Sumptuous, creamy and absolutely delicious, this Indian restaurant style methi matar malai will make you lick your fingers--and likely the plate!
Methi Matar Malai is a creamy Indian curry of green peas and fresh fenugreek leaves in a smooth, lush, perfectly spiced sauce. In this vegan version I replace the dairy-based heavy cream with a cashew paste, making it not just tastier but also healthier. You can easily adapt this to a nut-free diet and the recipe is already gluten-free and soy-free. Eat it with roti, vegan whole wheat naan or jeera rice for an opulent but healthy dinner.
Methi Matar Malai
Methi Matar Malai (which translates to fenugreek leaves and green peas in a creamy sauce and is pronounced "maythi mutter malayee") is the beautifully alliterating name of a gorgeous dish often found on Indian restaurant menus. With the contrasting flavors of the two vegetables it features-- wonderfully bitter methi or fenugreek leaves, and sweet, delicious green peas -- this dish would delight the finickiest tastebuds. But better still, it's really, really good for you.
Okay, let me backtrack here. The Methi Matar Malai you'd find in a restaurant would not be healthy because it would contain malai, or cream, which is of course full of heart-clogging cholesterol. For this vegan Methi Matar Malai we ditch the cream and instead use cashew cream, with amazing results.
Spotlight on methi (fenugreek leaves)
If you have never cooked with methi, you should hunt it down at your local Indian grocery store or Asian store. Indians have long prized this wonder leafy for its amazing health benefits, including its gut-healthy fiber that probiotic or good bacteria love. Fenugreek is also great for diabetics, and it helps lower cholesterol and normalize blood pressure. And that's just the beginning. Methi flushes out toxins in the body, is great for skin and hair, and helps stimulate weight loss, among countless other benefits.
Methi leaves are bitter but this is not an offputting bitterness by any means. When cooked, that bitterness mellows down and becomes quite delicious, especially when it's combined with a contrasting flavor like the sweet green peas and the creamy sauce.
When you cook with methi, discard the tough stems although it's perfectly fine to use the more tender stems. When added to heat methi will wilt down, like most other greens, but it also needs to be cooked longer than leafies like spinach or chard. Make sure that methi is always thoroughly cooked if you want to grow to love it.
Casual Indian cooks would likely be familiar with kasoori methi, a dried version of methi leaves that is found in Indian restaurant-style recipes like my vegan malai kofta curry, vegan butter chicken, spicy urad dal and vegan dal makhani, among many. You can make this methi matar malai with kasoori methi if you don't have access to fresh methi leaves, I'll tell you how.
Why you'll love this methi matar malai recipe
- This vegan recipe packs so much flavor with the contrasting tastes of the methi, peas (matar) and cashew cream. The aroma of this dish alone is enough to drive you hungry to madness.
- It comes together in under 30 minutes and is quite foolproof. Be sure to follow instructions for best results.
- It is everyone friendly because it's soy-free and gluten-free and it can easily be made nut-free. See the FAQs below for tips on how to leave out nuts from this recipe.
Ingredients for methi matar malai
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided). You can use any unflavored vegetable oil, including avocado oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil or canola oil. Please don't use coconut oil because this is a north Indian curry and coconut oil won't go with the rest of the flavors.
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 5 cloves
- 1-inch stick cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small onion
- 2 green chili peppers. Use jalapeno, serrano or any other pepper. Deseed for less heat, or use just one.
- 1 heaping tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 medium tomato
- ½ cup raw cashews. See FAQs for nut-free substitution.
- 3 packed cups fenugreek (methi) leaves.
- 2 cups green peas. Preferably frozen. See FAQs if using fresh green peas.
- Salt to taste
How to make methi matar malai
- Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a saute pan or saucepan. Add the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, coriander and cumin. Saute for 30 seconds to a minute until the coriander has turned a couple of shades darker and the spices are aromatic.
- Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent. Don't let the onion brown. Add the chopped chili peppers and ginger garlic paste and saute for another minute.
- Add the tomato and saute until tomatoes are pulpy. Add a cup of water to the pan to deglaze it and turn off the heat immediately.
- Remove the onion tomato sauce to a blender, making sure you get any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Let it cool while you proceed with next steps, then add cashews and blend into a very smooth paste.
