Malai Kofta in a White Creamy Gravy

Malai Kofta is a rich creamy dish of Moghul origin which is usually prepared during special occasions. Deep fried vegetable balls are prepared and simmered in a special creamy sauce/curry and served along with rice and rotis/Naans (Indian flat bread). 

 Ingredients:

For koftas:
1 cup boiled mash potatoes

1 cup mash paneer

2 tablespoon minced cilantro (hara dhania)

1/2 teaspoon cumin seed (jeera)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 small finally chopped green chili

For Batter:

All-purpose flour/maida - 2 tablespoon

Water – 4 tbsp

For gravy:
Onions chopped - 2
Cashew nuts/Kaju – 8-10

 Milk 1/2 cup

Cream 2-3 tbsp
Whole garam masala 1 tbsp
Green chily slits – 2 (optional)

Preparation:

For kofta:
Mix all the ingredients listed under ‘ for koftas’. Shape them into lime sized round balls.Mix all-purpose flour/maida with about 4 tbsp of water and mix well until batter is smooth and free of lumps.

Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium high heat.  Dip the paneer balls in the batter one at a time and slowly drop into the frying pan. Turn them occasionally. Fry koftas until golden-brown all around.

For Gravy:
Cook the chopped onions with a little water and ground it into a thick paste without adding more than 2 tbsp water. Then, cook the cashew nuts with a little water and ground it in the mixie jar into a thick paste without adding water.
Heat oil in a  kadai/wok and add whole garam masala. Then add boiled onion paste and cook till the oil separates. Add cashewnut paste and half a cup of water to make it a thick gravy. Cook for 5-6 minutes.
Add milk into it and mix well. You can add green chillies slits if you want to make the gravy a little spicy. Do remove the green chilly slits later. Once gravy is thick and well cooked, add cream.
Mix well and add fried koftas to the gravy and cook for a few minutes.

Suggested Combination: Roti/Naan/Rice