Fenugreek microgreen is a legume with clover-shaped leaves and gives dishes an unusual taste. Chhoti or Samudra Methi, as they are called in India, are a mainstay in Indian cuisine and are often combined with potatoes as a delicious microgreen. Fenugreek is used in seed form as a spice and in leaf form as an herb or green. You may be familiar with fenugreek as a spice used in curry powder and garam masala. It's easy to grow a fenugreek plant, and even easier to grow and harvest fenugreek microgreens.
With a taste that is described as fresh, grassy, tangy, mustard-like and similar to curry powder, fenugreek microgreens can be added to salads, curries or vegetable dishes. The seeds smell of caramel, burnt sugar, but the leaves are more subtle and bitter in taste. You will notice the bitter note at the end.
Fenugreek microgreens are great choices when it comes to nutrition and are a great option for the home microgreen gardener because of their health benefits and the unusual taste they add to a dish. Fenugreek is a good source of vitamins and iron. These legumes are nutrient-dense and have healthy greens to add to your eating routine. Here's what you need to know in order to grow your own organic fenugreek microgreens so you can harvest and eat them at home!
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Fenugreek microgreens short info
Fenugreek microgreens are tasty and nutritious foods.
| Taste: | Grassy, mustard-like, curry-like, bitter |
| Soaking: | 8 hours |
| Rinsing / emptying: | no |
| Germination: | 2-10 |
| Ideal harvest: | 10-20 |
Growing fenugreek microgreens
Fenugreek plants can be hard to find in many places, so growing your own organic fenugreek microgreens at home is a great way to change up the flavors in your kitchen and add more fresh greens to your meals.
materials
Let's start with the materials to grow your fenugreek baby fenugreek leaves! Here is what you need.
- Seed: We love the fenugreek seeds from True Leaf Market. For an organic option, consider their organic fenugreek. Otherwise, conventional fenugreek seeds are also available.
- Container: Use a flat tray or container with drainage holes to prevent the root mass and media from becoming soaked. It's also nice to have a larger tray with no drainage holes under the perforated tray, as this allows you to pour the microgreens from below.
- Growth medium: Use a good quality starter mix or coconut coconut. Fenugreek microgreens don't need a lot of medium and prefer a well-drained medium. In India they are grown in the sand.
- Bright: If you are growing these microgreens indoors, we recommend a T5 grow light.
- Bonus: A spray bottle is useful for keeping your microgreens moist, but not too wet.
Fenugreek microgreens can handle a range of temperatures. If you're growing them in conditions that can drop as low as 30 degrees F, you'll need a heating mat and bell. When growing microgreens you need a lid or cover before they sprout, so you should put either a newspaper or other opaque tray over it.
soaking
Fenugreek seeds have a hard seed shell.
You don't need to soak your fenugreek seeds, but soaking them can help them germinate faster. Fenugreek has a tough seed coat, and if you soak the seeds before planting, it will encourage them to sprout quickly. In India, where fenugreek microgreens are a common commercial plant, they are soaked for 8 hours before planting.
plants
Moisten your soil by either adding water to another container first, or by pouring some water into your empty container before adding the soil. Mix the soil and water well so it is moist but not too heavy or muddy. This applies to both coconut-coconut and seed starter mixes.
Gently blot the media down to remove any air bubbles. You want your bottom not to be fully compressed, but rather to get slightly firm on top. Make the soil as flat as possible to keep everything neat and tidy for planting.
Spread the seeds tightly over your growing medium, but try not to clump them together. A flat layer over the surface is ideal rather than overlapping or clumping.
Fenugreek seeds aren't the tiniest of seeds, but they are small, making it easy to form a dense layer of seeds over the planting medium.
Once you've planted the seed in the damp earth or coconut, use a spray bottle to gently spray it with water. This will encourage germination, but will also make sure your seeds aren't too wet.
