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Methi Matar Pulao/ Fried Rice Sauteed with Fenugreek Leaves

If you love that slight bitterness of methi or fenugreek leaves, you will surely love this methi matar pulao. It has slight bitterness which is well balanced with sweetness of peas and other spices and flavors. This rice is easy to prepare and a one pot meal. So if you have leftover rice in your fridge then it will take only 10 minutes to prepare the rice pulao. Normally rice is cooked first and then we mix it with the sauted leaves and peas in this recipe.
How can I reduce bitterness of fenugreek in recipe?
Tip: If you want to reduce the bitterness of leaves then blanch it in salt water for a minute with few drops of lemon juice. Then remove from heat and wash with cold water to stop excess cooking with hot steam.
However I liked that light bitter taste of leaves. So I used them directly. You can cook them for 2 minutes before adding to the onion and garlic.
Basic 4 steps for this recipe is
- Prepare rice separately.
- Saute onion, garlic, peas, greens together with spices for 5 minutes.
- Add rice to the sauteed fenugreek leaves and add additional spices & mix well.
- Cook for 2 minutes on low flame to absorb the flavors.
Isn’t this an easy recipe and will take 10 minutes or less if you have pre cooked rice. You can directly prepare this on rice cooker as well. Even if you are making fresh rice then also it takes less than 30 minutes for whole preparation & cooking. Also as I always say cleaning fenugreek leaves is most time taking activity and you can plan and do it beforehand and store dry in refrigerator for future use.
Recipe card for methi matar pulo
Methi Matar Pulao
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- 1 cup chopped fenugreek leaves
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 pinch asafoetida/ hing
- 1 medium onion sliced or roughly chopped
- 5 garlic pods crushed or minced
- 2 green chillies finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp salt or as per taste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
Instructions
- Wash rice thoroughly and cook till soft.
- In the meanwhile heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and let them crackle. Add hing and garlic and saute till its light brown.
- Add chopped onions and saute for a minute till translucent. Add green peas and all spices except garam masala saute for 2 minutes.
- Then add chopped or blanched fenugreek or methi leaves to the pan and add 1/2 tsp salt and cook for 2 minutes on high flame.
- Add 1/4 cup water to the pan and cook till leaves are soft and cooked well. If using blanched leaves then skip this step. Saute for 5 minutes on low flame.
- Before adding rice, check there is no water left. To ensure that no water should left in pan saute this mixture on high flame for 2 minutes or till all water evaporates quickly.
- Once methi and peas mixture is cooked completely then add rice and few more spices and salt to it. Mix thoroughly.
- Cook for another 2 - 3 minutes so that all flavors get infused with rice. Add garam masala in the end and mix well. turn off the heat and garnish with coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with curd or raita.

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