Malai Kofta
Paneer and potato dumplings in a smooth cashew gravy. Bind them properly and fry them hot, or they disintegrate in the oil.
- Prep
- 40m
- Cook
- 40m
- Waiting
- 20m
- Total
- 1h 40m
- Serves
- 4
- Effort
- Involved
Scale
Units
Method
| 3 tbsp | 1 Fry gently without browning 8m | 2 Simmer until soft 20m | 3 Blend smooth, sieve, and simmer 10 minutes 15m | 4 Finish the gravy with cream and crushed fenugreek 5m | 7 Add the kofta to the hot gravy at the table, not before 2m They soften and fall apart if they sit in the sauce. Combine as you serve. | |
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 tbsp | ||||||
| 4 | ||||||
| 1/2 cup | ||||||
| 2 tsp | ||||||
| 2 tsp | ||||||
| 1 1/2 tsp | ||||||
| 1 1/2 cups | ||||||
| 1/3 cup | ||||||
| 1 tbsp | ||||||
| 1 tsp | ||||||
| 200 g | 5 Mix and roll into 12 smooth balls, then chill 20 minutes 20m Chilling firms them up and is the difference between kofta and soup. | 6 Fry at 180°C until deep golden, then drain 12m Test one first. If it breaks up, add another spoonful of cornflour. | ||||
| 300 g | ||||||
| 3 tbsp | ||||||
| 1 tsp | ||||||
| 1 | ||||||
| 1 tsp | ||||||
| 2 tbsp | ||||||
| for deep frying | ||||||
| a handful | ||||||
- 1
Fry gently without browning
8m- ghee 3 tbsp
- onion 1
- ginger-garlic paste 2 tbsp
- 2
Simmer until soft
20m- from 1 Fry gently without browning
- tomatoes 4
- cashew nuts 1/2 cup
- Kashmiri chilli powder 2 tsp
- ground coriander 2 tsp
- salt 1 1/2 tsp
- water 1 1/2 cups
- 3
Blend smooth, sieve, and simmer 10 minutes
15m- from 2 Simmer until soft
- 4
Finish the gravy with cream and crushed fenugreek
5m- from 3 Blend smooth, sieve, and simmer 10 minutes
- double cream 1/3 cup
- kasuri methi 1 tbsp
- garam masala 1 tsp
- 5
Mix and roll into 12 smooth balls, then chill 20 minutes
20m- paneer 200 g
- boiled potatoes 300 g
- cornflour 3 tbsp
- ginger 1 tsp
- green chilli 1
- salt 1 tsp
- raisins and chopped cashews (optional) 2 tbsp
Chilling firms them up and is the difference between kofta and soup.
- 6
Fry at 180°C until deep golden, then drain
12m- from 5 Mix and roll into 12 smooth balls, then chill 20 minutes
- oil for frying for deep frying
Test one first. If it breaks up, add another spoonful of cornflour.
- 7
Add the kofta to the hot gravy at the table, not before
2m- from 4 Finish the gravy with cream and crushed fenugreek
- from 6 Fry at 180°C until deep golden, then drain
- coriander leaves a handful
They soften and fall apart if they sit in the sauce. Combine as you serve.
Why kofta fall apart
Two causes, both about moisture. Wet potato means the binder is already saturated and cannot hold anything else, so dry the boiled potatoes in a pan and let them cool completely. And oil below about 170 °C lets the surface absorb fat before a crust forms, at which point the ball loses structure. Hot oil, dry mixture, chilled balls — all three together.
Notes
- Rice or grate the potato rather than mashing. Mashing develops the starch and makes the mixture gluey.
- Fry one as a test. It costs a minute and tells you whether to add binder.
- Kofta and gravy both keep separately for two days. Assembled, they keep for about ten minutes.