Fenugreek leaves (methi): nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Iron ranks 5th among greens

   Methi carries 5.69 mg iron per 100 g, 39th of 242 foods. A 100 g bunch of methi supplies 30 per cent of a man's iron need and 20 per cent of a woman's. Eating methi with tomato or lemon, rather than with tea, helps the body absorb more.

2. 02

   Beta-carotene 3rd of 160 foods

   The 9245 micrograms of beta-carotene per 100 g puts methi just behind drumstick and agathi leaves. Cooking with a little oil, as in thepla or aloo methi, makes the carotene easier to absorb.

3. 03

   Calcium and vitamin C

   100 g of fresh leaves gives 274 mg calcium, about 27 per cent of the adult requirement, and 58.2 mg vitamin C, 73 per cent of a man's need. Both figures are for raw leaves; long cooking lowers the vitamin C.

4. 04

   Folate and omega-3 ALA

   Methi has 75 micrograms of folate per 100 g, 34 per cent of a woman's requirement, and 362 mg of the plant omega-3 fat ALA, ranking 24th of 203 foods.

Values per 100 g of the edible portion. Source: Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad. Daily-need shares use the ICMR-NIN 2020 recommended dietary allowances for a 65 kg man and a 55 kg woman doing sedentary work (ICMR-NIN brief note). Nutrients IFCT did not analyse for this food are left out rather than shown as zero.

• Methi thepla in Gujarat: chopped leaves kneaded into wheat and besan dough with curd, turmeric and sesame, rolled thin and roasted.
• Aloo methi: diced potatoes cooked with a big bunch of methi, garlic and dried red chilli until the leaves are dark and tender.
• Methi muthia: leaves bound with coarse flour and spices, steamed as logs, sliced and tempered, or added to undhiyu.
• Vendhaya keerai kootu in Tamil Nadu: leaves cooked with moong dal and a coconut and cumin paste.
• Kasuri methi: dried leaves crushed between the palms over dal makhani, kadai paneer or butter chicken at the end.

Methi's bitterness is part of its character, but many cooks salt the chopped leaves, rest them for ten minutes and squeeze out the juice; this does tame bitterness but also washes away some vitamins, so do it briefly. Fenugreek is a legume, and people with peanut or chickpea allergy occasionally react to it. Fenugreek seeds, taken in large amounts, can lower blood sugar, so anyone on diabetes medicines who plans to use methi seeds or supplements regularly should tell their doctor; ordinary portions of the leaves as a vegetable are not a concern.

Food composition is general information, not a diet plan. Anyone managing a medical condition should plan their diet with a doctor or a registered dietitian.

• Fenugreek seeds (methi dana)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Spinach

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Bathua leaves

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Mustard leaves (sarson)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Amaranth leaves (chaulai)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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