Mahanandi

Living in Consciousness ~ Indi(r)a’s Food and Garden Weblog

Methi Chole (Fenugreek~Chickpeas Curry)

“One remarkable thing about Rajasthani recipes is, without the usage of Onions and Garlic, the dishes that are prepared are remarkably tasty. One such dish which stole my heart is Methiwale Kabuli Chhole (Chick peas with fenugreek leaves). This curry is prepared both in dry and gravy version. But my suggestion is to prepare semi gravy version. If you taste this once, you would love to try this out again and again.”

– Writes cooking guru Sri Hemant Trivedi in his introduction to chickpea-fenugreek curry. As weather turned to cold and gray, kitchen and food have become my source of warmth and comfort, among other things. Chickpeas are one of my favorite winter comfort foods and I am always on the lookout for new recipes to try with this wonder legume. The methi chole recipe from Trivedi’s fabulous website sounded interesting and I gave it a try last weekend.

Of course I had to alter the recipe to suit my tastes. I have added onions, omitted ginger-garlic, and I prepared the curry with fresh green chickpeas. Trader Joe’s, the nearby grocery shop carries fresh green chickpeas in frozen section. One-pound packet was available for $1.99. Like freshly shelled peas, fresh green chickpeas taste good, and when combined with potent fenugreek, they made a great combination. Chana masala infused with fenugreek magic is methi chole. Give it a try.

 Fresh Green Chickpeas, Fresh Fenugreek (methi) Leaves, Ripe Tomato
Fresh Green Chickpeas, Fresh Fenugreek (methi) Leaves, Ripe Tomato

Recipe:

2¼ cups of green chickpeas (chana, green garbanzos)
(of which ¼ cup removed and pureed to smooth paste – to thicken the sauce)
2 cups of fresh methi leaves (fenugreek leaves)
4 big, ripe, juicy tomatoes – cut to small pieces
1 onion – finely chopped
Seasoning:
1 tablespoon of chana masala powder
Salt, chilli powder, turmeric, jaggery (or sugar) and amchur powder – to taste or ½ teaspoon each
1 teaspoon of ghee

In a big saucepan, heat ghee on medium heat.
Add and saute onions to soft.
Add fresh methi leaves and cook for about two minutes, until leaves collapse.
Add the green chickpeas and tomatoes. Stir in the pureed chickpea paste, and all the seasoning. Add about 2 cups of water.
Cover and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring in-between, on medium heat, until the chickpeas become tender. Serve the methi-chole warm with chapatis.

This recipe can also be prepared with dried chickpeas (soak and cook them to tender first and follow the recipe steps mentioned above).

Pot of Methi Chole and Chapatis on the Side
Pot of methi chole and chapatis on the side ~ Our Weekend Meal

Green Garbanzo Beans – purchased at Trader Joe’s, frozen section.
Fresh Methi (fenugreek leaves) – purchased at Indian grocery shops
Recipe source and adapted from – Sri Hemant Trivedi and from ‘Spice is Right’

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Chickpeas,Hara Chana(Green Chickpeas),Menthi Kura(Fenugreek) (Monday November 13, 2006 at 12:42 pm- permalink)
Comments (35)

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35 comments for Methi Chole (Fenugreek~Chickpeas Curry) »

  1. Hi Indira-

    This is a great recipe for these rainy days! Very healthy too.
    Have a good day! Nisha

    Comment by Nisha — November 13, 2006 @ 12:55 pm

  2. Indira, the recipe sounds extremely refreshing yet warm for a winter day!! Thank you!

    Comment by Chandrika — November 13, 2006 @ 1:45 pm

  3. Indira,

    Love Methi, love Chickpeas – the combination looks and sounds delicious :). Definitely a recipe to try.

    Comment by Sangeeta — November 13, 2006 @ 1:48 pm

  4. Wow, here the flood of mouth watering recipes has started again..

    May I know where can buy this fresh channa like in Indian or chinese market, any idea?? I live in NJ.

    I already tried yr baingan chole and again, one more delicious, cant wait to try!!!

    Thanks a lot..

    Comment by Rama — November 13, 2006 @ 2:26 pm

  5. Very innovative recipe!! And congratulations on your millionth visitor!

    Comment by Sowmya — November 13, 2006 @ 3:15 pm

  6. A very intersting combination. Unfortunately I dont get green chickpeas here but will definitely try the same with the dried chickpeas.

