LOW-FAT METHI MALAI MATTAR

LOW-FAT METHI MALAI MATTAR

I tasted methi malai mattar only recently. I loved the taste so much that I thought of preparing it at home that same weekend. Most of the recipes that I googled had at least half-a-cup of heavy cream used in the gravy, so the idea of preparing methi malai mattar was dropped temporarily since my husband was on a diet. Recently on a Food Network show, I don’t remember which one since I have been watching Food Network like crazy recently :( There was one episode in which a low-fat clam chowder in which 2% milk was substituted in place of heavy cream to reduce the calories in the chowder. That flashed a light over my head and here I am having a recipe for low-fat methi malai mattar. Since this was the first time, I was preparing this dish, I used whole milk here. Next time, I should try this with nonfat milk or fat free half and half and see. The result was this low-fat version tasted like the one with cream and it was also thick. There was no difference in the taste.

INGREDIENTS:
Methi leaves (Fenugreek greens), 2 bunches.
Onions, 2.
Tomato, 1.
Green chiles, 2.
Whole milk, ½ cup or fat free half and half.
Ginger garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.

Fresh or frozen peas, 1 cup.
Salt as per taste.
Mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon.
Cumin seeds, ¼ teaspoon.

PREPARATION:
Clean the fenugreek leaves and remove the leaves from the stems. Chop the onions and tomato into small pieces. Slit the green chilies into 2. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil starts to smoke, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the cumin seeds and after a few seconds when the cumin seeds change color, add the chopped onions, tomato, green chili, and ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a few minutes until everything is well blended. Add the fenugreek leaves, peas, 1/4 cup of water along with ½ of milk and salt as per taste and cook closed under medium flame for 5-7 minutes until the peas are cookes and a thick consistency is obtained. Switch off the stove and serve hot with rotis.