Methi malai chicken is prepared with chicken & fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves cooked in mildly spicy creamy onion-tomato gravy. This delicious Methi Chicken or Murgh Methi malai is an easy chicken curry that can be made within 30 minutes.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Indian, Mughlai
Servings: 4people
Calories: 380kcal
Author: Preeti
Equipment
Heavy bottom pan
Ingredients
To marinate the chicken
700gramchicken (bone-in chicken)
¼teaspoonturmeric powder
1teaspoonred chili powder
1teaspooncoriander powder
½teaspooncumin powder
½teaspoongaram masala powder
½teaspoonblack pepper powder
salt to taste
¼cupthick curd/yogurt
To sauté methi leaves
1teaspoonghee/clarified butter
2cupsof Methi leaves(Fenugreek leaves)
To make onion-tomato paste
1teaspoonoil
2onions,sliced
2teaspoonginger-garlic paste
7-8cashews
3 tomatoes
To make the methi chicken gravy
2teaspoonoil
2green cardamoms
4cloves
1-inchcinnamon
1teaspooncumin
1bay leaf
1teaspoonlemon juice
2-3green chilies,slit
¼cupthick cream(or use homemade malai)
coriander leaves
Instructions
Preparations:
Pluck & clean the methi leaves. Set it aside.
Roughly chop the onions & tomatoes. Set it aside.
Slit the green chilies and chop the coriander leaves.
Marinate the chicken
In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, black pepper powder, salt & curd/yogurt. Marinate & set it aside.
Saute the methi leaves
Heat 1 teaspoon of ghee/clarified butter over medium heat. Saute the methi leaves for 3-4 minutes until it is wilted. Remove & set it aside.
Prepare the onion-tomato paste
In the same pan, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat.
Saute onions until translucent.
Add ginger-garlic paste & cook it for 2 minutes.
Add cashews & tomato. Cook until tomatoes are soft & pulpy.
Let it cool down & then grind it to a paste. Do not add water. The onion-tomato paste is ready.
Making the Methi Chicken gravy
Heat 2 teaspoon of oil over medium heat. Saute the whole spices for 30 seconds.
Add the prepared onion-tomato paste. Cook it for 3-4 minutes.
Add marinated chicken. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the color of the chicken changes from pink to white.
Cover & cook until chicken is cooked well. Stir it in between as required.
Add the methi leaves, lemon juice & ½ cup water.
Cover & cook for 5 minutes.
Add green chilies, cream & coriander leaves. Cover & cook for a minute. Remove from heat.
Delicious Methi Malai Chicken is ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Pick fresh methi leaves with tender stems. They are not bitter in taste.
Clean the methi leaves by plucking the leaves only. Discard the stems. Stems are bitter in taste. So be careful to use only the leaves. This is a time-consuming process. The preparation time does not include time to clean methi leaves.
Rinse the methi leaves with water to discard the dust, soil, etc.
Fill a large bowl with enough water. Mix 1 teaspoon of vinegar in it. Soak the methi leaves in water for 5 minutes.
Rinse it well with water. Drain it into a colander. Make sure it is dry before you process to the next step.
You can use the methi leaves as it is or roughly chop it. Do not chop it finely. Finely chopping the leaves can increase the bitterness.
If fresh methi leaves are not available then you can use Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) in its place.
Just use ¼ cup of dried fenugreek leaves & add it in the place of sautéed methi. Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) have a strong flavor. ¼ cup of Kasuri methi is enough to flavor the methi chicken gravy.
You can skip adding cream to the gravy. The addition of cashews is enough to make the gravy thick & creamy. However, the addition of cream makes the chicken curry sweet & reduces the bitterness of methi leaves.