite often when cooking curry.

Last year I grew coriander using seeds from the spice rack and I had great results. I found that if you split them and seperate the two seeds it germinates quicker and the plants grow better.

While on the subject of spices I'd like to share a little story with you. My dad has arthritis in his spine that mostly affects his hip, and some days it was so painful he couldn't do much at all. Then I suggested that he start adding a small amount of freshly grated turmeric into his diet twice a day - which he did. After about a week and a half the pain has disappeared completely and he is now able to go for walks and do things in the garden. My mum is amazed that a small amount of turmeric twice a day could help so much. It can't be anything else because he's not taking anything else. The only thing he's doing differently is eating the turmeric. I only suggested fresh turmeric because I have a load of it in the freezer. Do you think the powdered turmeric would be as affective?