I always enjoy a good alliteration, especially when I find one as tasty as this Methi Mushroom. This deliciously creamy methi curry is made using button mushrooms, fenugreek leaves, curd, herbs & spices for a lovely vegetarian take on a North Indian classic.
Table of Contents
About This Methi Mushroom
My methi mushroom is a classic adaptation of the famous North Indian chicken dish known as methi murgh masala. The recipe is inspired from Jiggs Kalra’s book “Prashad – Cooking With Indian Masters.”
This finger licking curry is perfect for putting on party menus or for celebrating special occasions. It tastes incredible and is a real crowd pleaser, even for our omnivorous friends! It can also be made vegan friendly by swapping in a plant-based curd.
This restaurant style dish is very easy to make, requiring only patience and time rather than a defined set of kitchen skills. All the same, you should note that this is definitely not a curry in a hurry.
To make this methi curry recipe, the mushrooms are first marinated in yogurt and then cooked in the aromatic masala. The methi (fenugreek leaves) gives a beautiful aroma to the dish.
Instead of fresh methi, you can also make this dish with dry fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi). The ratios are given in the recipe card below.
This mushroom methi curry goes very well with any kind of flatbread or carb-y side to soak it up; Roti, Naan, Paratha, or even Jeera Rice are all excellent accompaniments that are similarly easy to execute.
So if you’re still a kitchen novice but want to make something really impressive for your loved ones, give this methi mushroom curry a try (and let us know how it turns out in the comments below)!
How To Make Methi Mushroom
Marinate Mushrooms
1. Rinse 200 to 250 gram mushrooms under running water to rid them of any mud, then drain the water very well.
2. Chop the mushrooms into quarters and keep aside.
3. In a bowl, mix together ¼ cup of curd (yogurt) and a pinch of salt; beat the curd till smooth.
NOTE: Please use full fat fresh curd or homemade curd made from whole milk so that it does not split or separate while cooking.
4. Add the curd to the chopped mushrooms.
5. Coat the mushrooms very well with the beaten curd. Cover and marinate for 30 to 40 minutes at room temperature.
Prep Methi
6. Meanwhile, pick the fenugreek leaves from their stems. If using fresh methi leaves, you’ll need around 1 cup, or you can also use 1 to 2 tablespoons of dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi).
7. Soak in water for a minute or so, so that any dirt clinging to the leaves settles down at the bottom.
NOTE: This is not necessary if using kasuri methi.
8. Drain and discard the water.
9. Soak the methi leaves for a second time.
10. Now drain and rinse the methi leaves well under running water till the leaves are clean.
11. Drain them in a colander.
12. Chop methi leaves finely. Keep aside.
13. Measure and keep all the ingredients ready.
Make Curry Base
14. Heat 3 tablespoons neutral flavored oil or ghee in a pan or kadai.
15. Add the whole garam masala or spices as listed below:
- 2 to 3 green cardamom pods
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
- 2 to 3 cloves
- 1 to 2 single strands of mace
16. Fry the spices on low heat till the oil becomes fragrant and the spices splutter, being careful not to burn them.
17. Then add ½ cup chopped onions.
18. Mix very well and begin to sauté the onions on a low heat.
19. Stir at intervals as needed. Be patient as onions take time to get browned.
20. Sauté until the onions begin to turn golden.
21. Immediately add 1 to 2 chopped green chilies or about 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies and ½ tablespoon ginger-garlic paste.
22. Mix very well and sauté for a minute.
23. Then add 3 medium-sized chopped tomatoes or about 1.25 to 1.5 cups chopped tomatoes.
24. Mix well and sauté till the tomatoes become soft and mushy.
25. Keep on stirring the masala.
26. Add all the dry spice powders as listed below
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
27. Stir and mix very well.
28. Sauté the tomatoes until they soften and oil leaves the sides of the chunky masala mixture.
Make Mushroom Methi Curry
29. Lower the heat and add the marinated mushrooms with the yogurt.
30. Next add the chopped methi leaves (or dry methi leaves).
31. Mix well.
32. Add about ¼ to ½ cup of water.
33. Also add salt to taste, keeping in mind that some salt has been added during the marination process.
34. Stir and mix well.
35. Cover the pan or kadai and simmer till the mushrooms are cooked. This can take about 8 to 10 minutes on a low to medium-low heat.