    Comment by Deepz — November 13, 2006 @ 4:06 pm

  7. Hi Indira
    You have made an awesome dish. It looks very yummy esp with the weather getting colder by the day, delicacies like this one are very warm & tasty to eat.

    I didnt know what other item can be made using the methi leaves in a gravy form , thanks to you, i now know which one to make!

    I tried the chana masala(chole batura) recipe and it turned out too good. So, time for me to check this out! Have a great week ahead!

    Comment by Deepu — November 13, 2006 @ 4:07 pm

  8. Indira, the curry looks so yummy, chala bavundi and once again Congratulations to you.

    Comment by lakshmi — November 13, 2006 @ 4:54 pm

  9. Hi Indira, the dish looks great. I must try it. I love channas. Today I posted a kala channa recipe, please pass-by when you have a moment.

    Thanks

    Comment by Dilip — November 13, 2006 @ 5:03 pm

  10. Indira, it looks great! I have to look for the green chickpeas next time I am at Trader Joe’s.

    Comment by krista — November 13, 2006 @ 5:19 pm

  11. Hi Indira,
    My, how delectable does this look! I think the methi would marry perfectly with the green chana. I have a bag of dried green chana sitting around, but was too bored to make the usual hara chana chaat. This will be on the table for dinner tomorrow! Thanks for sharing it. BTW, the copper pot looks absolutely glorious, so royal!
    – Roopa

    Comment by RD — November 13, 2006 @ 6:02 pm

  12. They often have fresh garbanzos in my supermarket (seasonally – not now), and I have always wondered what to do with them. Now I know! I will have to give this a shot…

    As usual – photos are amazing. Thanks!

    Comment by Diane — November 13, 2006 @ 7:19 pm

  13. Hi Indira,

    Today i posted a recipe with black eyed peas with ingredients very close to what you have. What a coincidence! But i never tried green chick peas and methi combinations. Looks very good, definitely going to try it.

    Madhavi.

    Comment by Madhavi — November 13, 2006 @ 7:30 pm

  14. Hi Indira,
    Curry looks delicious!!! Can I use dry green channa? Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe.

    Comment by MenuToday — November 13, 2006 @ 8:04 pm

  15. Sounds and looks so tempting, taste must be heavenly! I will try this one out coz the only two dishes I know of methi are methi-dal and methi-tamatar. So this one will be a good change 🙂

    Hey Indira, you and Vijay must see this one
    http://priyadeep.blogspot.com/2006/11/share-laugh.html

    I want everyone to have a hearty laugh that brings out happiness.

    Comment by Tweety — November 13, 2006 @ 8:21 pm

  16. Hi Indira! Your recipe is new and tempting. Thanks for sharing

    Comment by manjubansal — November 13, 2006 @ 11:10 pm

  17. Indira,
    I got dried Green Chana from the Indian store but on cooking it turned brown like the regular black Chana. What you have looks so fresh and appetizing. Trader Joe’s set up shop in Pittsburgh last month – I will try to get it from there.

    Comment by Faffer — November 14, 2006 @ 4:11 am

  18. I love Hemantji’s recipes too. I have tried many of them in the past. It is very inspiring to see his new recipes in the food forums often. But he doesn’t post that much new recipes these days.
    I have never cooked with or tasted fresh chana yet. Looks good.

    Comment by RP — November 14, 2006 @ 5:30 am

  19. Hi Indira….

    A very refreshing and nutritious recipe… Thankx for sharing!!

    -spandana

    Comment by Spandana — November 14, 2006 @ 7:54 am

  20. Thanks for sharing a very hearty and comforting meal.
    The copper bottomed pot- do you use it for cooking or serving? Could you recommend a good brand for cooking and serving.
    Thanks!

    Comment by Amy Thomas — November 14, 2006 @ 9:09 am

  21. Hi Indira

    Just wanted to let you know that I tried the aloo gobhi recipe yesterday and it was the best we have had. Long after the roti’s were over, we were eating the aloo gobi as is! That is enough to tell you how much we loved it!

    Comment by shankari — November 14, 2006 @ 9:50 am

  22. Hi Indira — I looked for green garbanzos at my local Indian market and could not find any. They did not have anything called “chana” in the frozen section. They did have a few bags of something called “pigeon peas” — is that the same thing, or different??? Thanks in advance if you manage to see this and answer it!

