Methi
Fenugreek seed and leaf: bitter, maple-scented and used in curries, pickles and spice blends.
Also: fenugreek, uluva, venthayam, helba
Methi is fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum. The small hard golden seeds are bitter when raw and smell strongly of maple syrup and burnt sugar once toasted. They go into panch phoron, sambar powder, pickles and Ethiopian berbere, and are soaked or sprouted in some traditional dishes. The fresh leaves are cooked as a vegetable in Punjabi and Gujarati cooking, and dried leaves become kasuri methi. The compound that gives the maple scent, sotolon, is also found in curry powders and some aged wines. Too much seed makes a dish bitter, so cooks measure it carefully and fry it briefly, only until it turns golden.