In my version of malai kofta, soft balls of paneer or ricotta cheese are baked to perfection and then sunk into a thick, creamy and rich gravy of tomatoes and cashews. This is the baked version of malai kofta.
Malai kofta is one of the most popular and probably one of most ordered Indian vegetarian entrees of any Indian restaurants and for a pretty good reason. Soft cheese and veggie balls in a rich sweet and savory tomato based gravy with a hint of warm Indian spices. It is really good!!
In my version, I have broiled the kofta instead of deep frying and also replaced cream with cashews in the gravy just to save lots of extra calories in the dish. And in that way I can make this delectable malai kofta quite often when my stomach desires. But if you are not worried about the calories go ahead and either deep fry or shallow fry the koftas.
Malai kofta goes really well with tandoori roti or naan or even with a simple chapati.
Malai Kofta Recipe
Course: MainCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium6
servings30
minutes40
minutesMalai Kofta or Paneer kofta is an Indian version of meatless balls in a thick tomato and cashews based gravy.
Ingredients
- For kofta :-
1 cup of shredded paneer or ricotta cheese (about 8oz)
2 medium boiled potatoes, mashed
2 Tbsp of chopped cilantro
2-3 green chilies
1/2 tsp of chaat masala and fennel powder
Few raisins (optional)
Salt to taste
- For Gravy :-
1.2 Tbsp of oil
1 large onions, chopped
1 inch of minced ginger
4-5 medium garlic cloves minced
1.5 tsp of coriander powder
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
1/2 tsp of turmeric
Red chilly powder to taste
1/2 tsp of garam masala
3 medium tomatoes about 2 cups chopped
3/4 cup of milk
1/3 heaped cup of cashews or 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1.5 tsp of sugar and salt to taste
2 Tbsp of chopped cilantro
Directions
- For kofta :-
- Mix everything for kofta together except raisins in a bowl and make lime size ball, putting 1 or 2 raisins in the center.
- Keep koftas in an oiled baking tray and spray little oil over the koftas and broil on low for about 4-5 minutes until light brown.
- Keep an eye on a broiler as kofta can be burned in a few minutes Or you can shallow fry the koftas in a non-stick pan until brown.
- For gravy :-
- Soak the cashews in a cup of warm water for 20 minutes.
- Heat oil in a pan, add onions and ginger and stir.
- When onions are browned, add garlic and stir for 2 minutes, then add all dry masalas and saute for a minute.
- Now add tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are very tender and super soft about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and take out the cinnamon let the mixture cool down a bit.
- Now process the soaked cashews with half of its water into a coarse paste in a food processor. Then add the tomato mixture and process everything until smooth.
- Then pour ground tomato-cashew mixture with a cup of water back into the pan and turn on the heat to low-medium heat.
- Let the gravy comes to slow boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add milk and sugar and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Mix in cilantro leaves and gravy is ready.
- Now put koftas in a serving bowl and carefully pour hot gravy over it, put the lid on and let it rest for 10 minutes, to soak the goodness of gravy.
- Add koftas in the gravy at the time of serving only. Don’t stir just give it a little shake because koftas can break.
- You can make koftas ahead of time and at the time of serving, add hot and bubbling gravy over the koftas and cover it with lid for 5-10 minutes.
