A dish that comes straight from the royal kitchens of India, Malai Kofta is made with cheese and potato balls served in an aromatic, silken smooth and rich sauce. A recipe that is worthy of a feast!
(This post was first published in 2016 and has been updated with detailed instructions & images)
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Over two centuries of Mughal rule in India led to a rich legacy of Mughlai food. Malai kofta is one of the many recipes that originated from the Mughlai kitchens and is said to have traces of Turkish and Persian influences as well.
Malai Kofta is a popular vegetarian dish made with ‘koftas’ – vegetarian meatballs made with crumbled paneer and grated or mashed potatoes. These balls are stuffed with a mixture of dried fruits and nuts, and deep-fried. The deep-fried koftas are then served in a rich sauce made with tomatoes, cream, and a mixture of aromatic spices. This is definitely a dish that lives up to its royal origins! Have the koftas with naans or basmati rice, and dine like the Mughals used to!
In this recipe, I’ll be sharing all my top tips to nail that perfect malai kofta and make it better than what you get at most Indian restaurants. Let’s go…
Ingredients used to make this recipe
Malai kofta is made in two stages – the sauce and the koftas. In this recipe, we make the sauce is made first, then the koftas. Finally, when we serve, we add the sauce over the koftas - not the other way round.
Here is what you will need to make the malai kofta sauce (gravy):
- Cashews - Use unsalted raw cashews
- Onions - red or yellow onions, both work fine
- Tomatoes - can be substituted with tinned tomatoes
- Red chili powder - use Kashmiri chili powder for its deep red color and mild heat
- Turmeric powder
- Garam masala
- Ginger and garlic - Use grated ginger and garlic or ginger-garlic paste
- Cream - I use half cream but full-fat cream works just as well
- Kasoori methi - Thsi herb is highly recommended for bringing out that rich flavor of the sauce. I use it often when making curries such as butter chicken or paneer tikka masala.
- Honey - Honey is used to counter the tartness of the tomatoes, and gives the sauce a balance.
Here is what you will need to make the koftas:
- Potatoes - Any variety of potatoes works well for this recipe
- Paneer - Use homemade or store-bought paneer. Use equal quantities of paneer and potatoes (I used 250 gms of each in this recipe)
- Corn starch - A little corn starch is added as a binder
- Baking soda - This is optional, use a small amount to make the koftas softer/spongier
- Salt and pepper to season
Step by step recipe instructions
1. Prepare the malai kofta sauce
Start by heating a pot on the stovetop. Add butter or ghee, and chopped onions, along with minced ginger and garlic (or ginger-garlic paste). Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes start to turn soft.
Add the cashews, followed by the spice powders and continue to cook.
Add round half a cup of water and cook for a few minutes. Crush the kasuri methi leaves in your palm and add them, followed by garam masala. Cook for a couple of minutes more and turn off the heat.
Let the mixture cool down and blend in a blender until smooth.
Sieve the blended mixture back into the same pot, and add honey, cream and salt to season. Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Your silken smooth sauce for the koftas is ready! Keep aside for later.
2. Prepare the koftas
To prepare the koftas, boil the potatoes. Let the potatoes cool completely before using. This is an important step - as we don't want any moisture while shaping the balls.
In a large mixing bowl, grate the paneer. To this add mashed or grated potatoes, followed by corn starch, salt, and pepper powder. Mix well to form a smooth mixture with as few lumps as possible.
To shape the malai koftas
Take a little potato-paneer mixture in your palm, form lemon-sized balls of the mixture and make a hole in the center. Stuff the center with the dried fruit and nut mixture and shape into a ball. Dust the balls in cornstarch and dust off excess cornstarch.
Deep fry the kofta balls in oil - make sure the oil is hot before you add the koftas - if you add the koftas to oil that isn't very hot, they could break apart. Fry the koftas evenly. After they turn golden-brown, keep them aside on a kitchen towel.
3. Assemble the malai kofta
To serve the koftas, place the koftas in a bowl, spoon over the sauce on top. I recommend this over the more popular method of simmering the koftas in the sauce before serving. By plating the koftas, and adding the sauce over them, the koftas will not break.
Garnish with a touch of cream and chopped coriander/cilantro and serve warm with naans or rice.
Expert Tips
Potatoes should not be hot – Make sure you have cooled down the potatoes before you grate or mash them for the koftas. The mixture for the koftas should be cool to the touch, and any steam escaping from the potatoes will prevent the mixture from coming together.
