Malai Kofta | Video

Malai kofta – Featuring crispy paneer balls in a rich and creamy sauce, this curry is spot-on with your favorite flatbread or rice. Comforting dinner just got a whole lot better!

The one and only thing on my mind right now is creating delicious recipes just for you. I always love sharing both traditional and modern meal ideas. And hey, that’s the very reason why I started this blog. Moreover, I adore photography as much as I love cooking. For me, shooting beautiful food is just fun and creative.

Coming to today’s recipe, malai kofta is a tomato based curry made more exciting with the addition of koftas. Kofta is basically Indian style meatballs minus meat. Traditionally, they’re loaded with paneer and veggies making them vegetarian’s delight. The word “malai” means creamy, and it refers to the creamy tomato based sauce that makes the base of this curry.

Alright, let’s make malai kofta.

First, paneer koftas. It’s a delicious combo of crumbled paneer and potatoes spiced with a little garam masala. These vegetarian meatballs or koftas are rolled in a very thin coating of cornflour and are deep fried until golden. While frying, the outer layer of koftas turn super crisp. Each bite is perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Once the paneer koftas are fried, we’ll move on to making the onion paste for this malai kofta curry. The smooth and rich sauce of the curry obviously comes from this onion paste. To make this aromatic paste, we’ll fry up a few dry spices along with onions and tomatoes. Grind it to make a smooth paste. We’ll be adding this paste to the curry at a later stage of the cooking process. I totally love the silky smooth texture of the sauce, and that’s the key to making the perfect sauce to dunk the paneer koftas.

Next up, the final step – make malai kofta curry. We’ll start by sautéing a few spices and then add in onion paste along with few ground spices. You see, we’re adding up layers of flavors that’s going to make this curry totally irresistible. I also added dried fenugreek leaves or kasuri methi as it delivers a distinct aroma and flavor to this curry.

And finally, a dash of cream. As the name suggests, this curry must be creamy and rich which again makes it so perfect for any special occasion.

All that you need to do now is top the koftas with generous amounts of this creamy sauce and serve it warm. A final sprinkle of coriander (cilantro) leaves, and done.

This malai kofta sounds too complicated, but certainly worth the effort. Totally love this curry!

Yield: 4

Malai Kofta | Video

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A popular Indian classic, this comfort curry feature crispy balls of paneer and veggies or koftas dunked in a mildly spiced, creamy and rich tomato based sauce

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Kofta:

• 1 cup crumbled paneer
• 2 small potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
• 3 tbsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Onion paste:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 4 green cardamom pods, crushed
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1” fresh ginger, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped
• 10 cashew nuts

Malai kofta:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamom pods, crushed
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 2 tbsp tomato purée (tomato paste)
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground coriander (coriander powder)
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• A pinch of white sugar
• 1/2 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• 1/4 cup cream
• Salt to taste
• Chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves, to garnish

Instructions

Kofta:

1. Combine together paneer, potatoes, 1 tbsp cornflour and garam masala in a large bowl. Season with salt. Make 10 paneer balls out of the mixture.
2. Place 2 tbsp cornflour in a wide bowl. Roll the balls in cornflour. Meanwhile, heat oil for deep frying in a heavy bottomed pan. Add paneer balls in batches, and deep fry until golden brown. Drain on an absorbent towel. Set aside.

Onion paste:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add cardamoms, cinnamon and cloves. Sauté, stirring constantly, for a few seconds. Add onions, ginger and garlic. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until onions turn soft and translucent.
2. Add tomatoes and cashew nuts. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until tomatoes break down and turn mushy. Remove from heat. Leave to cool slightly. Grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.

Malai kofta:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamom pods. Sauté, stirring constantly, for few seconds or until fragrant. Add ginger and garlic. Sauté, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until aromatic.
2. Add onion paste and tomato paste. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes or until oil separates. Add garam masala, coriander powder and red chili powder. Season with salt. Sauté, stirring constantly, for a minute.
3. Add sugar. Cover with enough water to make thick sauce. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add kasuri methi. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream. Heat through.
4. Place koftas in the sauce just before serving. Garnish with chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves.

Notes

- Traditionally, the koftas are made with paneer and potatoes. But you can more finely chopped veggies if you like. Chopped cashew nuts and almonds will also add more flavor to the paneer balls
- Perfect with parathas, naan, roti or rice

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 377Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 38mgSodium 579mgCarbohydrates 30gFiber 5gSugar 7gProtein 10g

Like this malai kofta curry? Then join Nish Kitchen on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram. Watch exclusive recipe videos on YouTube. Check out more recipes:

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