Here's a wonderful Sindhi recipe I learnt from my mom-in-law. The prep is slightly tedious (I do offer the daughter-in-law version, full of short cuts), but the result is really nice. Carrots and Methi is a fairly popular combination in many parts of India, especially in the winter months, when you get nice carrots, and each community has a different way of preparing it. This recipe employs a very interesting technique that's fairly unique to Sindhi cooking, and it uses slowly browned whole garlic cloves as the base. It's also a technique that can be applied to other vegetables, e.g. cauliflower for stunning results (see the note below).
In case you're not familiar with Methi or Fenugreek, it's a fairly common green vegetable used in Indian cooking. You can grab either a fresh bunch or a pack of frozen greens (much like frozen spinach) from an Indian store. If you buy a fresh bunch, make sure you clean it well. Ideally, you need to pick out all the leaves from the stems by hand, but I'm always in a hurry, so I run my knife diagonally along the bunch to separate most of the leaves from the stem (doesn't have to be perfect), like you would with, say, Parsley. I then run my knife through it to chop it and then clean it with fresh water to make sure there is no sand. The frozen version comes with blocks of chopped methi, so it's pretty much ready to use. I could imagine using spinach here, but I have never tried it, and don't know if it would give similar results. The combination of sweet, brown garlic and bitter methi really makes this recipe special.
The other slightly tedious part of the prep is chopping the carrots. For one bunch of methi, I would use, say ~1 lb carrots. This recipe calls for dicing them really really small, say around 5-6 mm wide. You can do this with a good knife, and if I'm not making large quantities, that's what I use. But it takes a bit of time, so here are two other options that I have tested with good results: 1. use a mandoline with a thick blade. Peel and slice the carrots along the length to get big flat rectangles. Then use a knife to cut into long strips, and then dice. 2. Use store bought pre-shredded carrots (the kind that's fairly thick) and roughly run your knife through it to get rough dice. This is the least favored method, also because the pre-shredded carrot tends to be a bit dry, but it is the fastest one. If none of these work for you, just dice the carrots slightly bigger. It will be fine.
Once the carrot is diced, you are supposed to salt it, let it sit for a few minutes, and then drain it out. The idea is to remove some of the natural sweetness of carrots to make sure the end result is more savory. But my husband married a Gujarati, so he has to live with a bit of sweetness in his vegetables (as in his life). I basically skip this step completely. It also saves time (and potentially some of the nutrients).
Other preps: Peel about 5-6 cloves of garlic (keep them whole, but if they're too big, use fewer, and cut them into two or three pieces). Mince about 1/2 inch piece of ginger, and say 1 green chilli (the less spicy kind). Coarse paste of ginger-green chilli is also fine. Dice 1-2 whole tomatoes (something like roma or on-the-wine) into large pieces. Canned whole tomatoes would work just fine, but sauce, not so much. Also clean and chop a handful of cilantro.
Heat oil in a large pan on medium heat. Once the oil is slightly warm, add the whole garlic cloves. Let it start to brown, stirring occasionally, and reduce the heat if it's browning too quickly. We want the garlic to be a beautiful golden color, soften completely, but not burn. This might take a good minute or two, but this step is crucial, so be patient. Once you reach this stage, add the carrots, and saute for about 1-2 minutes. It's ok if the garlic cloves start to break or get mashed. Now dump the rest of the ingredients (chopped methi, ginger, green chillies, tomatoes, cilantro). Also add 1/2 tsp turmeric, red chilli powder (to taste), ~1 tsp coriander powder, ~1 tsp Amchur (dry mango powder), and salt to taste. Mix everything once, and add about 1/2 cup or so of water. Cover and cook on a slow-medium flame, until the carrot is soft, but still has a bite. If the dice is small, this happens quite fast (~5-7 minutes). Every few minutes, stir and adjust the water if required. The final consistency should be fairly dry, and if you were patient with your garlic initially, it would have completely melted away by now, lending it's magical sweetness and aroma to the dish. Serve it warm with rotis.
