Methi Murg - Methi Chicken - Chicken Curry With Fenugreek

By
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Food writer Petrina Verma Sarkar is a native of India with extensive knowledge of the country's regional cuisines.
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Updated on 03/21/22
Chicken Curry With Fenugreek
Bluebec/Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 40 mins
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
753 Calories
38g Fat
58g Carbs
57g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 753
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 38g 48%
Saturated Fat 8g 39%
Cholesterol 142mg 47%
Sodium 444mg 19%
Total Carbohydrate 58g 21%
Dietary Fiber 23g 81%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 57g
Vitamin C 15mg 75%
Calcium 203mg 16%
Iron 31mg 175%
Potassium 1224mg 26%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Simple, yet delicious, Methi Murg is also easy to put together. It's a chicken curry featuring fenugreek leaves. This is one of our go-to recipes when we want to cook a simple, wholesome non-vegetarian meal for our family.

The basic recipe for this dish is my mother's and I grew up eating it. The fresh Methi (fenugreek) leaves add a lovely, earthy flavor to this dish. You can also use dried fenugreek if you don't have access to fresh leaves and you should be able to find both fairly easily in any Indian grocery.

Methi Murg is delicious served with plain rice, a salad, and raita. If you thicken the gravy, it tastes just as good with hot, freshly made chapatis.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds (1 kilogram) chicken, cut into bite-size pieces, preferably pieces on the bone

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil, canola oil, or sunflower cooking oil

  • 2 large onions, sliced thin

  • 2 large tomatoes, diced

  • 2 tablespoons garlic paste

  • 1 tablespoon ginger paste

  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

  • 2 teaspoons garam masala

  • Salt, to taste

  • 1 pound (500 grams) fresh green fenugreek leaves, washed and chopped fine

Steps to Make It

  1. Heat the cooking oil in a heavy bottomed pan, on medium heat.

  2. When hot, add the onions. Sauté until the onions begin to turn a pale golden brown in color. Now remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Turn off heat.

  3. Grind the onions into a smooth paste (adding very little to no water) in a food processor. Once done, remove into a separate container.

  4. Now grind the tomatoes, garlic and ginger paste together, in the food processor, into a smooth paste. Remove into a separate container and keep aside for later use.

  5. Heat the oil left over from frying the onions, again and add the onion paste. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

  6. Now add the tomato paste and all the powdered spices, including the garam masala. Mix well.

  7. Sauté the resulting masala (onion-tomato-spice mixture) until the oil begins to separate from it. This can take up to 10 minutes to happen.

  8. Now add the chicken pieces to the masala, season with salt to taste and stir to fully coat the chicken pieces with the masala. Sauté till the chicken is browned well.

  9. Now is the time to add the fenugreek leaves and stir well.

  10. Add 1/2 a cup of hot water to the pan, stir to mix well, simmer the heat and cover the pan. Cook till the chicken is tender. You will need to keep checking on the chicken as it cooks and adding more water if all the water dries up. Stir often to prevent burning. The dish should have a fairly thick gravy when done.

  11. When the chicken is cooked, serve with hot chapatis (Indian flatbread), naans (tandoor-baked Indian flatbread) or plain boiled rice.

Tip

  • Use a pressure cooker to cook this curry and it will be done in half the time it takes to cook in an open pot.