Kofta Recipe?!
I also live in America and have no clue about Indian cooking, so could you please provide some alternatives to the indian spices and such that I can find at a grocery store here?
THANK YOU so much! My ex-boyfriend is Indian and his mom made Malai Kofta all the time and I miss it!
Answers: I prefer Malai Kofta, I'm a vegetarian.
I also live in America and have no clue about Indian cooking, so could you please provide some alternatives to the indian spices and such that I can find at a grocery store here?
THANK YOU so much! My ex-boyfriend is Indian and his mom made Malai Kofta all the time and I miss it!
For the koftas:
2 cups peeled and diced boiled potatoes
1 cup mixed vegetables (carrots, beans, peas, sweet corn) boiled
1 cup paneer cubes
2 tbsps of double cream
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts and cashewnuts)
1/4 raisins chopped fine
Salt to taste
Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil to fry the koftas
For the sauce:
3 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
2 large onions quartered
2 tomatoes quartered
2 tbsps garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
2 tsps coriander powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp poppy seeds lightly roasted and ground into a powder
3 tbsps nuts (cashews and almonds) ground into a thick paste
Salt to taste
2 tsps garam masala
PREPARATION:
Mash the potatoes, mixed vegetables, paneer and cream together. Add the kofta spices to this mash and mix well. The resulting dough should be firm. If not add some more boiled potato.
Season with salt.
Make this dough into balls and put 1/2 a tsp of the nut and raisin mix in the center of each ball. Roll into perfect rounds.
Heat the oil kept aside to fry the koftas, on a medium flame. Deep fry these rounds till pale golden in colour.
Drain on paper towels and keep aside.
For the gravy, first heat the 3 tbsps of oil in a deep pan and fry the onions till light brown.
Grind into a paste along with the tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin and red chilli powders.
Put this paste back into the pan and fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala.
Add the poppy seeds powder and nut paste and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
Add 1 cup of warm water (the sauce for this dish is meant to be thick so do not add too much water) to this masala to form a sauce/gravy. Mix well. Season with salt.
Bring the sauce/gravy to a boil and then reduce the fire to a simmer.
Gently add the kofas to this sauce/gravy and cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes.
Turn off the fire and sprinkle the garam masala all over the top of the dish. Cover immediately and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Serve with hot Naans (tandoor-baked leavened Indian flatbread) or Jeera Rice.
Enjoy! But you dont miss the ex at all, then?
For the Kofta:
1 1/2 lb. potatoes
2 heaped tbsp each of crumbled paneer,
khoya and thick malai(You can substitute this with baked ricotta cheese and heavy cream)
4-5 cashewnuts chopped
1 tbsp raisins
2-3 finely chopped green chillies
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp red-chilli powder
1/2 tsp cardammom powder
Salt To Taste
3 tbsp cooking oil/ghee(clarified butter)
Oil for frying the koftas
For the gravy:
2 medium onions,chopped
3 flakes garlic,crushed
1 inch ginger,crushed
3 large tomatoes,pureed
1 tsp red-chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp dhania(corainder) powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp powdered poppy seeds
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp ground peanuts/cashewnuts
How to make malai koftha :
Boil the potatoes till tender.
Peel, mash and add salt to taste.
Keep aside.
Mix all the other ingredients for the kofta into a paste.
Make rounds of the potato dough and place a little of the prepared mixture in the center of each round.
Seal the edges and shape into stuffed rounds. Deep fry each kofta till golden brown. Drain and keep aside.
Blend together the onions, ginger, garlic and the poppy seeds and fry in 3 tbsp of oil till brown and the oil begins to seperate.
Add the pureed tomatoes and the masala powders.
Add the sugar and the ground peanuts.
The gravy will begin to thicken.
You can also add some malai to thicken it some more.
Mix in some water if necessary.
When the gravy comes to a boil, add the koftas.
Heat through and serve the malai kofta.
Note: In this malai kofta receipe , the koftas should be put in just before eating the dish or else they will turn soggy.