Malai kofta

malai kofta recipe

AUTHOR:Mridul

RECIPE TYPE: main

CUISINE:north indian

PREP TIME:  45 mins

COOK TIME:  45 mins

TOTAL TIME:  1 hour 30 mins

SERVES: 3-4 servings

malai kofta - potato and paneer koftas in a creamy, rich, mild and lightly sweet gravy.

malai kofta recipe with step by step photos. malai kofta is a popular as well as most sought after vegetarian indian dish in restaurants.

malai means cream and kofta are fried dumpling balls. usually they are made up of mashed potatoes-veggies, with or without grated paneer. other kofta gravy recipes on the blog are cabbage kofta curry and lauki kofta recipe.

in this malai kofta recipe the koftas are made with potatoes and paneer. these melt in the mouth koftas are dunked in a creamy, sweet and mildly spiced curry.

to make any paneer dish its always better to make paneer at home. if you have time then check this method to make paneer at stove top. or if you are in hurry then you can also make paneer in microwave. i personally prefer the stove top method of making paneer as its more healthy than making paneer in microwave.there are many variations of the malai kofta curry recipe. here the curry is made from ground cashew paste, onion paste and tomato puree. i have not used cream in this recipe. for the garnish you can use cream if you prefer.

the cashew paste, makes the curry creamy, so need to add cream. you can also use soaked almonds instead of cashews or both soaked almonds and cashews.

INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

for the kofta:

• 100 gms paneer/cottage cheese, grated
• 2 medium size potatoes, boiled, peeled and grated
• ¼ tsp red chili powder/lal mirch powder
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• a pinch or ¼ tsp garam masala
• ¾ tbsp almond flour or ¾ tbsp milk powder or ¾ tbsp khoya/evaporated milk
• salt as required

for the gravy/curry:

• ½ cup onion paste, about 2 medium to large onions, pureed
• 1 cup tomato puree, about 2 large tomatoes pureed
• ¼ cup cashew paste, 12 to 15 cashews soaked in warm water for 30 minutes and then blended to a smooth paste
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ¾ tsp red chili powder/lal mirch powder
• 1 inch ginger/adrak - 4-5 garlic cloves/lahsun - made in to a fine paste in a mortar-pestle
• ¼ tsp garam masala
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves
• salt as required
• sugar as required (optional)
• oil for shallow or deep frying the koftas

whole spices/garam masala

• 1 bay leaf/tej patta
• 1 inch cinnamon/dal chini
• 1 or 2 black cardamom/badi elaichi
• 2-3 green cardamom/hari elaichi or choti elaichi
• a pinch of mace/jayitri
• 2-3 cloves/laung

for garnish:

• 1 tbsp grated paneer
• 1 or 2 tbsp cream
• a few chopped coriander leaves/dhania patta

steps to make malai kofta :

a: preparing the koftas –

1: take all the ingredients for the kofta except oil in a bowl.

2: mix really well. the paneer and potatoes would both get mashed up in the process of mixing. shape them into medium sized balls. you can stuff them with dry fruits as shown here.

3: also prepare the cashew paste, onion paste and tomato puree. for preparing so many pastes and purees i always use magic bullet. its quick unlike a chutney grinder and very easy to clean.

4: heat oil for shallow or deep frying. i always shallow fry. add the koftas and fry them till golden on both sides.

5: fry all the koftas this way and drain them on a paper napkins so that the extra oil is absorbed.

b: preparing the malai kofta curry –

6: remove extra oil from the same pan and keep about 1 or 1.5 tbsp oil. add the whole spices and fry them till they release their aroma in the oil.

7: add the onion paste.

8. fry the onion paste till it gets browned. then add ginger-garlic paste or crushed ginger-garlic.

9. add the tomato puree and saute for 2-3 minutes,

10. now add all the dry spice powders and cashew paste.

11. stir and saute till till the oil starts to leave the side of the masala paste. this will take approx 9-10 minutes on a low flame.

12. add water and stir. simmer till the gravy becomes thick and creamy. malai kofta gravy is usually smooth, creamy and slightly thick. you can keep it medium consistency also… they way i have done.

13. add crushed kasuri methi and salt. simmer for 1-2 minutes more.

14. lastly add the fried koftas. if serving malai kofta later, you can just prepare the gravy and add koftas while serving. these koftas are really soft. so if you add them before and serve them later, they will break. since i was serving immediately, i added them to the gravy.

14: garnish malai kofta with coriander leaves and serve the malai kofta withrotis, naan, phulka or chapatis.