Corn Methi Malai (Creamy Fenugreek Corn Curry)
Sweet corn and fresh fenugreek leaves in a restaurant-style cashew-onion-cream gravy. Mildly sweet, ready in about 30 minutes.
Equipment
- Blender
- Heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
For the cashew-onion paste
- 1 onion medium, roughly chopped
- 15 cashews about 1/4 cup
- 1 inch ginger sliced
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1-2 green chillies to taste
- 1 cup water for boiling
For the methi and corn
- 1 1/2 cups fresh methi leaves chopped, from 1 medium bunch, tender stems only
- 2 cups frozen corn kernels or fresh kernels from 2 cobs
- 1 tablespoon ghee or oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
For finishing the gravy
- 1/2 cup warm water plus more as needed
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/4-1/3 cup fresh cream
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar or jaggery powder or to taste
To garnish
- 1 tablespoon cream
- fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
Make the paste
- Add onion, cashews, ginger, garlic, green chillies, and 1 cup water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer 6 to 7 minutes until the onion is soft and the cashews look plump.
- Cool 5 minutes. Blend until completely smooth. Scrape the sides once. The paste should look silky, not grainy.
Cook the methi and corn
- Heat ghee in the pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
- Add the chopped methi. Stir 1 minute until the leaves wilt and turn a deeper green. Do not fry them dry.
- Add the corn and salt. Frozen corn can go in straight. Stir 2 minutes. If you are using fresh kernels, add 2 tablespoons water, cover, and cook 2 to 3 minutes until the kernels taste sweet.
Finish the malai
- Pour in the blended paste and 1/2 cup warm water. Mix well. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes on medium-low, stirring, until the raw onion smell fades and the gravy thickens enough to coat a spoon.
- Stir in milk. Simmer 2 minutes. If the gravy looks too tight, add a splash more water.
- Lower the heat. Stir in cream, garam masala, and sugar. Simmer 1 minute on low. Do not boil hard after the cream goes in.
- Taste for salt and sweetness. The curry should taste creamy and a little sweet, with methi in the background, not bitter on the finish.
- Swirl a tablespoon of cream on top. Garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with roti, naan, or jeera rice.
Notes
Pick only leaves and tender stems. Woody stalks stay bitter no matter how much cream you add.
Wash methi twice. Grit ruins a cream gravy.
Wilt the methi for about 1 minute. Longer frying makes the curry dark and muddy.
Frozen corn is the weeknight default. Fresh corn needs those extra covered minutes so the kernels sweeten.
Kasuri methi fallback: soak 2 tablespoons in warm water 10 minutes, squeeze, and add with the paste. Use this only if you cannot get fresh or frozen methi.
Do not boil the gravy after the cream goes in or it can split.
For a vegan version, use oil, unsweetened plant milk, and coconut cream or extra blended cashews instead of dairy cream.
Jain / no onion no garlic: skip onion, ginger, and garlic. Boil 20 cashews with green chilli, blend, and start the tadka with a pinch of hing. A spoon of tomato puree helps the body.
Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge. Reheat on low with a splash of milk. Do not boil.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!