From the Kitchen
High-Protein Methi Matar Malai
The creamy North Indian classic — sweet peas and fresh fenugreek in a silky white gravy. The malai here is blended cottage cheese, so it stays rich but lands closer to 32 g of protein a serving.
Don't panic when it splits — a minute or two after the gravy hits the pan it can look grainy and separated. That's the raw onion still cooking. Keep it simmering and it comes back together on its own.
Ingredients
Into the blender
- Cottage cheese, small curd 450 g
- Red onion, roughly chopped 1 1/2
- Raw cashews 10
- Ginger 1 big chunk
- Garlic 7 cloves
- Cumin seeds 1/2 tbsp
- Whole cloves 3–4
- Green cardamom pods 2
- Black peppercorns 3
- Cinnamon stick 1.5 inch
Into the pan
- Fresh fenugreek leaves (methi) 2 bunches
- Oil, for the fenugreek 1 tsp
- Oil, for the tempering 1 tsp
- Bay leaf 1
- Dried red chilies 2–3
- Turmeric 1/2 tsp
- Green peas, frozen 400 g
- Salt to taste
Method
- Blend the gravy — into a blender go the cottage cheese, onion, cashews, ginger, garlic, and all the whole spices — cumin, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon. Everything except the bay leaf, the red chilies, and the turmeric. Blend it all together until smooth. The onion goes in raw.
- Cook the fenugreek — in a hot pan, add 1 tsp oil and the fenugreek leaves. Cook 2–3 minutes, until they are properly cooked down. Take them out and set aside.
- Temper — add 1 tsp oil to the same pan, then the bay leaf and dried red chilies. Less than 30 seconds — just until they wake up.
- Add the gravy — pour in the blended gravy and let it simmer a couple of minutes. It may look split partway through — that's the uncooked onion, and it comes together as it cooks.
- Season and add the peas — once the gravy starts pulling together, add the turmeric, salt, and the peas. Simmer another couple of minutes.
- Finish — stir the cooked fenugreek back in and mix it all together. That's it — eat it with rice or roti.