Malai Kofta

Malai Kofta needs no introduction as I think it is the most popular vegetarian dish from North India. Deep fried koftas made of paneer in a rich creamy gravy is very irresistible . This month we were challenged by  Nupur  with this yummy dish for SNC   a well known event started by Divya Pramil .

Making  this was a very wonderful experience and we all loved it. But since I made this dish on the day when we were fasting I had to omit the onions and garlic but still the dish was unbelievably tasty. Thanks Nupur for this wonderful challenge.

Recipe Source : www.ukrasoi.com

Ingredients :

For the Koftas :

100 gm ..................paneer ( cottage cheese)
2 to 3 ...................boiled potatoes
2 tbsp...................instant milk powder
2 tbsp..................corn flour
1 tbsp each .........cashews, raisins, grn chillies, coriander
salt
oil for deep frying

For the Gravy :

5 to 6 .....................tomatoes ( pureed )
1 tbsp......................ginger paste
1 tsp.......................chilly powder
1/2 tsp...................turmeric powder
1 tsp......................dhana jeera powder
2 tbsp each............instant milk powder, cashews, poppy seeds
2 tbsp...................thick fresh cream
1/2 tsp...................jeera
2 .........................bay leaves
fistful...................chopped coriander
1 cup or more ....milk
4 tbsp................pure ghee
salt


Method for Koftas :


Peel the boiled potatoes and mash them well.

Add paneer , salt, milk powder, potato mash and cornflour .

Mix properly and make lemon sized balls.

Mix separately cashew pieces, raisings, finely chopped green chillies and coriander.

Make a dent in the paneer ball and fill 1/4 tsp of cashew mixture in it.

Close the ball from all sides and give it a little elongated shape.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the koftas till golden in colour.

Method for Gravy :

Heat ghee in a pan and add jeera and bay leaves.

Then add tomato puree and stir fry till the water evaporates and raw smell disappears.

Ghee will start separating from the puree.

Add ginger paste  and all dry masala powder and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

Grind a paste of poppy seeds, cashews and instant milk powder.

Add this to the pan along with 1 cup milk and cook till the gravy boils and thickens.

You can further dilute the gravy with milk if it is too thick.

While serving boil the gravy add fresh cream, chopped coriander and carefully add the fried koftas.

Give just one boil and serve hot with parathas or naans.

Do not boil the gravy again and again or the koftas will bread as they are very soft.