Creamiest Malai Kofta recipe

Malai kofta brings back a lot of fond childhood memories. Like a lot of community markets, we used to have a small dhaba/ chinese/ tandoor shop. And each time mom would make these creamy koftas, I would insist on having a butter naan along with it from that shop. And I did this for as long as I can remember until they permanently shut the tandoor set up. This time around, I cooked the malai kofta, and not just that, also made some insanely simple Garlic naan to go with them as well. Check out the technique for garlic naan here.

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Ingredients for Malai Kofta – Serves 4

For the Kofta

• Potatoes, boiled and peeled – 3, medium-sized
• Paneer – 100 g
• Cornflour – 1 tbsp
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Oil – to fry

For the gravy

• Tomatoes – 4, large
• Onion – 1, large
• Ginger – 1 inch
• Cashew nuts – around 15, roughly broken
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
• Green cardamom, peeled – 2
• Sugar – 1 tbsp
• Salt – to taste
• Cream – 2 tbsp
• Oil – 2 tbsp

Method for Malai Kofta

Start with the masala for the gravy first as it would need time to cool down and then would be ground finely.

• Roughly chop the tomatoes, onions and ginger.
• Heat oil in a kadhai, add the onions and cook until just translucent. Make sure you don’t overcook them else the colour of your gravy would be deeper than the bright orange. Translucent onions also add a nice underlying sweetness to the gravy.
• Add the tomatoes, turmeric and red chilli powder, cardamom seeds, ginger and roughly broken cashew nuts. Season with salt and sugar.
• Mix and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes until the masala is completely cooked/ oil has separated. Set aside to cool down.
• Transfer the masala once it has cooled down and blitz until a smooth paste has formed.
• Transfer the smooth paste back to the kadhai, add a splash of water and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the cream and mix well.
• Meanwhile, mash the potatoes and paneer together. Add the cornflour and salt and mix well to combine. Make cylindrical dumplings.
• Heat oil in a kadhai and fry the koftas until golden brown.

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• To serve, add only the koftas needed into the gravy so that they don’t get soggy.

Best enjoyed with garlic naan of course!