Soaked Methi (Fenugreek)

Health — By sowj on March 18, 2012 2:49 pm

Methi, aka Fenugreek, can be a tricky spice. It’s quite bitter and must be used in moderation with complimentary foods. It can enhance the flavor of swiss chard or squash, but can quickly overpower a dish if used egregiously. If you’re not into bitter flavors, methi might seem strange at first, but I encourage you to try it out. The more I cooked with it, and learned the tastiest ratio of methi to food, the more seductive it’s flavor became. If you relish foods like mustard greens, bitter gourd, and raw tahini, then methi is definitely a spice you’ll love, if you don’t love it already!

However, with this post, I want to emphasize methi for its medicinal power. It regulates blood sugar levels which is especially useful for diabetics. It also reduces stomach acidity and can relieve acid reflux and gassy buildup. It’s anti-inflammatory and can help with multiple gastrointestinal issues. It’s also known to stimulate lactation for breast-feeding women. You can read more about it’s medicinal effects here. Methi is also known to stimulate hair growth, and can be used externally as a hair conditioner.

The following recipe, a simple morning drink, is one my mom shared with me. She drinks it every morning. I decided to make this to calm a recent stomach flare up that caused a lot of discomfort from gassiness and bloating. The soaked methi eased my symptoms immediately and I’ll continue to make this drink for the next few days as a preventative measure.

Ingredients

1 tsp Methi (Fenugreek)
1/2 cup luke warm Water

Preparation

Soak the methi in the water overnight, or for at least 8 hours.

In the morning, the methi will have softened and enlarged and might have started to subtly sprout. Drink the water and eat the methi, making sure to chew it well. Soaking methi subdues its bitterness and makes it more digestible. I absolutely love the flavor and texture of soaked methi and I hope you do too. Enjoy!