Fenugreek Rice or Methi Pulao is a very simple yet delicious rice dish that can be had all by itself or be served with other dishes. Fenugreek is now considered a superfood and is making a comeback as a staple in all the diets. Growing up, I remember just disliking it due to the bitterness but now I do actually enjoy it. In this dish, the methi is just the right amount that you can tell it’s there, reap the benefits and yet, it’s not overpowering where kiddos won’t touch it! We had this at a friend’s place and were floored by the color, the flavor and the presentation.
Video at the bottom of the post.
Prep time: 30 min (including soaking)
Cook time: 30 min
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
Fenugreek/Methi – 1 bunch ((approx 1/2 lb or 250 g)
Rice- 2 cups
Oil – 2 tbsp
Cumin Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Tomato – 1, med. diced
Turmeric Powder (Haldi) – 1/2 tsp
Green Chillies – to taste, finely chopped
Red Chili Powder – to taste
Coriander Powder (Dhaniya) – 1 tbsp
Salt – to taste
Water – 4 cups
Method:
1. Chop the roots and the thick stems off the bunch of Fenugreek Leaves.
2. Wash well and finely chop the rest.
3. Sprinkle a generous amount of Salt on the leaves, mix and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.
4. Wash the Rice well and soak in some Water and keep aside for 20 minutes.
5. In a pan (that has a tight fitting lid), heat Oil on medium heat.
6. Once the Oil is hot, add in the Cumin Seeds and allow them to change color.
7. Add in Green Chillies and Tomatoes, Turmeric Powder.
8. Squeeze out the water from the Fenugreek Leaves and put them in the pan.
9. Add in Coriander Powder and Red Chili Powder.
10. Cook for a couple of minutes.
11. Drain the water from the Rice and add the Rice to the Methi Leaves.
12. Cook for 2 minutes.
13. Add the Water and mix well.
14. Check on the Salt, add in needed.
15. Increase the heat, and allow the Rice to cook till most of the Water has evaporated and you can see the Rice come up to the surface.
16. Mix, lower heat, preferably to simmer and cover. Cook for 15 minutes.
17. After 15 minutes, open cover, turn off the heat, mix/fluff gently.
18. Cover and allow the Rice to rest for a couple of minutes before serving.
19. Serve hot with Raita and pickle.
Tips:
1. Kasoori Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves can be substituted (approx 1 cup).
2. If Dried Fenugreek leaves are being used, there is not required to salt and soak the leaves. Add directly to the pan.
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so yummmy !!
thanks for sharing this delicious one !!
Hi,
When u say 2 cups of rice, do u mean the cup which comes with the rice cooker or the actual measuring cup??
Also, any reason why wouldn’t u use a pressure cooker to make this rice??
Thanks a lot.
Love ur website…..
Thanks for giving accurate measurements of ingredients in all your recipes. Although i’ve been cooking for almost 5 years now, i’ve almost no intuition when it comes to proportions. You’ve no idea how big a difference you’ve made to my life!
Hetal and Anuja,
Made this yesterday and was so so yum.Will go on my fav rice dishes list to make when I have fresh methi leaves. I did not sprinkle the salt on leaves as I kinda like the bitterness.Soaked it in water for sometime before chopping it.I add 1 cup of coconut milk and 3 cups of water as I had some leftover coc nut milk and I think it may have helped soften the bitterness if any coz I did not feel any bad taste:-)
.
nice recipe.. do u have the recipe of Methi Khichadi..
Heyya!!i have a question.I have a party at home and i cannot cook when they r here so i have to finish before they come.whatz d best way to re heat any kind of pulav so that they will not get dry…i will be greatful if u cud help me cheers 🙂
Hi Chitra,
The microwave is the best way to heat rice of any kind. Just put the rice in a glass container, sprinkle just a bit of water over it and cover it with a wet paper towel before microwaving. The rice will be soft and moist.
Dear Friends,
I need to give onus to the authenticity of this recipe. This is actually a traditional Sindhi recipe, would be nice if you added those in your introduction. This recipe is a staple in our family for generations (being Sindhi ofcourse). This is usually served with “Bhee Patata” Sabji or even Sai Bhaji, without which we find it sorta incomplete.
Hi Rakhi,
We have been making this dish for so many years and not realized that it was a traditional Sindhi recipe. Thanks for sharing the information! 🙂
Made this for lunch today. I also added some cashews and curry leaves to the oil while frying. Adding cashews made this dish taste even better. Thanks a lot for the recipe! I am now going to make this more often 🙂
Awesome! So simple to make and tastes great. Thank you guys.
Hey Anuja N Hetal,
I did make this rice couple of times. The first time I made for 4-6 servings i.e followed the recipe to the “T”. The next time I made I made for for 12-14 servings and off course did the measurements n proportions accordingly and let the cook the rice for 15 mins as I had seen in one of your comments that with change in cooking time remains same no matter what the quantity of rice is , hence I did the same. The rice cooked like 90 percent there were some portions which remained raw. what wrong did I do? please advice.
thanks
Hi Ami,
Sorry we missed your question.
