Aloo Methi is a simple everyday Indian sabji (vegetable dish) where lightly spiced potatoes are pan-fried and then mixed with fresh fenugreek leaves. The fenugreek leaves are sweet with subtle bitter notes so it's especially enjoyable when it comes in season. It's served as a quick 15-minute side dish with other sabjis, dal, and roti or paratha for a full meal.

Methi is the Hindi name for fresh fenugreek leaves, and kasuri methi refers to dried fenugreek in English. Although I keep kasuri methi in my home, there's nothing like the fresh herbs to enjoy when they come in season. Fresh fenugreek leaves are herbs that are said to smell and taste like maple syrup. Sometimes, it's even used to make maple extract.

However, fresh fenugreek can also be very bitter in large quantities. When cooked with spices and another ingredients, the flavor profile transforms so that the herb is a bit sweeter and the bitterness is more subtle.

This is why it makes an appearance in quite a few Indian dishes with spices, such as this Aloo Methi and methi paratha. It can also be added to saag and cooked into a gravy with paneer.

Jump to:

Why you'll love this recipe
What is Sabzi?
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
How to make Aloo Methi
Serving Suggestions
Expert Tips and Tricks
More Indian Main Dishes to try
Recipe

Why you'll love this recipe

Aloo Methi is a popular sabji to make in North Indian households. Here's why you'll love my family recipe.

It only contains two main ingredients - potatoes and fresh fenugreek. The rest of the ingredients are spices kept in our handy dandy masala dabba. It's extremely simple and doesn't require garlic, green chilis, ginger, or onions but you can absolutely add them for more flavor.
The side dish comes together in about 15 minutes, with minimum effort or cooking skills required.
It's an easy vegan and gluten-free dish to keep on the stove while prepping and cooking other dishes for dinner.

What is Sabzi?

Sabzi, or sabji, is a term in Hindi that simply refers to a dish made of vegetables. It includes a variety of vegetarian Indian dishes where vegetables are cooked in spices or in a thick gravy. A small amount of sabzi is typically served with dal or another sabzi along with roti or rice.

Sabzi is meant to be a part of a larger meal for added nutrition and fiber. Served by itself, it's not meant to be filling unless it's consumed in large amounts.

Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions

Aloo Methi is incredibly, incredibly simple to allow the flavor of fenugreek to shine through. There are only a few spices to give the potato some flavor, and the fresh fenugreek does the rest of the work.

Fresh fenugreek, turmeric, garam masala, cumin seeds, coriander, chili powder, potatoes ingredients with labels.

Potatoes - Also known as aloo. Any type of potato works for Aloo Methi! My favorite are russets for this.
Fenugreek leaves - Also known as methi. Unfortunately, fresh fenugreek leaves can be hard to come by at the market sometimes, but I've always found it at Indian grocers. Check the grocery store aisles with the herbs. Nowadays, a simple Google search can show you the closest shop with fresh fenugreek.
- If you can't find methi but you're craving this sabji, dill is a great substitute.
Spices - Fenugreek leaves are the star of this dish and where the majority of the flavor comes from, so the spices are very simple. We use cumin seeds, turmeric, ground coriander, kashmiri chili powder, and garam masala in fairly small amounts just to give the potatoes a good taste. You can also add a pinch of asafoetida if you love that garlicky onion flavor.

How to make Aloo Methi

Start by prepping the potatoes and fenugreek.

Peel the skin off and dice the potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
Add as much or as little fenugreek as you'd like, however too much can become bitter. You only need about 1 cup packed full for 2 russet potatoes. Remove the leaves from the stems and rinse them well. Then, roughly chop the leaves.

(Optional) To remove the bitterness from methi, blanch the leaves in salted boiling water for a minute, then transfer them to ice cold water.

Start by heating oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and sauté them for a minute just until they start to pop in the skillet.
Then, add the diced potatoes. This is the point where you can also add additional chilis, ginger garlic paste, or vegetables like peas, cabbage, etc.
Sprinkle the turmeric, ground coriander, garam masala, red chili powder, and salt over the potatoes. Toss everything together so that the potatoes are coated in the spices.
Continue to cook the potatoes until they're fork tender and start to brown, about 7-10 minutes. This is where the potatoes get all of their flavor! Taste a potato to make sure it has enough spices and adjust as necessary.

pan fried aloo in a pan with fresh chopped fenugreek

Add the fresh fenugreek into the pan along with the potatoes. Toss everything together again. Then, lower the heat to a low setting and cover the pan.
Allow the potatoes to steam until the fenugreek has fully wilted, another 4-5 minutes. It'll be a dark green color when it's ready to serve.

Serving Suggestions

Aloo Methi fry should be one sabji served alongside a few others, because the sabji by itself will not be very filling. I especially loving pairing it with a dal, like Whole Masoor Dal, and dahi.

Serve aloo methi ki sabji while it's still warm with Indian bread, like roti or paratha.

Expert Tips and Tricks

Remove the leaves from the thick stalks. The leaves are delicious and sweet, while the stalks tend to be more bitter.
Depending on how large the bunch is, you only want about 2 handfuls of the fenugreek leaves. More than that may result in bitter aloo methi.
A rough chop is fine on the fenugreek leaves. If you're using finely chopped leaves, you better pass around some toothpicks after the meal!
The oil you choose can give it a lot of extra flavor! Since we aren't cooking at high heat, I love using olive oil and getting a nice sear on the potatoes. Ghee is delicious for a buttery layer and mustard oil works, too.
To get the potatoes extra crispy, start by boiling the cubed pieces first. Drain them, then shake them so that they get a bit roughed up. Drop the potatoes directly into the hot oil and get a really nice sear. It's absolutely delicious with the fresh methi.
Unfortunately, kasuri methi isn't the greatest substitute, but you can use 3 tablespoons of it and see if you like the flavor. By the time it dries out and is packaged up, the flavor is very different.