    Comment by Katherine — November 14, 2006 @ 11:20 am

  23. Hi Nisha, Chandrika, Sangeetha: yep, it’a a good curry during these cold winter months. If you try, let me know how you like it. Thanks.

    Hi Rama: You are welcome.
    No idea where you’d get these green chana there in NJ. or you could make it with regular dried chickpeas, like in the original recipe version.

    Hi Sowmya, Deepz: thanks.

    Hi Deepu: If you try this recipe, let me know how you like it. Thanks!

    Lakshmi: Baaga unnadi andi, tappakunda cheyandi.

    Hi Dilip: Kala chana looks delicious. Classic and my favorite recipe.

    Hi Krista: Thanks. You can also prepare plain chana masala with them without the fenugreek, if you like. Give it a try.

    Hi Roopa: Thanks. Hara chana chaat, yum! now I am craving the chaat.:)

    Diane: Thanks.
    Yes, they are seasonal and some Indian stores also carry this fresh chickpeas once in a while.

    Madhavi: Blackeye peas and capsicum combination look good. I’ve bookmarked your recipe to try. Thanks.

    Hi MT: Yes, I think it tastes good with green or dried chana also.

    Tweety: we laughed out loud along with the baby. What fun! 🙂 I am glad that you’ve shared this bundle of joy with us.:)

    Hi Manju: Thanks and you are welcome.

    Faffer: These are different variety and our regular white chickpeas come from them on drying.
    Ya, I noticed that. Trader joe has Pittsburgh store photo on their webpage yesterday. Good shop and yay for Pittsburgh.:) Their sprouted wheat-sunflower seed bread is to die for. No artifical ingredients and really good bread. My breakfast these days.:) Give it a try.

    RP: I recently learned about this website, somehow I missed it all these years. My hangout place before blogs was at bawarchi.:)

    Spandana: you are welcome and thanks.

    Hi Amy: the copper pot is an old one and I purchased it several years ago at a thrift shop. Made in Portugal and a sturdy one and I use it for cooking.
    There are several brands out there, like all-clad etc great quality copper pots but quite expensive. Never bought one at a regular price.

    Hi Shankari: Glad to hear that you tried and like the aloo gobhi recipe. It tastes quite good with chapatis etc, isn’t it?:) Thanks for letting me know.

    Hi katherine: Pigeon peas are different from these green chana. I have seen these fresh green chana at few Indian stores and also this is a seasonal item.
    Dried, regular white chickpeas were used in the original recipe of this curry. That version is great also.

    Comment by Indira — November 14, 2006 @ 3:00 pm

  24. Hey there! Good to see I am not the only one using TJs green garbanzos in Indian cooking. I’ve been throwing them in pretty much randomly into curries to add protein to the dish.

    Comment by Nivedita — November 15, 2006 @ 5:34 pm

  25. mee variety vantalaki nenu fan ni andi…chakkaga anni combinationsu try chesi manchi filtered combinations maaku ee website dwaaara andisthunannduku meeku chaala chaala thankx andi..

    garbanzo beans ante..fresh kabuli senagalu yekkada dorukutaayo(indian/amercian stores) ,yeh packets lo untayo.. vidiga ammutaaro ..yeh seasonlo dorukutaayo..frozen section or normal vegetables sectionlona…anni konchem vivaramuga mention cheyyandi.

    awaiting for your early reply,
    lakshmi

    Comment by lakshmi — November 15, 2006 @ 10:59 pm

  26. Hi Indira,
    Though I visit your site quite regularly, I dont get a chance to try your recipes and write back. I visit anyway because I like the photos very much – hoping that they would inspire me to cook with more enthu 🙂
    Today I tried the chick peas recipe with a lot of variations – without amchur, with dried chick peas & fresh pomegranate paste. I turned out well. Initially I was doubtful about cooking methi leaves directly – instead of cutting or making a paste. However I think grinding it will make the dish a lot bitter?
    thanks for the great photos and recipes.
    Vidhya

    Comment by Vidhya — November 16, 2006 @ 9:00 am

  27. You mean, you have a all copper cooking pot?? Ah! Sorry, but I cant take my eyes off that! Whats the inside of the pot? Aluminium? I always get confused about that. Since I hear Al is not good, but I always see copper pots inside with Al. In India we get brass pots,but I think the inside is also brass, which they say is good for cooking..What do you think?