Strain the sauce – For that restaurant-quality malai kofta, strain the sauce using a mesh strainer, after blending the cooked ingredients for the sauce. After straining, cook it further for a few minutes. This will result in silky-smooth sauce, just like the best restaurants serve up!
Add a touch of baking soda – This is an optional step, but I find that this helps in keeping the koftas soft and spongy. But be careful to add just a little bit, if you add too much, the mixture can disintegrate.
Pour sauce over koftas while serving – For restaurant-quality presentation, plate up the koftas in a serving bowl, and ladle the sauce over it. Many recipes instruct you to simmer the koftas in the gravy, but there is no reason why you should do that. By spooning the sauce/gravy over the koftas, you can be sure that the koftas will not break.
FAQs
Make sure that the paneer and potatoes are grated or mashed well, and that there is no moisture in the mixture. The potatoes should be cooled before handling. Using a little cornflour as the binding agent helps in preventing the koftas from breaking.
Yes, you can make the koftas in advance and freeze them. make the sauce/gravy before you plan to serve the malai kofta, and reheat the koftas and serve with the sauce on the day that you plan you serve the dish.
Koftas can be made vegan as well, with vegan substitutions for the paneer cheese and the dairy cream. For the koftas, make the mixture with extra firm tofu and potatoes, and for the sauce, you can use cashew cream.
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Malai Kofta
Ingredients
For the koftas:
- 250 grams paneer grated
- 250 grams potatoes grated or mashed
- 1 tablespoon corn-starch plus a little extra corn-starch for dusting the koftas
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- a pinch baking soda optional
- ½ tsp Ground black pepper
- ½ cup mixed raisins and cashew nuts can use pistachios or almond as well
For the malai kofta sauce:
- 3 Tomatoes or substitute with ¾ cup tinned tomatoes
- 2 onions
- ½ cup cashews Raw, unsalted
- 1 inch piece ginger grated
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder or use paprika powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp cream
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 tbsp kasuri methi dried fenugreek leaves
- salt to season
Instructions
Prepare the malai kofta sauce
- Start by heating a pot / saucepan on the stovetop.
- Add butter or ghee, chopped onions, along with minced ginger and garlic (or ginger-garlic paste).
- Sauté until the onions are translucent. Don’t brown the onions, as this will alter the color of the sauce.
- Add the chopped tomatoes (or tinned tomatoes) and cook until the tomatoes start to turn soft.
- Add the cashews, followed by the spice powders and mix well. Add half a cup of water and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Crush the kasuri methi leaves in your palm and add them, followed by garam masala. Cook for a couple of minutes more and turn off the heat.
- Let the mixture cool down completely and blend in a blender until smooth.
- Using a fine mesh sieve, sieve the blended mixture back into the same pot, and add honey, cream and salt to season. Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.
- The sauce is now ready and can be kept aside for later.
Prepare the koftas
- To prepare the koftas, cut the potatoes into half and cook them in water on a saucepan on the stovetop until they are fork-tender (around 20 minutes on stovetop). For Instant Pot users, Pressure Cook the potatoes for 5 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of natural release.
- Make sure that the potatoes cool completely before using. Once they are cooled, peel and mash or grate the potatoes.
- In a large mixing bowl, grate the paneer. To this add mashed or grated potatoes, followed by corn starch, salt, and pepper powder. Mix well to form a smooth mixture with as few lumps as possible.
- To shape the koftas - take a little mixture in your palm, form lemon-sized balls of the mixture and make a hole in the center. Stuff the center with the dried fruit and nut mixture and shape into a ball.
- Dust the balls in cornstarch and dust-off excess cornstarch.
- Deep fry the kofta balls in oil - make sure the oil is hot before you add the koftas - if you add the koftas to oil that isn't very hot, they could break apart. Fry the koftas evenly. After they turn golden-brown, keep them aside on a kitchen towel.
Assemble the Malai Kofta
- To serve the koftas, place the koftas in a bowl, spoon over the sauce on top. I recommend this over the more popular method of simmering the koftas in the sauce before serving. By plating the koftas, and adding the sauce over them, the koftas will not break.
Notes
- Make sure that the paneer and potatoes are grated or mashed well, and that there is no moisture in the mixture. The potatoes should be cooled before you grate them.
- Using a little cornflour as the binding agent helps in preventing the koftas from breaking. Do not add too much - just add enough to make the mixture come together.
Nutrition
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