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MALAI KOFTA

Cottage cheese and potato balls bathed in a spicy and creamy sauce
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Servings 4 peoples

Ingredients
  

For Kofta:

  • 1 ¼ cup cottage cheese (paneer)
  • ¾ cup Potato (boiled)
  • Salt 
  • chilli powder
  • ¼ cup breadcrumbs (dry grind 2 slices of bread)
  • 1 tbsp ginger grated
  • ½ tbsp green chillies crushed
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • Oil for deep frying

For curry:

  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 2 Black cardamom
  • 4 Green cardamom
  • 6 Black pepper
  • 4 Cloves
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds (zeera)
  • 1 cup onions diced
  • 2 cups tomato chopped
  • 1 tsp crushed green chillies
  • 1 tbsp ginger chopped
  • 1 tbsp garlic chopped
  • ¼ cup cashews
  • 1/3 tsp turmeric powder (haldi powder)
  • 1 tbsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp coriander powder (dhania powder)
  • ½ tsp cumin powder (zeera powder)
  • 1 tsp dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
  • Salt to taste
  • Cream for garnishing

Instructions
 

For curry:

  • In a pan, warm oil and butter. Add cinnamon stick, bay leaf, green and black cardamom, black pepper, cloves and shahi zeera. Saute for a few minutes and chopped onions. Also add chopped green chillies, chopped ginger and garlic. Saute for few minutes. Do not brown the onions, just until they turn transparent. Add the dry spices – chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric, cumin powder. Fry for couple of minutes and add tomatoes with cashewnuts. Add salt. Fry for 2-3 minutes, not too much just until it gets a boil. Add 2 ½ cup water. Cover with a lid and let it cook on medium heat until the tomatoes are softened. When the tomatoes are completely mashed, switch off the flame. It should take about 15-20 minutes. Make sure the mixture is not completely dry should have moisture in it.
    Let the mixture cool down, take the bay leaf out and then grind it to a fine paste in a blender. You can add some water, if needed, to run it smoothly in the blender. Sieve the blended paste in a pot to get a creamy gravy. Switch on the flame and start cooking the pureed mixture. Add some water to adjust the consistency. Sprinkle dry fenugreek leaves and let it simmer for few minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Doesn’t need too much cooking at this stage as we only need a few minutes simmering on low medium flame to blend in all the flavours. After about 8 minutes switch the flame off. The creamy malai kofta curry is ready.

For Malai Koftas:

  • Mash the boiled potato and cottage cheese. Best way to do it is to grate the two ingredients in order to get a smooth mixture. Mix in breadcrumbs, salt, crushed green chillies, ginger and cornflour. Mix and combine together all the ingredients to make a soft dough. Divide it into small portions and shape each one of them into round or oblong shape. Use some cornflour or plain flour on your palms to make the balls. You can also use any stuffing like fresh thick layer of malai or finely chopped dry fruits according to your preference. I am using clotted cream as a stuffing. You can also make without any stuffing as well.
    Heat oil in a deep round frying pan. Fry koftas on medium flame in batches. Keep pouring hot oil from the top on the balls. Gently move the balls in the oil with a ladle. They should acquire a golden- brown colour. It should only take 4-5 minutes to fry each batch. Keep them aside, do not put them in the curry beforehand. 
  • At the time of serving, in a dish, place the koftas and pour the curry over it. Garnish with cream!