- Wipe or rinse out the saucepan and heat the remaining tablespoon of oil.
- Add the chopped methi leaves and saute for a couple of minutes. Add half a teaspoon of salt and mix. Cover the pan and let the fenugreek cook until it softens, about 10 minutes, over a medium-low flame. Stir frequently to ensure it doesn't stick. If it begins to stick, add a bit of water.
- Once the methi is tender add the cashew-onion-tomato paste and the frozen green peas to the pan. Add half a cup to a cup of water depending on how thick you want the sauce. Mix well and add more salt if needed. Turn off as soon as the sauce begins to boil.
- Serve hot.
What to serve with methi matar malai
- Serve methi matar malai with any Indian flatbread. Try it with my vegan naan or my sourdough roti or with this pudina paratha.
- You can also serve it with jeera rice or with plain cooked rice.
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: You can store the methi matar malai in the fridge for up to three days after cooking.
- Freeze: Freeze in an airtight container for up to three months.
- Reheat: Thaw if frozen and reheat on the stove. Add a little more water if necessary.
Frequently asked questions
To make this recipe nut-free use ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds or watermelon seeds instead of the raw cashews.
You can replace the 3 cups of fresh fenugreek leaves with ½ cup dried fenugreek leaves. You can skip the sauteing time required for the fresh methi leaves and continue with the next step.
If you have access to dandelion leaves, you can substitute finely chopped dandelion leaves for the methi for a very similar flavor and very similar health benefits. Dandelion leaves are easily available at most supermarkets but the best place to find them is likely in your own, unsprayed backyard.
The fresh spices add really great flavor in this curry. However, if garam masala is all you have, skip the step where you saute the spices and proceed with the onions, ginger garlic, and tomatoes. Add a tablespoon (or two after you taste) of garam masala when you add the tomato-onion paste and frozen green peas to the fenugreek leaves and mix well.
With just 12 net carbs this is definitely a low-carb-friendly curry but it may not be suitable for more restrictive keto diets. If you are eating a keto diet, skip the green peas and use 1 cup frozen edamame instead.
Yes, certainly, but cook them longer. To do that add them along with the fenugreek leaves and saute them until tender.
More tasty Indian restaurant style curry recipes you might like
Methi Matar Malai
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
- 4 green cardamom pods (elaichi)
- 5 cloves (laung)
- 1-inch stick cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds (dhania dana)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 bay leaf (tejpatta)
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 2 green chili peppers (chopped. Use less or deseed if sensitive to heat)
- 1 heaping tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 medium tomato (diced. Or use ¾ cup canned, diced tomatoes with juice)
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 3 cups fenugreek leaves (methi. Approximately 1 bunch. Finely chopped.)
- 2 cups frozen green peas
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a saute pan or saucepan. Add the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, coriander and cumin. Saute for 30 seconds to a minute until the coriander has turned a couple of shades darker and the spices are aromatic.
- Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent. Don't let the onion brown. Add the chopped chili peppers and ginger garlic paste and saute for another minute.
- Add the tomato and saute until tomatoes are pulpy. Add a cup of water to the pan to deglaze it and turn off the heat immediately.
- Remove the onion tomato sauce to a blender, making sure you get any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Let it cool while you proceed with next steps, then add cashews and blend into a very smooth paste.
- Wipe or rinse out the saucepan and heat the remaining tablespoon of oil.
- Add the chopped methi leaves and saute for a couple of minutes. Add half a teaspoon of salt and mix. Cover the pan and let the fenugreek cook until it softens, about 10 minutes, over a medium-low flame. Stir frequently to ensure it doesn't stick. If it begins to stick, add a bit of water.
- Once the methi is tender add the cashew-onion-tomato paste and the frozen green peas to the pan. Add half a cup to a cup more of water depending on how thick you want the sauce. Mix well and add more salt if needed. Turn off as soon as the sauce begins to boil.
- Serve hot.
Recipe notes
- Methi matar malai is delicious with most Indian flatbreads. Try it with naan, roti or paratha.
- You can also serve it with jeera rice or with plain cooked rice.
- To make this recipe nut-free use ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds or watermelon seeds instead of the raw cashews.
