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How To Make Malai Kofta | Malai Kofta Recipe

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Malai kofta -Stuffed cottage cheese kofta simmered in a creamy tomato sauce

Malai kofta is a classic dish of North India ,a must and favorite dish of every restaurant menu card. The melt in mouth Koftas are made with grated paneer and boiled potatoes and stuffed with nuts and saffron ,the rich and creamy sauce is made with tomatoes, cashews and cream.

There are few versions of making this creamy sauce and the color of the gravy depends on the spices and ingredients used. You can substitute potato with khoya or boiled mashed banana for a Jain version. You can also prepare the koftas and gravy before and just heat them before serving.

KOFTAS– There are two parts of this dish , one is to make soft melt in mouth koftas using mashed paner , potato and nuts with some aromatic spices for flavour. choped ginger , chilies and coriander is also added in the koftas.

Cornstarch is added for binding or you can use arrowroot or bread crumbs instead. You can stuff the koftas with nuts inside or for a easy version just add nuts and herbs in the potato paneer mixture and roll into smooth balls.  These balls are carefully fried in ghee or oil as pr your choice till golden in color

GRAVY- The koftas are served with a silken smooth gravy. It is made with tomatoes, cashew, ginger and few basic spices, flavored with whole spices. You can also add saffron it it . As my version is without onion so I added some grated bottle gourd in it for thickness .

The ingredients are cooked and then pureed into a smooth paste. After that strain the puree to make it soft and smooth. Fry the masala in ghee or butter or add butter at the time of finishing the dish.

These fried koftas can also be served as a snack with a tangy sauce or dip. Serve Malai kofta with jeera rice or Naan

Vegan Version-

To make it vegan you can use tofu instead of paneer and instead of cream use cashew cream.

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4 from 2 votes

Malai Kofta Recipe | How To Make Malai Kofta

Malai kofta -Stuffed cottage chesse kofta simmered in a creamy tomato sauce

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Dinner Recipes, Festive Recipe, Main Course
Cuisine: Mughali cuisine, North Indian Cuisine
Keyword: Malai Kofta, no onion garlic
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 548kcal
Author: Anjana Chaturvedi

Ingredients

For making Kofta

  • 1 cup Cottage cheese / Paneer
  • 4 medium Potatoes / Aloo boiled
  • 3 tsp Cashew Nuts / Kaju chopped
  • 2 tsp Raisins / Kishmish chopped
  • 2.5 tbsp Arrowroot / Corn Flour / Tapkir
  • 1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder / Elaichi Powder
  • 1 tsp Green chilies/Hari Mirch
  • 1/4 tsp Saffron / Kesar
  • 1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder/ Laal Mirch
  • 2 tbsp Fresh coriander chopped
  • 1/4 tsp Pepper Powder / Kali Mirch
  • To Taste Salt- to taste

For Making Gravy

  • 5 Tomatoes / Tamatar
  • 1/2 cup Bottle Gourd / Lauki grated
  • 1/4 cup Cashew Nuts / Kaju
  • 1/2 cup Fresh cream or milk
  • 2 Green chilies/Hari Mirch
  • 1 inch Ginger / Adrak
  • 1 tsp Sugar / Chini
  • 1.5 tsp Red Chili Powder/ Laal Mirch
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder / Haldi Powder
  • To Taste Salt / Namak
  • 1 tsp Dried Fenugreek / Kasoori Methi
  • Pinch of Fenugreek Seeds / Methidana
  • 1/3 tsp Cardamom Powder / Elaichi Powder
  • pinch Clove powder
  • 2 Bay Leaves / Tej Patta
  • 3/4 tsp Garam Masala Powder
  • 2 tbsp Fresh Coriander / Cilantro / Hara Dhaniya

Instructions

Kofta

  • In a big bowl mash together 3 boiled potatoes,1/2 cup paneer,salt,chili powder,corn flour(or soak 1.5 bread slice in water, squeeze and use instead of corn flour)chopped fresh coriander and garam masala,mix well-mixture A
  • In a seperate bowl, take 1/2 cup paneer(mash and make it smooth),chopped cashew pieces,chopped raisins, saffron(soaked in 1/2 tsp of warm milk),cardamom powder,pepper powder and pinch of salt and mix well.-mixture B
  • Take a small portion from the paneer potato mixture and flatten it and then stuff it with a small ball made with the dry fruit mix and then roll and make round balls from it.
  • Roll the balls in dry corn flour and then dust off the extra corn flour.
  • Heat oil in a deep pan and deep fry the koftas till golden in colour.
  • Drain on a tissue paper and keep aside.

Gravy

  • Boil the tomatoes and grated lauki and then grind with 2 green chilies and ginger
  • Soak cashew nuts in warm water for 15 minutes and then drain the water and grind cashews to make a smooth paste.
  • Heat 2 tbsp oil+1tbsp of butter in a pan and add bay leaves , cinnamon and a pinch of fenugreek seeds and fry for few seconds
  • Now add tomato puree and cook for approx 2-3 minutes, partially cover the pan with a lid to avoid splattering.
  • Then add turmeric,chili powder,cardamom powder,clove powder(or 2 cloves) and cashew paste.
  • Mix well and saute till the oil start seperating from the sides of the pan.
  • Now add approx 1.5 to 2 cups of water and let it simmer till it thickens,will take approx 10 minutes.
  • Add sugar,cream, garam masala and crushed kasoori methi.
  • Simmer for a minute and then add chopped fresh coriander and 1 tsp butter
  • Just before serving arrange the hot koftas in the serving dish and pour the hot gravy over them.
  • Serving suggestions-serve with jeera rice,pulao or naan

Nutrition

Calories: 548kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 223mg | Potassium: 1268mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1358IU | Vitamin C: 56mg | Calcium: 348mg | Iron: 3mg

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Maayeka

    @Hi Neha-white gravy is made with boiled onion and cashew paste but as I never use onions in my cooking the only tip I can give you is to skip addition of turmeric powder:)

  3. Neha Gupta

    Hi! This looks really yummy.But my 4 yr old son likes white malai kofta, so can u please tell me how to go about making white gravy for malai kofta

  15. Meena B

    wow delicious my favourite

    now that i know i can cook this at home instead of waitin for it at restaurant i would really make it as soon as i can

    this is too good
    book marking to try anjana

4 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)