The plants must be dark for the first shoot, so you can either cover the fenugreek seeds with an opaque lid or sheet of paper or alternately cover them with a thin layer of soil. It is even possible to use a light towel. Covering the plants with something other than your medium will make harvesting a little easier at the end of the process as you don't have to clean the microgreens. Covering the greens with a peel will mimic the compression of the soil and help the seeds germinate.
If you are growing indoors but in a cool room like a garage or basement, you can place a heating mat and bell over it to aid germination. If your house is warm, this is where you can simply store the seeds in a dark corner or closet. If you live in a climate that isn't submerged to freezing, you can keep the container on a balcony or porch.
Growing
Keep your tray in a dark place for the first few days as the seeds need to be dark to germinate. Check the plants daily and keep them moist, but not too wet. A great way to tell if your plant needs water is to lift the tray. If it feels easy, you probably need water. If it feels heavy, it's probably best not to water the seeds.
Look for signs of mold or fungal problems as the seeds turn into sprouts. It is normal for microgreens to have white, fuzzy root hairs when they germinate, especially fenugreek. This is different from the reticulated shape you'll see if your tablet is too wet. Using a spray bottle for watering or watering from the bottom is a great way to avoid fungal or mold problems with microgreen sprouts.
To water from below, simply place your seed tray in a larger tray with no holes and add just enough water for it to seep up. Remove and drain the excess water as soon as the medium has absorbed enough moisture. Place your empty tray underneath to catch any drops.
As the seeds start you will see them sprout and even push the lid up as they reach for the light. At this point you want to put the plant in the light. The sprouts look yellow at this point because they haven't been exposed to light for photosynthesis. At this point in the process, you can bring the seeds to light and they will begin to turn green and form their second pair of leaves.
Seed coats adhere to the top of the sprouts. Take your hand and gently stroke the seedlings to knock them off. Fenugreek microgreens tend to hold the seed coats a little longer than most microgreens.
Roots work their way down into the medium. When using a coconut mat, the roots will fully penetrate the mat to support the weight of the sprouts. Seed mixes or loose coconut fibers also enable good rooting.
If you are growing your plant indoors, move the seed tray under grow lights at this point. Ideally, you should expose the plant to around 16 hours of light per day. You should have the light near your tray so your fenugreek microgreens don't get too long, but just far enough away so that the heat from the lamp doesn't do any damage. You can also put the plant on a windowsill.
Outdoor growers should plant the plants in a shaded, sheltered area such as a balcony. When your microgreens start reaching for more light, you know it's time to give them some sun, but try to make sure it's indirect bright light rather than full and direct sunlight. This applies twice in the summer months, because the scorching sun is more than the greens can handle!
harvest
Your microgreens should have between 1-3 leaves at harvest. The real leaves begin to appear after the first pair. Your microgreens should be harvested from 3 "to 5" tall.
Harvest your fenugreek microgreens with scissors or light secateurs. You don't need to wash the greens, especially if you haven't covered the seeds with soil. If you'd rather wash them, a cold colander rinse works well.
storage
Microgreens can usually be stored in a mesh bag in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator for up to 3 days. After 3 days they lose nutrients and freshness. You should eat your microgreens as soon as possible after harvest for the best taste, nutritional content, and freshness. At first, you can store them in their bowls before harvest, but once they get leggy, harvest and refrigerate them quickly.
frequently asked Questions
Shells can cling to young fenugreek microgreens.
Q: What are the benefits of fenugreek microgreen?
A: Consuming fenugreek microgreens is very healthy. Most microgreens are more nutrient-rich than their full-blown counterparts. One study found that fenugreek microgreens are richer in iron than full-grown plants. They're also a good source of vitamin C.
Q: How do you use fenugreek microgreens?
A: Combine microgreens with potatoes, use them in a curry or use the fresh greens to top salads or soups. In India they are often used with potatoes and in curry dishes.
Q: how does fenugreek microgreen taste?
A: Fresh fenugreek microgreens have a complex flavor profile with a fresh, grassy and also spicy taste similar to mustard, but more subtle, with a bitter note at the end. Eating fenugreek with potatoes or chicken is a popular use for these vegetables.
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