Origins & the history of Fenugreek or Methi (Trigonella foenum-graecum)

History of Fenugreek is long in both culinary and medicinal spheres as a herb in the ancient world. The medicinal value of the seeds is mentioned in Ayurvedic texts as well as in Greek and Latin pharmacopoeia.

The Ayurvedic texts praise this herb for its power as an aphrodisiac, As per the Egyptian history, it was used to embalm the dead of the ancient Egyptians.

In a first-century A.D. recipe, the Romans flavoured wine with fenugreek.

Modern Egyptian women still use it to relieve menstrual cramps & ease other kinds of abdominal pain. Historical uses for the herb were predominantly medicinal.

The herb was used by the Jewish defenders of Jerusalem during the first Jewish-Roman war to repel the invaders from the city wall. It was combined with boiling oil and then poured down upon the city walls, making them too slick for the Romans to climb.

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It was grown extensively in the imperial gardens of  Charlemagne.

The Greeks and Romans used it for cattle fodder (hence the Latin foenum graecum meaning Greek hay).

Charred seeds have been recovered from Tell Halal, Iraq (carbon dated to 4000 BC), and Bronze Age levels of Lachish and desiccated seeds from the tomb of Tutankhamen.

In Arab harems, a more rubenesque figure was most desirable, so in order to feed those curves, many women gorged themselves on a mix of sugar, olive oil, and fenugreek.

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