Menthi Koora Pappu

Menthi Koora Pappu (Fenugreek Leaves in Garlicky Dal)

I love greens of all kinds, but most of all those with quirky flavours, like fenugreek (methi) , gonkura, mustard greens and amaranth(thotakura or pulikeerai). All these have a dominant not-quite-pleasant taste that has to be coaxed into deliciousness. Methi leaves are, quite frankly, unpleasantly bitter. They need a base flavour that is smooth, substantial and fairly bland, which is why you will see them usually paired with potatoes, creamy and nutty sauces, yellow dal, peas and chicken. (Note that here I am talking about the fresh leaf. The dried version, kasoori methi, is a different animal and a story for another day.)

Today, on a beautiful sunny sunday in California, I found fresh methi at my local farmers market. I decided to honour it with a classic of the Andhra cooking repertoire.

Ingredients

couple of handfuls of fresh methi leaves (plucked off the stems and rinsed)
1 1/2 cups of toor dal (substitute some part of this with channa dal for an earthier flavour)
a medium sized tomato
atleast 3 large cloves of garlic
curry leaves
mustard seeds
asefotida
a green chili
turmeric
oil

Cut the tomato into large chunks and wash the dal. Put the dal and tomato into a vessel to go into the pressure cooker, with 2 cups of water and some turmeric. I find cooking the dal with the tomato homogenizes the tomato into the dal, which is an effect I like in this dish. two or three whistles in the good old pressure cooker should give you a good creamy consistency for the dal. Whisk the cooked dal to further homogenize.

Slice the garlic into slivers and chilli into long thin slices. Heat the oil in a pan, add the asefotida, curry leaves and mustard seeds. Wait till the popping of the mustard seeds builds to crescendo and begins to die down. Add the garlic, and green chillies. Carefully caramelize the garlic, remembering that there is nothing worse than burnt garlic sticking in your teeth. Add in the methi leaves and sprinkle on some salt. Put a lid on the pan for a bit, to allow the methis to soften in its own juices (to create which you added the salt).

Once the methi has cooked (lost its bright green edge), add in the dal/tomato mixture. Stir, taste and adjust the salt.

Cook up some rice to a nice soft consistency. Serve the dal with rice and pass around the ghee for extra yumminess.