Fenugreek Seeds

[Shelby]

Help!

Never heard of 'em, never seen 'em.

I have a recipe for butter chicken that I want to try and this is an ingredient.

Where can I find this?

It it crucial to the butter chicken recipe?

I plan on making naan and rice to go with it.

[nickrey]

Shelby,

This is a picture of the little beasts. They have a bitter, almost smoky flavour to them and are readily recognisable as one of the constituent part of ready-made curry powders. In my experience, they are also an element of curries that people often do not like. If you cannot get them, I'd not be overly worried. They really don't need a replacement taste. The curry will miss a bitter element, but some may be pleased that it does.

[Shelby]

Nick, I cannot thank you enough! I'll forge ahead without the little buggers then

[Dana]

My Indian friend even leaves them out of recipes she uses - she says they smell like old tires.

[haresfur]

I sometimes leave them out because they are bloody hard to crush!

[liuzhou]

I like 'em! And the leaves.

But sure, you can leave them out.

[Shelby]

"Old tires" ROFL!

Thanks, everyone.

I won't go on a long crusade to find them, then.

[GlorifiedRice]

Fenugreek smells like MAPLE SYRUP, which is why they use Fenugreek to flavor fake maple syrup.

Honestly Fenugreek gives curry powder its distinctive smell and flavor.you should try to at least experience it before omitting it

[Nasi_Campur]

Use the darn things, they'll make a eating life more substantial! (*wink, wink)

[HungryC]

I adore fenugreek, which is technically a legume. I find the aroma delicious. Fresh fenugreek leaves are used in some dishes in addition to the seeds. Though it is hard in the dried form, the seeds will soften with cooking.

[Shelby]

So, I decided to look on Amazon and I found some....I think....

Is this what I'm looking for?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JMAVZS/ref=gno_cart_title_3

[GlorifiedRice]

If you buy that big bag make sure to wrap it well or transfer the remaining seeds to a plastic container cause the aroma tends to leach into what you store it next to.

You can buy cheap bags at any intl mkt

[HungryC]

Also look up some methi dal recipes...some cook it like a lentil so it's not just a seasoning, but the main ingredient in a dish.

[liuzhou]

Is this what I'm looking for?

That's the babies.

[Shelby]

Well, I finally did it. And, I used the seeds. Hard little suckers, aren't they? I tasted a few on their own. They were bitter and kind of curry-ish. And, I LOVED the butter chicken. Thanks to all of you that helped me out

Here's the link on the dinner thread. I took pictures

[judiu]

Are these seeds what made the office of every cheap, er, sorry, INEXPENSIVE , motel in Texas smell the same, when I was on the road 30 years ago? I never could figure out the cause of that , except currypowder, which my mom loved, and I despised. Like Kim Shook, I never really GOT Indian food, other than naan and ghee.

[shain]

Fenugreek are among my favorite spices. They are crucial for some Indian (and other) curries, but are also very nice in breads and pastry - a small amount perfumes the bread and is not too curry-like, more sweet-musky. Try throwing a few seeds into your next batch of bread (no need to crush).

 

Also, when you do need to crush them, soak in water first. 

[TicTac]

I have never figured out fenugreek seeds, always find them hard as stones - what do you do with them!?  I cannot even bite through one...

 

The leaves however; are awesome.  I add finely sieved leaves at the end of many curries - it adds this beautiful sweet/maple syrup'esque flavour that really rounds the dish out nicely.  Always added at the end, though.

 

 

[Raamo]

Wow a thread started over a decade ago.  We cook often with fenugreek seeds!  We also use fenugreek leaves!

[shain]

I don't have access to the leaves, so I have to grow them, which I did a few times (they grow well from the seeds you buy for cooking). 

 

It's a legume, so you have to let it soak a bit to be able to grind it. You can also buy it powdered, but it's often not as good.

 

There's a preparation in Jewish Yemeni cuisine called Hilbbeh (which just means fenugreek), where the powdered seeds are mixed with water and whisked until very foamy. It is then often mixed with chili pastes such as zchug and eaten with breads (such as kubbanneh, lachooch, jachnoon and salloof). Lachooch is itself a whet flat bread much like injera flavored with fenugreek itself. 

 

And in Palestinian cuisine there's a hilbeh cake, like basbusa, made with fenugreek and nigella. I've been wanting to make it for a while now. 

Edited January 30, 2023 by shain (log)