How to grow Methi at home | growing fenugreek leaves in balcony

Saturday 29 June 2013

How to grow Methi at home | growing fenugreek leaves in balcony

I love gardening .Thats the reason you will find different plants in my balcony .recently I started out experimenting with growing vegetables.

First one was growing pudina (mint ) at home ,
next was growing kothmir (coriander) at home
& third was growing methi aka fenugreek leaves at home.

I was delighted to taste tender fresh methi from my own garden very first time which i used to make andhra style methi dal
Growing methi is easy and fun and it hardly takes 2 weeks to grow leaves and ready to use.I used the plastic containers which we get when we order a home delivery for dal makhani .
You can use a regular kundi or pot/aluminium tray,plastic dabba /plastic container

Information about methi
Fenugreek (/ˈfɛnjʉɡriːk/; Trigonella foenum-graecum) is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae. The plant has small round leaves, is cultivated worldwide as a semi-arid crop, and is a common ingredient in dishes from the Indian Subcontinent. It is known as methi in Marathi (मेथी), Punjabi, Hindi (मेथी), Urdu, Bengali (মেথি) and Nepali (मेथी), as menthiyam, and venthayam (வெந்தயம்) in Tamil, "uluhaal" (උළුහාල්) in Sinhala, Helba حلبة) in Arabic, menthya ಮೆಂಥ್ಯ ) in Kannada, uluwa (ഉലുവ) in Malayalam, and menthulu (మెంతులు) in Telugu.

Fenugreek has three culinary uses: as a herb (dried or fresh leaves), as a spice (seeds), and as a vegetable (fresh leaves, sprouts, and microgreens). Sotolon is the chemical responsible for fenugreek's distinctive sweet smell.

The distinctive cuboid-shaped, yellow-to-amber colored fenugreek seeds are frequently encountered in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. The seeds are used in the preparation of pickles, vegetable dishes, daals, and spice mixes, such as panch phoron and sambar powder. Fenugreek seeds are used both whole and in powdered form and are often roasted to reduce their bitterness and enhance their flavor.

Fenugreek is also used as a vegetable. Fresh fenugreek leaves are an ingredient in some Indian curries. The sprouted seeds and microgreens are used in salads. When harvested as microgreens, fenugreek is known as Samudra Methi in Maharashtra, especially in and around Mumbai, where it is often grown near the sea in the sandy tracts, hence the name (Samudra, which means "ocean" in Sanskrit).Samudra Methi is also grown in dry river beds in the Gangetic plains. When sold as a vegetable in India, the young plants are harvested with their roots still attached. Any remaining soil is washed off to extend their shelf life. They are then sold in small bundles in the markets and bazaars.

Method:

1. Soak methi seeds in water for 12 hours or overnight. .next day drain water & cover the conatiner so that methi will sprout .

2. take the kundi or pot/aluminium tray,plastic dabba /plastic container. Make holes with a hot knife to all corners of kundi or pot/aluminium tray,plastic dabba /plastic container .this is done to ensure that you drain excess water.very important step.

3.Fill 3/4th of the pot/aluminium tray,plastic dabba /plastic container with soil.

4 Methi seeds are seeded densely (not in rows). Scatter methi seeds dense in soil. now cover this with a layer of soil and sprinkle water.