    Indira replies:
    Hi Inji, this copper pot has aluminum coating inside otherwise cooking in it will be poisonous. This is an old pot and I used to cook in it a lot, back in the days but not anymore. You can see the lines, scratches etc on the surface.:)
    Yes, I remember the big brass vessel collection from grandma’s home. They regularly cook in it and use them during functions like marriages etc. Except for a kadai and a serving dish, I don’t own any brass cooking vessels. Finding good quality brass vessels is impossible here and they weight a lot, so difficult to bring them from India.

    Comment by InjiPennu — November 23, 2006 @ 11:18 am

  28. i finally tried this tonight… oh my goodness, my favorite recipe so far, and that is saying a lot since I have loved them all!

    you realize that as of one month ago, I had never cooked indian food, of any kind, in my life. it is magical what I am discovering. the spices are like an orchestra — so many of them, all playing their little part!

    so, THANK YOU Indira!

    Comment by Katherine — November 28, 2006 @ 6:51 pm

  29. Indira – I tried this yesterday and goes without saying that it was fabulous.

    Thanks again…

    Whenever you get a chance please let me know on the Tomato pappu I had posted sometime back..

    Regards…Soumya

    Comment by Soumya — December 7, 2006 @ 1:43 pm

  30. Hi Indiraji,
    I prepared methi chole y’day for dinner and was awesome. I particularly liked the idea of making a puree of chole and adding to the recipe.It was different and tasted good.
    Waiting for more recipes with methi.

    Comment by Priya — January 9, 2007 @ 9:13 pm

  31. I found your site while looking for chole recipes. I think it is great that you find time to experiment with all kinds of new dishes (like the wild rice) and then write them up neatly with photographs. Keep it up and thanks.
    I am from India, Bangalore.

    Comment by Priya — February 13, 2007 @ 6:47 am

  32. This is good! I tried it, with a few small changes –
    2¼ cups of green chickpeas (chana, green garbanzos)
    (of which ¼ cup removed and pureed to smooth paste – to thicken the sauce)
    2 cups of fresh methi leaves (fenugreek leaves) (1 .5 inch cube of Frozen methi)
    4 ripe, juicy Roma tomatoes – cut to small pieces
    1 onion – finely chopped
    Seasoning:
    1 tablespoon of chana masala powder (homemade or store-bought)
    Salt 1 tsp, turmeric ¼ tsp, jaggery (or sugar) ½ tsp, and amchur powder (or tamarind paste) ½ teaspoon

    Comment by Sunderraju — June 13, 2007 @ 7:11 pm

  33. Indira,
    I tried this yesterday. It’s a real keeper. Just delicious. Thanks!
    However, I have never been able to cook the chole to required softness. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I soak it overnight in plenty of water, then cook it in a cooker with turmeric and salt for a good 30 mins on high flame, the cooker whistling away. I dont like to use soda. Any thoughts?
    Thanks, Anjali

    Hello Anjali,
    Happy to read that you tried and liked this recipe. Thanks for the feedback.
    About chickpeas – Add plenty of water for chickpeas to cook in pressure-cooker. Lots of water allows them to expand more freely and this inturn results in very tender chickpeas. Also, sometimes I add a tea bag to the water along with salt. This also gives wonderful flavor to the chickpeas for chole.
    Hope you find these tips helpful.
    -Indira

    Comment by Anjali — July 13, 2009 @ 2:31 am

  34. Indira – an update. Made this again yesterday. Took your advice, divided the cup of chole into two cooker containers (instead of my usual crammed-to-the-top 1), plenty of water, and – got beautifully soft, well cooked chole for the first time ever!
    The recipe again came out great. It’s unusual, delicious and totally yummy.
    Thanks so much.

    Comment by Anjali — August 13, 2009 @ 12:20 am

  35. hey indira
    i tried this amazing recipe and is definitely a keeper and will hit the table frequently!!thnks for the compliments on marwari cooking( me marwari but avoid marwari food as lots of ghee etc goes in)

    i tried this wonderful recipe and it turned out delicious. i used frozen methi cubes .

    i love it when u mention ingredients from trader joes as it is my favourite grocery shops.

    thanks indira for this beautiful green companion to rotis.

    Comment by swati — May 11, 2010 @ 7:20 pm

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