Malai Kofta

Malai kofta curry is one of those dishes that look like they take a lot of time and effort to make but in truth, are easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

For Koftas:

• 1 cup grated Cottage Cheese (paneer)
• 1 cup Potato ( boiled and mashed)
• ½ cup mixed Carrots and Peas blanched
• ½ tsp Garam Masala
• Chopped cashew nuts and Raisins
• 1 tbsp heavy cream
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp besan (gram flour)
• Oil for deep frying

For Gravy

• 1 big Onions chopped
• ½ cup diced Tomato
• 1” Ginger
• 4-5 pods of Garlic paste
• 2 Green Chilies chopped
• 1 tsp Red Chili powder
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp Coriander powder
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 Bay Leaf
• Coriander Leaves finely chopped
• ¼ cup Yogurt
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp cashew paste
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup milk
• 2 tbsp chopped Nuts and raisins
• 3 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

• Mash carrots and peas together. Add grated paneer, boiled potatoes, salt, garam masala, and mix well. The resulting dough should be firm. If not add 1 tbsp of besan (gram flour).
• Divide the paneer mix into equal sized portions. Apply little oil on your palm, take one portion of paneer mix, and keep ½ tsp of nut raisin mix and little malai(or heavy cream) in the centre. Roll into a round smooth ball. Prepare all the Koftas like this.
• Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Fry paneer balls in the oil till brown in color (Frying few at a time).
• Grind onion, ginger, garlic, green chilies and tomatoes in a blender to a smooth paste.
• Heat 3-4 tbsp oil in a heavy wide pan over a medium flame (use same oil in which koftas were fried). Add bay leaf and the contents of the blender to the oil. Add red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and half of the garam masala powder.
• Fry, stirring constantly, for about 7-8 minutes, or until paste (masala) turns little darker, and the oil begins to separate from the masala.
• Add curd and cashew nut paste. (To make cashew nut paste grind cashew nut with water) and fry for 2-3 minutes more.
• Now add 2 cups of the water to the masala to form gravy (the gravy for this dish is meant to be thick so do not add much water).
• Bring the gravy to a boil and then reduce the flame to a simmer.
• Gently add Koftas to the gravy and cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook.
• Mix milk and cream together, and add to the gravy. Adjust the consistency of gravy by adding more milk if required. Add chopped nuts and raisins.
• Turn off the flame, sprinkle garam masala over the top of the dish and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.
• Garnish with fried onion slices, chopped cilantro and cream.
• Serve Malai Koftas with hot Khasta Paratha or Naan.

Do You Know?

Orange pumpkin/ Kaddoo is perfect for thickening gravies that have become too thin. You can freeze boiled and mashed pumpkin in an ice cube tray. That way it is readily available when you need it. Just add a few cubes to a too-thin curry (depending upon the quantity of the gravy) and cook for 5 minutes. Always taste your curry before serving as pumpkin can alter the flavor of the dish. You may need to adjust spices a bit to get the perfect taste.