Malai Kofta are a regular main course dish whenever one eats out, why not try it at home?
Ingredients:
For Koftas
• 1 cup of paneer, crumbled fine
• 1 potato, peeled and boiled
• 1 carrot, peeled and boiled (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• A small piece of ginger, grated
• 1 tsp of red chilli powder
• 2 of green chillies, sliced into thin discs
• A generous pinch of hing
• 8-10 cashew nuts, broken into small pieces
• 1 tsp of coriander powder
• A generous bunch of coriander leaves / cilantro
• 1/4 cup of cornflour for dusting (optional)
• Oil for deep frying
• Salt to taste
For the gravy
• 1 large onion, pureed
• 1 tomato, pureed
• 12 cashew nuts, soaked in warm water for 30 mins and ground to a paste
• 1 tsp of red chilli powder
• 1 tsp of coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
• A generous pinch of hing / asafoetida
• 1 tbsp of kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
• 1 tbsp of tomato sauce (optional)
• 2 tbsp of cream
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp of oil
• 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp of jeera / cumin, powdered
• 1/2 cup of milk
Procedure:
How to make Koftas Balls:
• Mash the boiled potato and carrot together until there are no lumps.
• Add the rest of the ingredients to this mixture (except corn flour and oil).
• Mix well with fingertips until it’s a homogenous, damp mixture. The moisture from the potato and carrot should be enough to bring it together. Don’t add any water.
• Roll into small lime-sized balls.
• Dust with corn flour. This is an optional step because I didn’t find much difference in texture between these and the ones I didn’t dust. Also, if you leave them plain, the oil stays clear and doesn’t leave a white layer on the koftas.
• Heat a pan and add enough oil to submerge the koftas half way.
• Turn gently when golden brown on one side. Keep the fire medium low to ensure the inside is cooked too.
• Drain on to paper towels
Gravy
• Heat oil and add the cumin powder. Fry for 5 seconds. Add the tomato and onion puree. Saute for 2-3 mins until the raw smell disappears.
Add the chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, turmeric, ginger garlic paste, and hing.
• Fry for another 2 mins. Now add the kasuri methi and the tomato sauce (if using). Top it off with the ground cashew pate. Mix well and let it cook for 5 mins on low flame.
• Add the milk. Bring to boil and simmer for a minute.
• Gently drop in the koftas and cover with the sauce. Turn off fire and let it sit for some time for the gravy to soak through.
• Serve with warm jeera rice or rotis, with a garnish of grated paneer or fresh coriander leaves.
Notes
• If you prefer a white base for your malai kofta, skip the tomato and tomato sauce and add more cream and cashew paste.
• Some prefer to omit the onion, and that’s fine too but it gives the gravy a nice base.
Pictures and recipe taken from Cooking and Me
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