This aloo methi is salty, spicy, savory and full of flavor!
You will love this super simple recipe for aloo methi. You can have it on your plate in literally 10 minutes and most of that time is spent hands-off. This is why I love my instant pot, because I can make fabulous food in a fraction of the time it’d normally take.
This recipe for Punjabi aloo methi is so tasty! It has a chatpata (tangy) flavor thanks to the dried mango powder (amchur) and the black salt (kala namak). Serve this side dish with Indian flatbread like roti or naan and you will be in for such a treat!
MY LATEST VIDEOSAloo methi is a dry vegetable dish featuring potatoes and fenugreek leaves. My recipe calls for dried fenugreek leaves, also known as kasoori methi, which is easily found at your local Indian grocery store or online. In fact, you may already have this ingredient if you’ve tried my popular butter chicken recipe. Just a pinch of this stuff transforms butter chicken into a restaurant-quality dish. It’s magical. Well, this recipe for aloo methi features kasoori methi as a main ingredient so there is quite a bit of it in the recipe! If you love the flavor of kasoori methi then you will love this dish for aloo methi!
My mom recently threw an Easter party for my son while my husband and I were out of town for a wedding. At the party, she served lemon rice and chicken bhuna and she also served this aloo methi. We weren’t at the party but we got to enjoy her aloo methi when we came back home after a long day of travel and oh my goodness, it was love at first bite!
I told her I HAD to have the recipe to share on my blog with you. It was the tastiest aloo methi I’ve ever had! Unfortunately, those of us with Indian parents know that they never measure ingredients…. like, ever. I was determined to recreate my mama’s fabulous aloo methi, so with a list of the ingredients in hand, I set out to experiment. And I did it! This is as good as my mama’s aloo methi and I consider that a huge success.
What I love about aloo methi is that it’s so easy to make – especially when you have my onion masala prepared. Having masala ready to go makes this dish an almost dump and go recipe. I say almost because you still have to brown the cumin seeds and mustard seeds in hot oil for the best flavor.
If you’re not familiar with my Indian Onion Masala Series then you have to check it out! As part of the series, I share recipes that call for exact amounts of onion masala. Click on the graphic below to find out how to make onion masala, how to store it and to find other recipes that call for it.
If you’ve never used black salt before, you’re in for a surprise. When you add it to the instant pot, you might be like whoa – this stuff smells strong. It is pungent – cooking the black salt will remove some of that sulfurous odor. My husband doesn’t like black salt on it’s own but he loves this aloo methi. I personally love black salt (I used to sprinkle it into my coca-cola as a kid lol… anyone else do that?). Anyway, my point is – the sulfurous smell will definitely mellow out once the dish is done.
Serve this aloo methi with a saucy curry or dal and a side of Indian flatbread like chapati/roti or naan. Then definitely come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what you think! 🙂
(pictured below: this aloo methi, goat curry and rotis made with a rotimatic – read my rotimatic review here!)
Instant Pot Aloo Methi (Potatoes with Fenugreek Leaves)
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 ½ pounds (unpeeled) baby potatoes, cut in half
Spices
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt, adjust to taste*
- 1 teaspoon amchur (dried mango powder)
- 1 teaspoon kala namak (black salt)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ cup (frozen or thawed) onion masala
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Press sauté and add oil to the pot. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin and mustard seeds. When the cumin begins to brown, add the potatoes and spices and mix well.
- Add the onion masala and water to the pot.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 4 minutes at high pressure.
- Quick release pressure.
- Add the dried fenugreek leaves to the pot and mix well. The leaves will absorb any remaining liquid in the pot.
Notes
- *This dish is meant to be salty (due to the salt and black salt). The salt balances the bitterness from the methi. Feel free to adjust the salt to your taste.
- If you don’t have baby potatoes, you can just chop potatoes into 1-inch pieces.
- I typically buy baby potatoes from trader joe’s but they should have them at most grocery stores.
- This recipe is part of my onion masala series – be sure to check it out!
Cant wait to try this!
Can’t wait to hear what you think Maneesha!
Hi Ashley! We loved this dish last night! I love the chatpata flavor and the taste that the kasoori methi gives to this dish; I’ve always added kasooori methi to meats and to paneer dishes, but never to potatoes! This recipe is so quick, easy, and so flavorful! It paired very well with daal and rice! You’re absolutely right about Indian parents not measuring ingredients – that’s how my mother and grandmother taught me to cook! “Just add some salt, turmeric, you know, just like that..” haha I loved this dish! Will definitely make this again!
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Maneesha, I am so happy to hear that you liked the aloo methi!! Thanks for leaving a comment here on the blog and also for sharing on IG – I really appreciate it! 🙂
My pleasure! I love love love your recipes, and I love cooking and sharing recipes <3
Hi Ashley! Any substitute for the onion masala? I just had my hair done but want to make this LOL
Made Methi Aloo last night with Mustard oil. Came out good. Left over making stuffed parantha!!
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That’s awesome! Happy to hear that, Priya 🙂
Absolutely delicious…would love to know how to double the recipe without screwing up the flavor…definitely a home run and family favorite! …we had this as a side dish with your basic dal recipe. great comfort food for all!
Radhika, thank you! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 I haven’t tried doubling it but I’d think it’d turn out just fine if you do 🙂 I’d suggest doubling all the ingredients but keeping the cook time the same. If you try this, let me know how it goes!
This is the MOST AMAZING potatoes you will ever eat. I’m not Indian, so I’m not familiar with “chatpata” flavor but there is a distinct and amazing flavor to these potatoes. And with the onion masala, this is SO easy and fast to make. You have to buy some specialty ingredients but so what? You’ll be using them over and over once you discover these magical potatoes.
Ashley: Chinese moms are the same. No measurements! Just a little of this, a little of that, eyeball and squint.
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Kathy, thank you so much for the kind words!! I’m so happy to read your review of this recipe 🙂
This is the first recipe I made after making a batch of onion masala. Great favor and I will make again. Can’t wait to make more dishes with onion masala. Thanks!
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Jen, so happy to hear that! Can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes you try using the onion masala 🙂
What if you don’t have an Instant Pot? What’s the best way to prepare these? Can you boil the potatoes and finish them in the pan with the other ingredients?
Melissa, yes you can definitely do that 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
toooooo much fenugreek. I measured everything including using a scale, either needs more potatoes or less fenugreek. Edible but not enjoyable as-is to me, I had to mix it with some rice to “dilute” the massive amount of fenugreek.
At least I have plenty of onion masala left over to make other recipes now!
Drew, thanks for your review. It’s definitely an acquired taste if you are not used to eating methi. Hope you enjoy the other onion masala recipes!
you know i just figured out the “1 cup” measure i used for the methi was actually 1.25 cups. it did seem like there was way more methi in the food I was looking at on my plate than the pictures on your site. I’ll try it again someday! Next i am going to make the baingan bharta recipe, I’m going to add an onion masala cube or two to it.