MALAI KOFTA CURRY | HOW TO MAKE MALAI KOFTA

MALAI KOFTA is a very famous and delicious dish of North India, made with kofta balls served in a rich creamy sauce.

Kofta is nothing but fried/baked meatballs, vegetarian form of koftas is made using potato and paneer, or mixed vegetables.

We can serve these koftas in a rich creamy sauce made with onion and tomato. It is the perfect alternative for satisfying all the vegetarians out there.

We add Malai/ fresh cream to the gravy to increase the richness and creaminess of the curry. In Punjabi and Rajasthani cuisine, malai is used as the prime ingredient to every gravy at the end of cooking or while presenting their foods.

I made this curry in a large quantity for 10 people. First, I made the kofta balls using boiled & mashed potatoes, grated paneer, and spices.

I bind the mixture using cornflour. We can deep-fry them, bake in an oven, or fry them in an air fryer and air-dry.

Following that, I make the gravy by sautéing the onions, tomatoes, and cashews, then mixing the mixture and cooking until the gravy becomes flavorful.

Finally, I dip the kofta in the gravy and allow it to soak for 10-20 mins before serving.

Some people prefer using boiled onions and also eliminating the tomatoes in their gravy, which tastes delicious that way too. But, I prefer using tomatoes in my sauce as it gives the perfect tangy touch to the gravy giving it a balanced taste.

For Vegan people out there, paneer can be substituted with tofu.

This delicious Malai kofta curry can be served with chapati, plain rice, butter naan, naan, roti, jeera rice. Try other curry dishes featured in this blog Stuffed brinjal curry, Baby potato curry, Rajma, Kadai Mushroom, Paneer Butter masala

Tips For making the perfect koftas

• Paneer must be fresh and moist
• We must use boiled and mashed potatoes without any lumps. Avoid using overcooked potatoes.
• We can substitute Corn flour with rice flour. Make sure to use a sufficient amount of flour in the mixture for binding.
• Deep fry the kofta balls in low to medium-low flame only.

How to make Malai Kofta

For kofta

1. In a bowl, add 1 cup grated paneer and 3/4th cup boiled & mashed potatoes, mix

2. Add chopped 1tsp ginger, 1tsp chopped chilies, 1tsp cumin powder, 1/4th tsp garam masala, and salt as per taste, give it a good mix

3. Now, add 2tbsp cornflour and mix thoroughly until the mixture turns soft and smooth. Make sure the mixture is not sticky

4. Make lemon sized smooth balls out of the mixture

5. Deep fry the koftas in low to medium-low flame until they turn crispy, golden brown

6. Remove excess oil from the koftas and cool them

For gravy

7. Take a wide pan, add 1tbsp oil, 2tsp butter, 1tsp cumin seeds, 1 cardamom, 1/4th tsp pepper, 1 bay leaves, and 1inch cinnamon. Saute them until they turn aromatic.

8. Caramelize 1 medium-sized onion until they turn translucent

9. Add in 2 tomatoes, cook for 2mins until they turn mushy.

10. Now, add 5-6 garlic, 1-inch ginger, and 6-8 cashews. Sauté them for 1 min.

11. To the mixture add 1tsp red chili powder, 1/4th tsp turmeric powder, and 1tsp coriander powder. Cook until the water gets evaporated.

12. Off the flame and cool the mixture and blend it to a smooth paste with water (remove the bay leaves before blending)

13. Strain the blended mixture

14. To the same pan, add 1tsp oil and pour the strained-blended mixture and cook for 2-3 mins. Cover and cook until the oil separates.

15. Add ½ a cup of water and cook until the mixture comes to the gravy consistency.

16. Further add 2tsp fresh cream and 1tbsp Kasuri methi. Turn off the flame

17. Dip kofta’s in the curry and rest it for 10-15 mins until the koftas soak in the gravy.

18. Serve the malai kofta with roti, naan, rice, or chapati