Fenugreek seeds

Fenugreek (Methi) seeds are hard and brittle and should be used sparingly. It is used as a herb (leaves) and spice (seeds). It is a bitter spice if used too liberally, but is often used in pickles and curry powders. It is used all over the world, including in Afghanistan to make a sweet rice pudding called Sholeh Holba and in Bulgaria, where it is a component of the traditional spice mix called Sharena Sol. The young leaves and sprouts are eaten as greens in India and Pakistan and often mixed with spinach and potato. In the States and Canada, it is commonly used as an ingredient for making imitation maple syrup and has a similar odour to the real thing.

There are many considerable health benefits associated with fenugreek, including helping diabetes in Ethiopia and Eritrea and in China, it is used in traditional medicine as Hu La Ba, which they believe warms and tonifys the kidneys and helps pain. 

Most surprising is that fenugreek is very effective in helping nursing mothers lactate as it is a galactogogue, increasing the milk supply. Interestingly, mothers have sometimes commented that it gives the skin an odour similar to maple syrup.

In my kitchen it is used seldom and sparingly. I might use a little in my roasting spice mix to grind up for curry powder, but I will usually err on the side of extreme caution as even a little too much can render the whole curry bitter. It does, however, have a smell that is synonymous with that  'curry' concept and therefore is sometimes used too liberally as a mistake. I visited a very famous Indian restaurant in Vancouver (North America even), and tried their signature dish of lamb 'popsicles' with a  fenugreek and cream sauce. For my taste, the dish was a disaster. All I could taste was the bitterness from the fenugreek and instead of being an under note to create an interesting and complex flavour it overpowered the whole dish and was really unappetizing! Bitterness is usually described as being the 'adult sophistication' of taste, something that we acquire an appreciation for as we get older, however, with a heavy hand, like this curry, it is just overwhelming.