Malai Koftaમલાઈ કોફ્તા
Soft paneer and potato dumplings in a creamy cashew-tomato gravy. It tastes like wedding food, and it is entirely doable at home.
Ingredients
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- Kofta: 200 g paneer, 2 boiled potatoes, 3 tbsp cornflour
- Chopped nuts (optional), salt
- Gravy: 2 onions, 3 tomatoes, 10 cashews
- Ginger-garlic, chilli powder, coriander-cumin powder, garam masala
- ¼ cup cream, dried fenugreek leaves, 1 tsp sugar
- Oil, salt, coriander
Method
- Mash the paneer and potatoes smooth, add cornflour and salt, and shape into balls, stuffing nuts inside if you like.
- Fry in medium-hot oil until golden and drain on paper.
- Simmer the onions, tomatoes and cashews, cool and blend into a smooth paste.
- Fry the ginger-garlic, add the paste and cook until the oil separates, then add spices, sugar and salt.
- Stir in cream and crushed fenugreek and simmer 5 minutes.
- Add the koftas to the gravy only as you serve, or they fall apart.
Tips
- If the koftas break, add a little more cornflour.
- Fry one as a test first; it's easier to fix the mixture than a whole batch.
Storing and reheating
Keep the koftas and the gravy in separate boxes. This matters more than anything else. The gravy holds three days in the fridge and a month in the freezer. Fried koftas keep two days in the fridge; warm them in the oven or on a tawa before serving. Koftas left sitting in gravy go soft within two hours and will have dissolved by the next day.
What you can swap
- In place of cornflour use two tablespoons of arrowroot or three of breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs make a slightly heavier kofta but one much less likely to break.
- No cream? Soak eight or ten cashews in hot water, grind them smooth and stir in at the end. Two tablespoons of the skin off boiled milk also works.
- To cook without onion and garlic, raise the cashews to fifteen and add a teaspoon of poppy seeds to bind the gravy. Fresh tomato and ginger carry the flavour.
- Some cooks replace part of the paneer with mashed boiled sweet potato. If you do, leave out the sugar in the gravy.
What to serve with it
With naan, roti or jeera rice. This is a dish for weddings, parties and festive meals rather than everyday cooking. When a Gujarati kitchen decides to cook Punjabi, this plus one dal is usually the whole menu.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not add extra cornflour beyond about three tablespoons. The koftas will certainly hold together, but they taste gluey and faintly raw.
- Do not have the oil too hot. On high heat the koftas darken outside while staying cold in the middle. Medium heat and patience gives an even golden crust.
- Never mash the potatoes while they are hot. Hot potato turns gummy and then needs more binder. Let them cool completely first.
- Do not make the gravy too thin. Koftas that are submerged in a loose gravy collapse quickly. It should coat a spoon.
Questions people ask
My koftas fall apart in the oil. What went wrong?
There is too much moisture in the potatoes. Add a tablespoon of cornflour and chill the mixture for fifteen minutes, which firms it up. Next time, boil the potatoes in less water, or spread them out for ten minutes after boiling to let the steam escape.
Can the koftas be made without deep frying?
Yes. Use an appe pan with a little oil in each hollow, cover, and cook on low for eight to ten minutes, turning once. They will not be as crisp and they soften faster in the gravy, but the flavour is good.
Can I make the gravy in advance?
Yes, and it is the sensible way to do it. Make the gravy up to two days ahead and refrigerate it without the cream or kasuri methi. On the day, reheat, stir in the cream, and add the koftas last.