Rice does cook at the same time, even if you increase the quantity. Sometimes, the size of the pan matters. Be sure to choose a pan that gives the rice enough room to expand and cook evenly. Also, after the 15 minutes, fluff up the rice and cover it to rest for another 10 mins or so (for larger quantities).
thanks for the advice. I had a pan of right side and I did let it let rest until it was totally cooled.I am still not sure what went wrong
Hi Guys,
I only have dried fenugreek leaves, do I have to put salt in them ?
Thanks!
Hi Linda,
No Linda, dried Methi leaves are not as strong 🙂
I made this today.It was v.yummy.accidently found your video in youtube, added this website to my favorites. thnx 🙂
Hi Hetal/Anuja,
My rice NEVER turn out like each grain separated, always a little mush..
So, if you could help me out and tell me : If I want to use 1 cup of rice, how much water will I need?
Thanks..
Hi Pia,
Its a 1 to 2 ratio. For one cup of rice, you’d need two cups of water.
Thanks Hetal
Hi!!! Can I use Fenugreek powder? since we don’t have it here in Hawaii. Thanks
Hi DH,
Fenugreek powder has a very different taste than the leaves. Your pulao might become very bitter.
Hetal n Anuja,
Thanks for posting recipes and most of them have turned out very well.
I have a tip on this recipe.
Methi is very option in our cooking. But nutrient values are washed off when u add salt to it and later squeeze all the water from it.
There is no use of using methi as all its nutrient values are lost.
Instead after adding jeera to oil, add finely chopped methi and fry it well, then add other ingredients. I have tested this and this taste equally good
Hi there,
Thanks for your suggestion and we will surely try out your method 🙂 Our only concern would be, sometimes the fenugreek is so bitter that it could/would ruin the taste of the whole dish 🙁 . The reason we sprinkle salt is to remove excessive bitterness from there and that kind of ensures that the Methi Pulao will be edible 😉
Thanks for your feedback.
Anuja/Hetal,
I agree about the nutrition being lost (as mentioned above) and also get the point of bitterness.
For all methi dishes, although this method is cumbersome, instead of chopping ’em; just pluck them out. The bitterness comes into picture only when u expose the chopped leaves cuz they exist in the fluid of the leaf. This has worked for my mother and me always. It a a big job if we have 2-3 bunches, but just pass ’em onto the kids when they watch TV 🙂 …
Hi Can u pls tell me which brand of rice u have used.The pulao looks really yummy and every morsel is coated well.Your response will be appreciated..
Hi there,
We use Royal Basmati Rice for all Pulaos and Biryanis 🙂
Thank you ,
Nice recipe. I love methi and will definitely try out. I was wondering can I make it with frozen methi? If yes, how much of the frozen methi sud I use?
Thank you
Hi Dee,
If your frozen methi comes in cubes, you can use about 4 cubes.
Hey Hetal,
Thank you for the reply! I tired the rice and they were yum!
Hi Anuja, Hetal,
How r u guys doing? u guys rock man!! I’m really too young compared to u guys in cooking and ur website helps me a lot. Thanks a bunch!
I tried preparing this dish and it came out so well n tasty! My husband also like it!
Thank you once again!
Cheers,
Minu
Hi Anuja-Hetal!
I made this last night and it came out great. My husband loved it, and so did my kids. And you are absolutely right..methi has such a unique flavor. And it makes a lot of sense why you dint use lot of other spices. The rice is still so flavorful. Thanks so much. You girls are awesome! Love you both!
Sounds good! Methi has such a lovely flavor too. I sometimes make parathas of left over aloo methi sabzi and sometimes a quick fried rice too. It turns out fab.
Hi,
Thanks for amazing recipe also i have tried your OTHER
recipe .you are doing a very good job.
Hey.. Thanks for your absolutely amazing recipe.. I made it last night with Kasuri Methi and it was a hit!! thanks once again!
Hi Judy,
For this recipe, you can use 1 cup (approx) dried methi leaves.
Fresh Methi leaves can be found at Indian stores and at times at Oriental stores. In the USA, I have also seen them at Feista and Sprouts:)
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
If I do not have fresh fenugreek, can the dried leaves be used and if so, what amount? I really want to try this, but don’t know where to find fresh fenugreek. Thanks so much and keep up the good work.
Judy
Hi Girls,
I love your recipes..I tried this today and also added nutri nuggets to it..It came out wonderful..Thanks for the great work!!
thanks for sharing
Good Receipe, you can add peanuts or cashews to it. You both are so good and so good looking personality, my family like both of you. Keep up your good works.God bless you!!
Thanks.
Take care
Hi Gayathri,
Sounds like a great variation, thanks for sharing:)
Hi Gals,
This is one of my mom’s all time favorite receipe.
It is also great and tasty when you use 1/2 cup of mint and 1/2 cup of coriander leaves and use coconut milk instead of water.