Malai Kofta – Kofta in creamy sauce
Mashed potato and paneer stuffed koftas in creamy rich tomato sauce. Serve it with naan or jeera rice.
Growing up in India we would often visit same restaurant every weekend and order same dish. One of the dishes that we would always order would be Malai Kofta. It was this one restaurant, and I can still remember the taste of their malai kofta. It was quite simpler than my recipe, still so good. It also reminds me of memories with my dad and us as a family.
Malai Kofta is a must if you like or crave something rich and creamy. Deep fried koftas prepared with seasoned mashed potatoes and with surprise center filled with paneer and nuts. They are served in creamy tomato sauce. I don’t recall my mom making it at home as often as she makes it now.
What is Malai Kofta?
A little intro of the name of the dish and its origins. Malai Kofta is a delicious creamy North Indian dish. Malai meaning cream, as the texture is so soft and creamy just like cream. Kofta word is derived from the word Kofte. It is believed the dish originated from meaty koftas something that vegetarians can also enjoy so it was prepared with veggie ingredients to mimic the dish.
This dish can be prepared in so many ways. Some people mix mashed potatoes and paneer and form balls, I would say easy way of doing it. Still delicious. My family always makes it filled with paneer and nuts in the center. A little tricky and an extra step. And there are recipes that uses some other vegetables like carrots, peas, cabbage etc. along with potatoes and make koftas.
One thing could be common and that is adding nuts and raisins due to its Mughlai roots.
The other variation of this dish can be found in the sauce or the gravy.
- Mughlai version often has white sauce and heavy use of cashews or almonds along with caramelized onions giving it rich taste and sauce that looks white. Instead of using red chilies, green is used along with black pepper. I have also shared a recipe of koftas using lotus stem instead of potatoes and it has white sauce or gravy. I will link it here and here incase if you are interested in trying it.
- Apparently the other variation is Punjabi or North Indian style Malai Kofta, often orange or yellowish in color. There is use of tomatoes and red chilies in this version along with cashews and heavy cream for that extravagant rich taste.
- As I shared earlier it originated during Mughal era and has its roots in Mughlai cuisine, which is known to be rich, luxurious, and creamy. Mughlai cuisine often relies on ingredients like nuts, saffron, dry fruits like raisins, alu bukhara etc., for richness. Koftas are not only a dish famous in India but also in other South Asian countries, and countries like Persia, Turkey ad Middle eat.
- They can be dry cooked or koftas could be in sauce too. They can be eaten with bread wrapped around with marinated onions, tomatoes etc if it’s the dry version or it can be a saucy version (in this case) that can be scooped by naan or paratha.
There are two parts to the recipe-
Koftas – These Koftas are made from boiled mashed and seasoned potatoes and then they are filled with seasoned paneer with nuts and raisins. You can either mix everything together and form balls and then deep fry them or you can make it the way I like to make them with surprise paneer centers.
When I am making small batch, I would do the paneer in the center method. If I am making a big batch, I would just mix potatoes and paneer altogether and deep fry them.
The sauce or gravy is made with onions, tomatoes and aromatics like ginger, garlic, chilies, warming spices, and cashews for that extra rich taste. Strain the sauce for smooth texture.
Malai Kofta is not a difficult dish, but some tips to keep in mind for best results.
- Best potatoes to use- Use potato variety that is drier than softer. You want some firmness in potatoes so that to hold its texture. If they are too wet or soft, they will either disintegrate or you won’t be able to form balls from sticky potatoes. They also need to be dry after boiling. So, let them sit for a bit before mashing or grating them.
- Seasoned
- Fry Koftas on moderate heat, too hot they will brown from outside quickly and not properly cook. Low heat, the koftas will soak up the oil and they will be greasy. The oil should be medium hot. I would suggest at 300 F, if you are using a thermometer.
- Use of cornstarch or rice flour – Be mindful of the small amounts, too much of it will alter the taste.
- I do not use heavy cream in this dish, but you can add it. I only use cashew nuts and cashew cream.
- I prefer to add koftas in the sauce just few minutes before serving. I do not like when they lose their texture.
- Sub cashews for almonds or melon seeds.
- Vegan – Instead of paneer, you can use firm tofu.
Leftover Koftas can be enjoyed in a wrap too. Just spread some tomato sauce/gravy on a lightly cooked tortilla or paratha, place koftas on the sauce, add some greens, some marinated onions and little bit more sauce, wrap it up and enjoy.
