Thursday, October 02, 2008

Fenugreek Crisps / Methi Methia

My previous entry talks about 100th posts anniversary and so on, and I did not think much about it, except replying to all the nice comments, of course. However, Vik checked it out later this afternoon, called me up and says 'What did you mean by 100th posts? The blog archive only shows 89' - Oh so much for my passionate entry about our courtship!! ;) Shouldn't he be oohhing?! EEEEeck. But of course to my own horror, OMG!! So why did I think it was 100th posts? I ran to my desk and ..huh..the 'Dashboard' section does show 100! Oh silly me, it counts those entries that has not yet being posted, isnt it?! There are times that I just load the photos and put a title, so I can work on my posts during breaks.

Thus in case any of you DO check on my sidebar, I was not making up about 100 posts in trying to lure and trick you guys in reading a little bit of my story!! :D

Anywaayyy, this was going to be my submission for Think Spice Think Fenugreek food event at Kittie's blog, I knew instantly that I'd love to participate. Just to quickly note though, I did not get to submit it - I was way behind the deadline and just couldn't type the entry soon enough.

At the time, I was thinking of making Oondhiyu, very hearty vegetables stew with morsels of methi dough. But did not get a chance to hit up Indian grocery store to get all the ingredients. However, methi methia in this dish is perfect as snacks as it is part of Oondhiyu. Seriously, it's like a thick crisps/chips bursting with exotic flavors. Serve with masala chai or just plain hot jasmine tea, yumm..for afternoon snack outside the balcony in this rainy weather.

For Oondhiyu, the making of methi methia is super easy, just mixing of fenugreek leaves with besan/ chickpeas flour and several other spices. As snacks, I have always added some extra this and that to jazz it up, whatever looks good at the time in my pantry. Still fairy easy thing to do.

What:
- 1 cup of gram flour/besan flour
- 2 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 jalapenos, coarsely chopped
- 3-4 red chillies, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1" ginger, grated
- pinch of turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- few tbsp of water

How:
- Mix everything thoroughly with fork (except oil and water).
- Add in oil. Mix. Add water by tablespoon, just until it forms into soft dough.
- Knead for couple minutes. Shape into thin rounds or logs. Dust hand with some flour (any kind of flour is fine) while shaping if dough is a little bit sticky.
- Arrange on baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400°F oven for about 20 minutes until it's golden brown.

Mixing it with some chopped up cilantro and ajwain seeds give this snacks another dimension of flavor. Or even some coarsely chopped almonds. But I thought since the fenugreek should be the main spice, I try not to mix too many other strong flavor herbs/spices to it.

Like mentioned, I did not get to send this entry for the event. One, procrastinating in making this until last minute. Two, with my cold last week, there were only couple entries I managed to post. Next time. In mean while, chomp chomp chomp.

24 comments:

tigerfish said...

You always managed to steal my heart and taste buds with your savory creations :) ...

Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point said...

i just stumbled upon your site and your photos are gorgeous!

Christina Kim said...

This looks very interesting....and something unique:)
Too bad you couldn't post it early enough to make it to your competition...hehe, but it's okay, you get the treat either way;)

Dewi said...

LOL, it happens sometimes! I guess Vik is really counting eh?

Uhhhh
Methi is my favorite herb (?), I love it so much that I had to try to grow it my own from the seeds. It was successful, I left them alone to flower and eventually to seed. By next spring I'll have lot more of this fragrant leaves!

Chips sound very crispy indeed!

Alexa said...

Cecil,
How funny! Well, I still look forward to the next 100 (lol). This recipe looks so tasty and flavorful. What a great snack!

CECIL said...

Tigerfish: That's just such a sweet comment!! :)

Caitlin: Thanks for stopping by and most thank you for liking my photos. Will take that compliment anytime of a day!! :D

Christy: I know, I was hoping to be able to submit it, but oh well..next time. :)

Elra: Sometimes I am so torn between loving your blog (and your personality) and envying it..the bread baking and foremost, your amazing knowledge about gardening!! Fenugreek does has this unique flavor that I instantly love when I first tried it.

Alexa: I know, right?!! I felt like ducking my head under my desk - what I was thinking for not checking it more thoroughly.

Prudy said...

Numbers, shumbers. Who cares-you'll be at 100 in no time at all? Those look just lovely and delicious!

Adam said...

HAha ya know I saw that number 89, but I didn't want to say anything, I thought maybe I made a mistake.

So you actually have 100 posts written? That's cool that you write them up ahead of time, I'm a last minute throw words together kind of guy.

Oh and I love the crisps, the color is awesome :)

CECIL said...

Prudy: Apparently, somebody cares about the accuracy of numbers (pointing at husband!) Haha.

Adam: *BLUSHED* Why did I not check thoroughly!! Haha. Yeah, I loaded up photos after cooking, but sometimes just too tired to type up the entry. As of now, I have 10 posts still sitting in my box. :D This is truly embarrassing blog moment. Heehee.

Anonymous said...

50 or 100 posts, your entries always, always amaze me, just how you can intertwine cultural foods and and bake, or cook something so fabulous!

I love Fenugreek, but I've never had it in a crisp or biscuit, does it have a more sweet or spice taste?

Natalie Que said...

Ha! Okay, I guess I will have to wait another 10 posts until 100! I didn't notice either.

Great photos, as always and sorry you didn't make it in time, this would have been IT I'm sure!

Unknown said...

hehehe...happens to everybody ya...

just the other day i clicked "publish" before typing anything haha

waw fenugreek belon pernah nyoba tuh...rasanya kayak apa yaa

Cynthia said...

:) I had to laugh at the 100th-post story.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your 100th posts milestone (drafts counted, of course!) ;D Keep up the good work Cecil~

CECIL said...

GirlJapan: Thank you for such nice comment!! It has very herby taste on it..and it has a slight bitter undertone to it, so it can only be used sparingly.

HotGarlic: Thank you!! I love your food photography - I still have so much to learn.

MC: Malu banget lho!! Hahaha. I was like 'WHAT? NO!!' Fenugreek tuh..hmm..sometimes it reminds of itu lho, daun jeruk purut.

Cynthia: I was laughing too and then ducked my head under my desk!!

Noobcook: Thank you! :)

Maria said...

I love your creations! So delicious every time!

Dee said...

Haha, that's funny, and just the kind of thing I'd do :) But look, you'll have another reason to celebrate your real 100th - yay!

The fenugreek crisps are brilliant - my mind went completely blank when Kittie came up with fenugreek.

CECIL said...

Maria: Thank you!!

Dee: Oh..I had all these fancy thought in my head (and I am not even any expert in fenugreek! heee) .. and of course, did not even get to submit it! On the other topic, I will not even breathe a word about 100th post anymore!! Humiliating. Haha.

test it comm said...

I have not used fenugreek all that much but I have been wanting to use it more. I like the sound of these crisps.

Lidia Sianturi said...

I used to have fenugreek pills to stimulate my breast milk production (for my first kid). I don't know it before that you could get the leaves here in Canada until I read this post. Anyway the cookies look yumm...

Bharti said...

Those looks so crunchy and delish! I've been craving fenugreek ( yeah crazy I know). I'm going to Indian store today to get some!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

And I thought they were chocolate chips cookies! Ahahah!

Laura Paterson said...

Hey Cecil - I sorry you missed the deadline - these would have been a wonderful addition to the fenugreek round up!!

And y'know - I have all the ingredients here at home... it must be fate!!

Yasmeen said...

I love methi,the crisps look perfect for snacking.I'm bookmarking it!