FEENUGREEK WHOLE (METHI DANA GOTA)

Fenugreek (/ˈfɛnjʉɡriːk/; Trigonella foenum-graecum) is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae. The plant has small round leaves, is cultivated worldwide as a semi-arid crop, and is a common ingredient in dishes from the Indian Subcontinent. It is known as methi in Marathi (मेथी), Punjabi, Hindi (मेथी), Urdu, Bengali (মেথি) and Nepali (मेथी), as menthiyam, and venthayam (வெந்தயம்) in Tamil, "uluhaal" (උළුහාල්) in Sinhala, Helba حلبة) in Arabic, menthya ಮೆಂಥ್ಯ ) in Kannada, uluwa (ഉലുവ) in Malayalam, and menthulu (మెంతులు) in Telugu.

History

Zohary and Hopf note that it is not yet certain which wild strain of the genus Trigonella gave rise to the domesticated fenugreek but they believe it was brought into cultivation in the Near East. Charred fenugreek seeds have been recovered from Tell Halal, Iraq, (radiocarbon dating to 4000 BC ) and Bronze Age levels of Lachish, as well as desiccated seeds from the tomb of Tutankhamen. Cato the Elder lists fenugreek with clover and vetch as crops grown to feed cattle.

Production

Major fenugreek-producing countries are India, Iran, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Argentina, Egypt, France, Spain, Turkey, Morocco and China. The largest producer of fenugreek in the world is India, where the major fenugreek-producing states are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Punjab. Rajasthan produces the lion's share of India's production, accounting for over 80% of the nation's total fenugreek output.