fenugreek and dill curried rice with sweet corn | soya methi wali tahiri

Fresh fenugreek greens and dill greens make the best flavour combination though it sounds really odd if you think of the strong flavour both have of their own. Combining these two winter herbs to make a curried rice or tahiri was one of the best decisions I took as it soon became a favourite of all of us.

I tried this methi rice last year for the first time and it was an instant hit at my place. Later I tried it with daliya (broken wheat) too and it was delicious with all the fragrance of methi and freshly ground spices.

Now it is an oft repeated recipe and though I made it many times last year i did not post any apart from this one with daliya  without any picture. I was a new blogger then and was unsure of posting the pictures as it was just a recipe resource blog for real life friends.

This tahiri is a complete meal in itself, more so if you add some soy nuggets or paneer into it.

I make it with with peas, soya nuggets, cauliflowers and potatoes etc. etc. and this time I made it with sweet corn kernels. Any additive of your choice will be great and this recipe is good even without any additive. You are using a lot of fenugreek and dill leaves for all the flavour you need.

ingredients...
(3-4 servings depending on accompaniments)
rice 3/4 cup
chopped methi leaves 2 cup tightly packed
dill leaves 1.5 cup finely chopped
tomatoes 3 nos.( pureed)
sweet corn kernels 1 cup
grated ginger 1 tbsp
finely chopped green chilies 1 tbsp or to taste
turmeric powder 1 tsp
salt to taste
water 2 cups
ghee 1 tbsp

spice mix for the tahiri
coriander seeds 2 tsp
cumin seeds 1.5 tsp
black pepper corns 1.5 tsp or more
cinnamon 1 stick
star anise 1 flower (do not omit this as it makes the dish very flavorful)
shahi jeera 1/2 tsp
black cardamom 1 no.
grind everything together to make a coarse powder
Or use 1 tbsp of everyday curry powder and 1 tsp special garam masala  

procedure...
Heat ghee in a pan and throw in the ginger and green chilies, followed by chopped methi leaves and the powdered spice mix with turmeric powder and salt. Keep stirring till methi leaves turn mushy and the spice mix gets aromatic.

Now pour in the tomato paste and the dill paste and stir for 2-3 minutes to mix everything properly.

Add the sweet corns and washed rice, stir fry for 2 more minutes as the rice gets firm during dry cooking and remains fluffy after cooking, even when you cook it in less ghee.

Add water and let it come to simmer.

Cover and cook till done on very low heat, you can keep a hot tawa under the pan if your pan is not a thick base one. Just ensure slow cooking at this stage to develop the flavors well.

This is the most fragrant vegetarian rice preparations I make and is very very healthy and even fit for a weight loss diet, if you notice the recipe uses 2 cups tightly packed of methi, a cup of dill leaves and about 1.5 cup of tomatoes for 3/4 cup of rice. So you can imagine the fiber content of the final dish, the sweet corn makes it even better in this regard.

This quantity serves 3-4 when served with a cucumber raita, tomato onion kachumber raita etc.

The tomato onion kachumber in this picture has some rocket leaves, lot of chopped green chili, salt and dash of mustard oil.

Eating your rice intelligently when you are on diet is not that difficult. Try this recipe and see how it makes your health regime food so exciting.