Cauliflower version: This is my absolute go-to method for making cauliflower. The good news is you don't need to dice it small. Just break it into regular florets, and follow exactly the same method. I also add a diced potato, because, you know, Sindhi husband!
Someday: I wonder if I could use like spiralized sweet potatoes, and some other super market green like, say - watercress? Hmm...
In case you're not familiar with Methi or Fenugreek, it's a fairly common green vegetable used in Indian cooking. You can grab either a fresh bunch or a pack of frozen greens (much like frozen spinach) from an Indian store. If you buy a fresh bunch, make sure you clean it well. Ideally, you need to pick out all the leaves from the stems by hand, but I'm always in a hurry, so I run my knife diagonally along the bunch to separate most of the leaves from the stem (doesn't have to be perfect), like you would with, say, Parsley. I then run my knife through it to chop it and then clean it with fresh water to make sure there is no sand. The frozen version comes with blocks of chopped methi, so it's pretty much ready to use. I could imagine using spinach here, but I have never tried it, and don't know if it would give similar results. The combination of sweet, brown garlic and bitter methi really makes this recipe special.
The other slightly tedious part of the prep is chopping the carrots. For one bunch of methi, I would use, say ~1 lb carrots. This recipe calls for dicing them really really small, say around 5-6 mm wide. You can do this with a good knife, and if I'm not making large quantities, that's what I use. But it takes a bit of time, so here are two other options that I have tested with good results: 1. use a mandoline with a thick blade. Peel and slice the carrots along the length to get big flat rectangles. Then use a knife to cut into long strips, and then dice. 2. Use store bought pre-shredded carrots (the kind that's fairly thick) and roughly run your knife through it to get rough dice. This is the least favored method, also because the pre-shredded carrot tends to be a bit dry, but it is the fastest one. If none of these work for you, just dice the carrots slightly bigger. It will be fine.
Once the carrot is diced, you are supposed to salt it, let it sit for a few minutes, and then drain it out. The idea is to remove some of the natural sweetness of carrots to make sure the end result is more savory. But my husband married a Gujarati, so he has to live with a bit of sweetness in his vegetables (as in his life). I basically skip this step completely. It also saves time (and potentially some of the nutrients).
Other preps: Peel about 5-6 cloves of garlic (keep them whole, but if they're too big, use fewer, and cut them into two or three pieces). Mince about 1/2 inch piece of ginger, and say 1 green chilli (the less spicy kind). Coarse paste of ginger-green chilli is also fine. Dice 1-2 whole tomatoes (something like roma or on-the-wine) into large pieces. Canned whole tomatoes would work just fine, but sauce, not so much. Also clean and chop a handful of cilantro.
Heat oil in a large pan on medium heat. Once the oil is slightly warm, add the whole garlic cloves. Let it start to brown, stirring occasionally, and reduce the heat if it's browning too quickly. We want the garlic to be a beautiful golden color, soften completely, but not burn. This might take a good minute or two, but this step is crucial, so be patient. Once you reach this stage, add the carrots, and saute for about 1-2 minutes. It's ok if the garlic cloves start to break or get mashed. Now dump the rest of the ingredients (chopped methi, ginger, green chillies, tomatoes, cilantro). Also add 1/2 tsp turmeric, red chilli powder (to taste), ~1 tsp coriander powder, ~1 tsp Amchur (dry mango powder), and salt to taste. Mix everything once, and add about 1/2 cup or so of water. Cover and cook on a slow-medium flame, until the carrot is soft, but still has a bite. If the dice is small, this happens quite fast (~5-7 minutes). Every few minutes, stir and adjust the water if required. The final consistency should be fairly dry, and if you were patient with your garlic initially, it would have completely melted away by now, lending it's magical sweetness and aroma to the dish. Serve it warm with rotis.
Cauliflower version: This is my absolute go-to method for making cauliflower. The good news is you don't need to dice it small. Just break it into regular florets, and follow exactly the same method. I also add a diced potato, because, you know, Sindhi husband!
Someday: I wonder if I could use like spiralized sweet potatoes, and some other super market green like, say - watercress? Hmm...
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