Malai Kofta
Ingredients
Koftas
Potato mix
- 3 medium sized potatoes boiled and mashed
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 green chili finely chopped
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
- 1 tbsp cornstarch plus more for coating
Paneer mix
- 1 cup paneer grated
- 1 tbsp raisins chopped
- 1 tbsp cashews finely chopped
- ¼ tsp red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
- Salt to taste
- Neutral oil to fry
Tomato Sauce
- 5-6 cashew nuts
- 1 can tomato sauce/puree 8 oz
- 1 medium onion ¾ – 1 cup
- 1 green chili
- 1 inch ginger piece
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pod cardamom
- A small stick of cinnamon
- 2 tbsp butter
- Salt
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 ½ tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp sugar or honey
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp kasuri methi crushed
- 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
- More cilantro to garnish
- Cashew cream
Instructions
Koftas
- Boil the potatoes using a pressure cooker with 6 whistles or in a pot until the potatoes are fully cooked. Sometimes, I like to microwave potatoes cut into halves with just enough water. Once the potatoes are boiled, let them cool down, peel off the skin and either grate them or mash them with potato masher until its smooth. They should be soft but not watery or sticky.
- In a mixing bowl, add mashed smooth potatoes, and other ingredients like grated ginger, finely chopped green chilies, cilantro, salt, and tiny pinch of cardamom powder about 1/8 tsp. Add 1 tbsp cornstarch.
- In another small mixing bowl, take grated paneer, finely chopped nuts, raisins, ¼ tsp red chili powder, 1/8 tsp cardamom powder, and salt to taste. You can add 1 tbsp milk, heavy cream or water to just bring it together. If you use fresh paneer, you might not need to use liquid. Mix it well. Divide the mixture and form tiny balls that should fit inside the potato mixture.
- Grease the palm of your hands, and take some mashed potato mixture, for a little patty and create a little well, add balls of paneer and try to seal them as tight as possible and then give it round or oblong shape. If they are not properly sealed, they might open while frying and mess up the entire frying oil.
- If you do not want to make it this way, simply mix potato mix with paneer mix and form balls and then deep fry them.
- Roll each koftas in cornstarch to coat them around the balls. There should be light coating not too thick.
- Heat enough oil to fry in a deep pan on medium-high heat. Make sure oil is 300 F or medium hot. Gently take each kofta and drop them one by one in hot oil and fry them evenly on all sides until golden in color. Do not try to move koftas too soon, they might disintegrate. Just keep moving the oil to cost on top and they will gradually float or release themselves. They might stick to the bottom of the pot, so just gently remove them. Finish frying all and remove them on absorbent paper towel.
Tomato Sauce
- Soak cashew nuts in warm water for few minutes. Keep it aside.
- On medium heat in pan, take some oil or butter and once it’s hot add cumin seeds, onions, garlic, ginger and green chili. Sauté it until onions turns translucent. Add other spices too along with fennel seeds, and then add cashew nuts and tomato sauce. Let it cook for few seconds and then let it cool down. Blend this mixture once it cools down with 1/4 -1/3 cup water. You can add some more water too if you like. Strain the mixture after blending so that sauce looks smooth and silky.
- Heat butter in a pan on medium heat. Once it’s hot, add prepared onion tomato sauce. Stirring occasionally cook it until it thickens up for 3-4 minutes. Add spices like red chili, turmeric, coriander powder and salt. Add garam masala close to it getting cooked along with crushed kasuri methi and add sugar or honey. If you are using cream, then add it at this point along with cardamom powder. Mix and let it simmer for few seconds and turn off the flame.
- Garnish it with cilantro if you like and some saffron and it is ready to be served.
- To serve, add some sauce to a serving bowl or platter, place koftas on the sauce and add some more sauce on top. Add a dollop of cashew cream or heavy cream. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with a side of garlic naan or jeera rice.
Notes
- Best potatoes to use- Use potato variety that is drier than softer. You want some firmness in potatoes so that to hold its texture. If they are too wet or soft, they will either disintegrate or you won’t be able to form balls from sticky potatoes. They also need to be dry after boiling. So, let them sit for a bit before mashing or grating them.
- Be careful in adding salt. Its in every element.
- Fry Koftas on moderate heat, too hot they will brown from outside quickly and not properly cook. Low heat, the koftas will soak up the oil and they will be greasy. The oil should be medium hot. I would suggest at 300 F, if you are using a thermometer.
- Use of cornstarch or rice flour – Be mindful of the small amounts, too much of it will alter the taste.
- I do not use heavy cream in this dish, but you can add it. I only use cashew nuts and cashew cream.
- I prefer to add koftas in the sauce just few minutes before serving. I do not like when they lose their texture.
- Sub cashews for almonds or melon seeds.
- Vegan – Instead of paneer, you can use firm tofu.