Cooking like Mum

The other weekend I went home and asked my Mum, to show me how to make Fenugreek curry (Methi nu shaak). Fenugreek is a green leaf which is also known as Greek Hay and Wild Clover. It has immense health benefits and  many papers recently saying that it is a "fix-all elixir". All I know is that growing up this was one of my favourite dishes, and I wanted to make it like Mum does.


I may have mentioned before that my Mum isn't the most patient person with me when it comes to teaching me how to cook. Whenever I asked her how something was made, she would just reel off the following expecting me to listen and take it in "Just do the vagar, add the masala, and let it cook" all in Gujarati of course. So that's what I've been doing, and its been working. I make very nice currys but they don't taste like my Mums and I've always put that down to the fact that I'M making it and not my Mum. "Its a different hand" my Mum would say, (and now I do as well). You can follow a Jaime recipe, but I guarantee that it won't taste the same as if Jaime made it. So I've always taken for granted that my food will never taste exactly like my Mums because its my hand and not my Mums. That is until last weekend when I asked Mum to show me how to make Methi nu Shaak, and she responded with a "Haa ok", (Yes ok). After my amazement at not getting the usual response but something more positive I followed Mum into the kitchen. I watched and took a mental and written note of everything. I wrote down the times and didn't take my eyes off her for one second. (She got annoyed after a while, but I was on a mission)

Then a few days later I decided to make the curry myself. I was a bit nervous because I wanted it to taste just like Mums but in my heart knew that it wouldn't.  I followed Mums recipe and as I was cooking the American Vegetarian came home and said that the flat smelt like my Mums house. I was like "really", and she was like "yea".


Once it was ready we sat down and I took a piece of home made rotli, and scooped up some shaak (curry). As I ate it I was amazed and delighted that it tasted exactly like Mums. I was so happy. It actually tasted exactly the same. Even the American Vegetarian agreed that it could have been made by Mum. So here is the recipe for you try. It probably won't taste like my Mums as you haven't seen her cook it, but it'll be a very close contender.


Ingredients


Two big bunches of Fenugreek leaves; chopped and washed
Some oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp of asafoetida/hing(optional)
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp of ground coriander
3/4 tsp of salt 
1 tsp of sugar
3 small hand fulls of gram flour
Some water.


Method

Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they start to pop add the asafoetida if using then add the fenugreek leaves. Add the remainder of the spices and the salt and sugar, then add water until it covers the leaves to a level. Place a lid on the pan and cook on a medium heat for around 10 mins. After 10 mins add a little more water then add the gram flour on top of the leaves and put the lid back on for another 10 mins. DO NOT STIR the flour once you put it in. After another 10 - 12 mins check the flour is cooking. It should turn a slightly different colour, some of the flour will still look the same colour but that's ok because now you can give it a stir and allow the water to cook the rest of the flour. Once stirred, turn off the heat, cover with the lid again, and let it rest in its own steam



Serve with rotli and yoghurt. De-Lish!