- You can replace the 3 cups of fresh fenugreek leaves with ½ cup dried fenugreek leaves. You can skip the sauteing time required for the fresh methi leaves and continue with the next step. If you have access to dandelion leaves, you can substitute finely chopped dandelion leaves for the methi for a very similar flavor and very similar health benefits. Dandelion leaves are easily available at most supermarkets but the best place to find them is likely in your own, unsprayed backyard.
- Refrigerate: You can store the methi matar malai in the fridge for up to three days after cooking.
- Freeze: Freeze in an airtight container for up to three months.
- Reheat: Thaw if frozen and reheat on the stove. Add a little more water if necessary.
M Collins
Very nice. Easy to make. I used dried fenugreek leaves and jalapeño's from a jar. Will definitely make again.
Vaishali
So happy you loved it!
Yosh
I can’t believe how tasty this recipe is! I’m trying to reduce the oil in my diet so I bloomed the spices and cooked the methi without oil. In my opinion it came out great! I’ve never had this before, but I could tell as the spices were heating up that this recipe was going to be a winner! Next time maybe I’ll cook on lower heat so the onion, tomato, pepper mixture doesn’t brown too much.
Vaishali
Awesome, so glad you tried it! Love that you made it oil-free.
Sowmya Raghav
Hi Vaishali,
I have tried this recipe so many times now. It is a big hit in our family. I am making it again tomorrow. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Love from Florida.
Vaishali
Hi Sowmya, so great to hear! ❤️
Nitya
This was Excellent! Thank you!
Caitlin Marinelli
This recipe was SO DELICIOUS!! My husband is from Delhi and said it's one of the best Malai Koftas he has EVER had. Thank you!! (Also, are there any other thick, creamy, vegan Indian dishes of yours that you recommend I try?
Vaishali
Hi Caitlin, there are lots of creamy vegan curries on the blog--search for malai kofta or paneer and several will pop up! So happy you guys enjoyed it.
Anupa
Hi Vaishali
I just discovered your blogs. My daughter ( Vishali) has turned vegan and your recipes are going to be such godsend for us! Thank you. Totally share your views and sentiments on dogs.
Looking forward to trying many if your recipes!
Vaishali
Hi Anupa, welcome to the blog, and congratulations to your daughter (love the name! 😉 )
Usha
Hello Vaishali, I have been a reader of your blog, but never posted earlier. In any case I wanted to say how much I resonate with your ideals and thoughts on animals and choice of diet. I too have had pets, all rescued from the streets of Mumbai. I cannot express how much they have enriched my life right from my kitty whom I found when I was 8 to the two puppies I have currently, one of whom is a Katrina survivor. Love your blog and keep doing what you have been doing.
Take Care!
Usha
Vaishali
Hi Usha, how lovely to hear from you, and thanks for your kind words. I am thrilled to meet another animal lover from Mumbai, and especially one who cares about animals forced to spend their lives on the streets. They are the best, aren't they? Your pups sound adorable. Hugs to you and them! 🙂
Gayathri
Healthy recipe. Looks yummy.
Sunitha Kasiraman
Hi Vaishali!
Can I use raw cashews instead of almonds?
Also, my family loved the vegan Aviyal!
Thanks for your recipes.
Sunitha
Vaishali
Hi Sunitha, yes, cashews would be great in this. So happy your family liked the aviyal. 🙂
Joanne T Ferguson (@mickeydownunder)
G'day! looks like a very warm and welcoming dish! YUM!
Viewed as part of Nancy's YBR Round Up!
Cheers! Joanne
evolvingtastes
Loved your piece connecting Steinbeck's characters to your pets. Really enjoyed reading it!
Vaishali
Thanks, ET! 🙂
Sharmila
Just below our building, on the street, we see numerous pups take birth, grow and later roam the neighborhood just like their parents, at least twice every year. Other than feeding them we have no idea what else we can do for them.
This version of the mmm seems so simple and light ... sans all that malai etc. Lovely pics too Vaishali.
Vaishali
Hi Sharmila, it's really a sad situation for animals born on the streets in India, but at least some organizations are now springing up and there are more spay and neuter programs, although more work is needed for sure. And education is key so more people adopt puppies born to stray animals, instead of buying from breeders.