36. Check occasionally; if the consistency looks dry then add some more water.
37. Once the mushrooms are cooked and the curry has a medium consistency, then check the taste and season as needed.
38. Garnish methi mushroom with some coriander leaves.
39. Serve methi mushroom hot with any Indian flatbread of your choice, or cumin rice if you are gluten-free.
FAQs
Absolutely! Button mushrooms are widely available, but feel free to substitute quartered baby bella/cremini mushrooms, shiitakes, or portobellos. Please note that some varieties of mushrooms should have their stems removed before chopping, as they are stiff and woody.
Absolutely. Use either drained diced tomatoes, or use whole tomatoes that you chop yourself.
You can tell that the mushrooms are done when you see oil specks floating on the top of the gravy; this takes about 8 to 10 minutes after adding the mushrooms to the masala base.
When adding yogurt or curd to any dish, be sure to lower the flame and stir briskly while adding. Also, be sure that you are using fresh, full-fat curd – if the yogurt is a bit old or is a low-fat variety, it is more likely to split.
Sure! I suggest steaming the peas separately and stirring them in at the end, as peas and mushrooms cook at different rates.
Sometimes methi can be bitter, but where I live this is not the norm. Next time you make the recipe, sprinkle some salt on the methi leaves and let them sit for about 15 to 20 minutes. After letting them rest, squeeze the leaves and the bitterness will be released.
Nope! Simply skip that step and proceed with the recipe as written.
More Tasty Curry Recipes
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Methi Mushroom | Mushroom Methi Curry
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 200 to 250 grams button mushrooms
- ¼ cup Curd (yogurt), fresh and full-fat or made with whole milk
- 1 cup fenugreek leaves (methi leaves) or 1 to 2 tablespoons dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
- 3 tablespoons oil or ghee
- ½ cup chopped onions or 1 medium-sized onion
- 1 or 2 green chili – sliced or chopped or 1 teaspoon chopped
- ½ tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- 3 tomatoes – medium-sized, chopped or 1.25 to 1.5 cups chopped tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper
- salt as required
- ¼ to ½ cup water or add as required
Whole spices
- 2 to 3 green cardamoms
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
- 2 to 3 cloves
- 1 to 2 single strands of mace – optional
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse the mushrooms in running water a few times and get rid of the mud from them. Drain all the water very well.
- Chop them and keep aside.
- In a bowl take ¼ cup curd and a pinch of salt to it. Beat the curd with a small wired whisk till smooth. Use full fat fresh curd so that the curd does not split while cooking.
- Add the mushrooms to the curd and marinate for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile pluck the fenugreek leaves from their stems.
- In a bowl soak the leaves in water for 4 to 5 minutes so that the mud etc from the leaves settles down at the bottom.
- Throw the water and again soak the leaves for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Now rinse the methi leaves well under running water till the leaves are clean and the mud particles are not there.
- Drain them in a colander. Chop the methi leaves finely.
Making methi mushroom
- Heat oil or ghee in a pan or kadai (wok).
- Add the whole spices – black cardamom, cinnamon, green cardamoms, cloves, tej patta and mace.
- Fry the spices till the oil becomes fragrant and the spices splutter. Don't burn them. Fry spices on a low heat.
- Add onions and stirring often sauté them on low to medium-low heat till they begin to get golden.
- Be patient as onions do take time to get browned. Keep stirring the onions in between.
- Once the onions begin to get golden brown, add chopped green chilies and ginger-garlic paste. Sauté for a minute on low heat.
- Now add the tomatoes. Sauté them on low to medium-low heat till they become soft and mushy. Keep on stirring the masala base.
- Add all the dry spice powders – turmeric, coriander and red chili powder. Mix well.
- Then sauté stirring often till oil leaves from the sides of the whole masala mixture.
- Lower the heat and add the marinated mushrooms.
- Also add the chopped methi leaves or dry methi leaves (kasuri methi). Mix again.
- Add about ¼ to ½ cup of water. Also add salt as per taste. Do keep in mind that some salt has been added to the marination.
- Stir, cover the pan or kadai and simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes on low heat till the mushrooms are tender and cooked.
- Do check in between and if the consistency looks dry then add some more water.
- Once the mushrooms are cooked and the curry has a medium consistency then check the taste and add salt if required.
- Garnish methi mushroom with some chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve methi mushroom hot or warm with roti or naan.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Methi Mushroom post from the blog archives first published in August 2012 has been republished and updated on 21 January 2022.
