Anyone know about fenugreek?
Some of my Indian recipes call for fenugreek, but the stuff I have (tiny hard pellets) doesn't seem to have much taste. Maybe even turns bitter when cooked (not sure). I wonder whether anyone knowledgeable about Indian spices is an aficionado and can enlighten me as to what ought to be?
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Fenugreek is a plant/seed. What you have are the seeds. Like Deppity Dawg said- they could be crushed or ground along with other spices , or sometimes will be used as whole in Tadka( fried in oil to release the essence).
They are also sold as fresh or dried leaves. The fresh leaves are sold in bunches like cilantro etc, and the dried is called Kasuri Methi (its a kind of fenugreek from a certain region) sold in box/pkg.
The fresh leaves are cooked like greens in India( slightly bitter in taste) so will be cooked along with lentils ,potatoes ,meats etc.The dried leaves are crushed and added just before finishing a dish.Am not sure what you are cooking,but check with kind of fenugreek are they asking for (dried leaves or seeds).If receipes ask for seeds they usually will mention fenugreek seeds.
Hope that helps.
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It sounds like you have the right stuff, but as far as I know the seeds are always crushed or ground up before adding to dishes. You can also buy it ground, but it's generally preferable to grind the whole spices yourself as you need them. The taste is a little bitter, but it's mostly "grassy". Take a seed and crush it with your teeth, you'll see what I mean…
