Malai kofta - Epitome of Drooliciousness(!!!)

Doesn't the name make you drool? When I have my off days from my so called "diet" or when the cravings gets too much out of control or when guests pop in, then I consider those moments the perfect ones to make this Malai (cream) Kofta (fried balls of vegetables/meat). It does involve a considerable effort to make but the result is worth every millisecond put in and some.



There are many versions of Malai Kofta which are made with meat but mine obviously is going to be vegetarian version where I have replaced the meat with Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese)along with vegetables.

For the Koftas


• 1/2 cup Paneer Grated
  
  
• About 1-1/2 cups of mixed boiled vegetables(peas,cauliflower,beans,carrots,potatoes)
  
  
• 2 tbsp bread crumbs
  
  
• 1 tbsp milk powder
  
  
• 1 tsp chilli powder ( or as per taste)
  
  
• pinch of turmeric
  
  
• salt to taste and few sprigs of cilantro to garnish
  

For the gravy


• 2-3 tbsp coconut,grated
  
  
• 2-3 red chillies(as per taste)
  
  
• 2 tsp corainder seeds
  
  
• 1 tsp cumin
  
  
• 1 tbsp chiroli nuts (sara paruppu - available in Indian stores)
  
  
• 2 tsp Khus khus
  
  
• 3-4 cashews
  
  
• few sprigs of cilantro
  
  
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  
  
• 1 onion, chopped
  
  
• 3-4 cups of Tomatoes,chopped.
  
  
• 1 cup milk
  
  
• 1/4 cup cream
  
  
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
  
  
• 1 tsp garam masala
  
  
• 1/2 tsp Kasuri Methi ( dried fenugreek leaves)
  
  
• 2 tsp sugar
  

Method

For the Gravy

1.In a pan in little ghee, saute onions, ginger-garlic paste along with tomatoes and salt until soft. Set aside to cool.



2.Now grind the first 8 ingredients together.



3.In the same pan, in a tsp of ghee, saute this ground mixture until the raw smell leaves.



4.Process the cooled tomato-onion mixture until smooth.



Add this mixture to the ground paste and let it simmer for 10 min.Add the milk, sugar and cream and simmer some more for another 10min.



For the Koftas

1.Add all the ingredients together, and mash it well.



2.Make small balls out of it.


3.Deep fry these balls and set aside.



Assembling.

1.Just about 20 min before serving, drop the Koftas inside the gravy, add kasuri methi and let it absorb the gravy. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with cream (optional).Ta-Da - Done! Now you have a scrumptious Malai kofta all ready for feasting!

The deadline for AWED - American is Nov 30th - So dont forget to send me the entries.




Now lets check out fellow Marathoner's kitchen.

1) Siri, 2) Srivalli, 3) Ranji, 4)PJ, 5) Curry Leaf, 6) Medha,

7) Priya, 8) Bhawna, 9) Raaji, 10) Ruchii, 11) Anu, 12) Kamala,

13) Roopa, 14) Divya Kudua, 15) Rekha, 16) Divya M, 17)Lakshmi,

18)Raaga , 19) Lakshmi Venkatesh , 20) Sripriya, 21) Viji,

22) Kamalika, 23)Pavani,>,24)Karuna,25)Roochi