Malai Kofta with Tandoori Roti

Indian Curries Special

Tonight's Menu

Malai Kofta (Paneer Kofta Curry)

Tandoori Roti

Wine Pairing: Riesling / Zinfandel wines

Malai Kofta Curry (Paneer Kofta)

Malai Kofta is a dish for special occasions and is a vegetarian version of meatballs. Koftas are fried dumplings. More popularly recognized as meatballs, koftas can be made from different ingredients such as lamb, chicken, vegetables, paneer. Fried koftas are immersed in rich silky gravy and accompanied by naan, tandoori roti or cumin rice.

Paneer koftas before frying

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
For the koftas (dumplings)
11/2 cup crumbled paneer (Indian cottage cheese)
1 cup boiled and mashed potato
chopped green chilies
finely chopped fresh coriander
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
salt to taste
1/2 tsp each red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder
few raisins
1/2 cup all purpose flour
oil for deep frying
For the gravy
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp whole spices crushed(cumin, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves)
1 medium onion crushed
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 medium tomatoes pureed
2 tbsp cream
turmeric powder
coriander powder
red chili powder
2 tbsp cashew nut powder

1. Make Koftas - combine all the stuff except raisins and flour and mix well. Shape into one inch balls while pressing 2-3 raisins in the center. Roll them lightly on all purpose flour and deep fry till they are golden brown. Don't put too much salt here since they will absorb some from the gravy as well. While frying try one kofta first to make sure it doesn't break in the oil. If it does then add some more breadcrumbs in the mixture to help absorb water. Keep aside. 
2. Make gravy - In a large pan heat oil and add the whole spices. let cook for 5 seconds and add onion and ginger garlic paste. Fry stirring often till the mixture turns golden brown. Add the tomatoes and spices along with cashew nut powder. Cook stirring constantly till the mixture leaves oil droplets on the side. Be careful at this stage since the nut mixture makes it very susceptible to burn. Now add some water about 3/4 to one cup. Gravy for this dish is supposed to be thick so don't add a lot of water. Bring the gravy to boil and then add cream. Cook for about a minute and gently lower the fried koftas into the boiling gravy. Boil for about another minute and carefully stir so the koftas absorb the flavor from the gravy but not break. Serve immediately with roti or naan. 
3. These koftas are quite delicate and if left in the gravy for a long time before serving they will break apart by absorbing a lot of liquid. So add them to the gravy just before serving. You can adjust the consistency of the gravy by add some boiling water if it gets too thick.

Fried Paneer Koftas