benefits of fenugreek seeds and leaves

Methi Paratha is a very popular dish eaten in the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly eaten as breakfast and is quite filling. It is a flat bread made with whole wheat flour and fenugreek leaves, which is fried in vegetable oil and butter. Besan or gram flour may also be added to the flat bread to give a different taste and texture. Watch the video on the side and make your own methi paratha.

It is time to include this healthy food in your diet. You can also use the leaves and seeds for enhancing the beauty of your hair and skin. The herb can also be used as a supplement for treating disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, and digestive disorders.

Methi also helps in reducing inflammation. This makes it a useful medicinal herb for relieving joint pain. Fenugreek is often wrapped in a cloth and used as a poultice. Just warm it up and apply directly on the pain and swelling.

A few studies have found that methi seeds are quite helpful in lowering blood sugar levels in diabetics. It appears that this herb slows down the breakdown and absorption of sugars in the stomach and stimulates insulin production.

Methi seeds contain vitamins A, B6, and C. It also contains iron, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. The fenugreek seeds also contain dietary fiber and protein. About 100gms of methi seeds contain around 323 calories and zero fat.

Fenugreek is also known as Methya (in Marathi), menthya (in Kannada), Vendayam (in Tamil), Menthulu (in Telugu), Uluva (in Malayalam) , Uluhaal ( in Sinhalese), Methi ( (In Oriya,Bangla, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi). In Persian it is Shanbal

The fresh leaves undoubtedly have lots of mud and debris in them. Hence cleaning is v essential. Before that, chop off the roots of the leaves.Pick the leaves of the stem. Very tender stems can be left in.Wash very well in cold water. It might take time but you dont want mud in your food. Its worth it though. Chop it lightly and coarsely. You can now use this in varied recipes.

Dried leaves, either whole or ground are a good substitute for fresh. Replace with half the qty of fresh. If both are not available the one closest would be celery leaves since it also has a slight bitter taste similar to Fenugreek. You can also use chopped watercress leaves. For the seeds, substitute 1 tsp fenugreek seeds with 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds.

Fenugreek is often available in capsules, seed, and powder form at many health food stores. Fenugreek seeds can also often be found at Indian/Pakistani grocery stores. You may also be able to find Fenugreek herbal tea bags.

Fenugreek or methi leaves are very rich in vitamins and minerals and they get easily absorbed by the body. Some major ingredients include calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron and dietary fiber in its naturally occurring form as in other vegetables. The availability of vitamin K is as good as spinach. The protein rich fenugreek leaves can be treated as a wonder herb.