Methi baingan Sabzi Recipe

Methi baingan a fresh sabzi recipe from Indian cuisine is made using fresh fenugreek leaves and eggplants. A veggie recipe that is healthy, gluten-free, diabetic-friendly and a great recipe to get your greens and veggies. The best thing is it tastes delicious!

If you are looking for increasing the amount of green leafy vegetables in your diet these flavourful methi leaves are packed with nutrition and taste. We get excellent quality fresh methi leaves that are tender and packed full of nutrition.

Combine fenugreek with baingan and you have got an excellent taste combination. Soft sweet eggplant when cooked along with fresh methi leaves and dill leaves along with spices tastes absolutely fantastic. I finish it with tamarind which gives it a slight tang and helps in better absorption of iron from methi leaves and brinjal.

Why We Love This Recipe?

• First and foremost it tastes delicious.
• Both methi and baingan are loaded with iron and fibre along with other nutrients.
• It is a diabetic and gut-health friendly recipe.

Ingredients for Methi Baingan Sabzi

Baingan/eggplant: Use the long purple eggplants or baingan. 

Methi /Fenugreek leaves: Fresh methi leaves are iron and very flavourful. In winter it is easily available in plenty so we use it a lot.

Dill leaves: Fenugreek leaves and dill leaves complement each other very well. So I add them for both taste and healthy properties.

Paneer: Traditionally paneer is not added to this recipe. But I add it anyway because it adds a creamy texture and a bit of sweetness to complement the slight bitterness of methi leaves.

Spices & Seasonings: Turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, 

Salt: Leafy green already has some amount of salt so be careful not to add more.

Tamarind paste: it adds a nice tangy taste and helps in better absorption of iron. 

Sesame Seeds: These add a nice crunch to the sabzi. Also, sesame seeds are rich in calcium and good fats.

Oil: I use mustard oil to cook the sabzi but vegetable oil works fine too.

Green Chillies: 2-3

How To make Baingan Methi

Cooking baingan methi hardly takes any time. The sabzi is ready in 15 minutes but preparing methi leaves takes time. So during meal prep for the week I get this cleaned and chopped up ready in the fridge and use it throughout the week.

First You need to chop methi leaves, dill leaves.

Cut eggplant and paneer into small dice.

First cook eggplant with turmeric in the mustard oil separately. Then I cook Onions with spices.

Next, I cook the rest of the ingredients, onion, methi and dill and cooked eggplant along with spices After cooking the sabzi I finish with chopped paneer and tamarind. 

Recipe Notes

• Soak eggplant is a small quantity of salted water after cutting to prevent it from turning black if you like to prepare your ingredients before cooking. But it may deplete some nutrition so I prefer cutting it afresh and using it. 
• Make this sabzi in an iron kadai or a cast iron skillet it further boosts its nutrition value.
• When You are using coriander seeds always crush them between your palms to enhance flavour and texture. 
• I prefer to use mustard oil to make methi baingan because of its taste and healthy properties. But I have given substitution below. 

Substitutions

Eggplant/Baingan: If you can’t find long baingan you can use round big eggplants as well.

Methi leaves: If fresh green methi leaves are not easily available you can use frozen methi leaves. You can find them in the freezer section of a supermarket. 

Mustard Oil: Mustard oil is slightly pungent and has a strong flavour and taste so if you like mild tasting oils you can use vegetable oil or any other oil that you regularly use.

Tamarind paste: If you do not have tamarind paste you can add 1 teaspoon lemon juice after you finish cooking the taste is not the same but it adds a tang and helps in better absorption of nutrients. 

Top Tip

Adding tamarind helps in better absorption of iron. Combining Vitamin C rich foods with Iron-rich food is the best way to consume food as vitamin C helps in better bioavailability of iron.

Can I use Kasuri methi?

I generally do not use kasuri methi to cook this sabzi. I feel kasuri methi has a dense flavour so as a substitute for methi leaves I don’t advice it at all. Kasuri methi is best used for flavouring the dishes in very small quantities.  

Serving Suggestions

You can enjoy baingan methi with paratha or as a side with any rice and Indian curry meal. Our most favourite combination is Dal Methi baingan sabzi and Masala paratha. 

Storing the Leftovers

Since it is a quick-cooking dish I like to prepare it fresh. But, if you make a double batch or have leftovers it stays good in the fridge for 2-3 days and it freezes well. So you can freeze it for 10-12 weeks easily.

Try More Recipes Like This

• Methi Paratha Recipe
• Methi Pakora (Air fryer Recipe)
• Methi Thepla Recipe
• Methi Malai Paneer Curry
• Aloo Methi
• Methi Nu Gota
• Methi Muthia Recipe
• Aloo Baingan Curry
• Baingan Tamatar Sabzi
• Dry Aloo Baingan Sabzi
• Baghara Baingan
• Baingan Bharta

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