Sahi Malai Kofta

jyotirmoy

For koftas:
¼ tsp. gramflour,
1 ½ cup grated paneer,
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. grated ginger,
2 finely chopped green chillies,
Khubanis (Dried apricots), I have used pitted prunes too.
Pistachios.
salt to taste and oil for frying.

Slit the Khubanis & remove the seeds. Insert a pistachio or two in the hollow.
Mix the above ingredients and knead to a dough. Make balls about 2-1/2 inch dia & insert a stuffed Khubani in the centre.
Heat oil & deep fry these balls & keep aside.

For the Gravy:
2 onions grated.
2 tbsp. ginger & garlic paste.
2 tomatoes pureed.
1 tsp. Corriander powder.
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 Bay leaf.
1-1/2 tsp. Garam Masala.
1 tsp. red chilli powder.
1-1/2 tbsp. Poppy seeds
6 Cashew Nuts soaked in luke warm water
1 cup beaten curd
1/2 cup fresh cream
Ghee.
Salt to taste.

Grind the poppy seeds & the cashews to a fine paste.
Heat Ghee in a sauce pan & when heated add the bay leaf. Add the grated onion & fry for a while.
Now add the ginger & garlic paste, stir & fry a little.
Add corriander, turmeric, salt & chilli powder. Next add the popyy seed & Cashew paste.
Stir well & add the tomato puree. Mix well & fry. When the ghee starts to separate add the beaten curd & mix thoroughly.
Cover & cook for a few minutes. Then let it cool a bit while covered.
Add the Koftas & mix gently. Keep covered for 10 minutes for the Koftas to absorb the gravy.
Transfer to the serving plate & pour cream over it.
Best enjoyed with Nan or plain parathas.

I microwave the fried Koftas a bit this heats up the dried apricot in the centre of the Koftas & the nectar oozes out & moistnes the inside.

HelloSing

Wow! I have never seen a recipe like that in my life. It sounds incredibly delicious.

For the gravy... Do you make the ginger and garlic paste yourself? How?

Yum!

manojb

Malai Kofta is one thing I never really liked.

jyotirmoy

Hellosing,
I make the paste myself using an hand held electric grinder. I do not use the ready made pastes as they invariably contain vinegar. Use one inch piece of Ginger & three or four cloves of Garlics depending on the size of the cloves. My wife uses a large slab of stone & a stone roller to make all kinds of pastes. She has a variety of stone slabs including a large granite one brought all the way from Chitkul in Kinnaur. This slab is heated & then I love the hiss & aroma when well marinated steaks are slapped on this stone. That is patthar ka kabab. Once I was severely admonished for grinding a bit of nutmeg on this slab, I was told this would disturb the "texture"!

Manojb,
I agree many people dont like Malai Kofta because most of them had eaten this at restaurants & most of the restaurant recycles a lot of veg leftovers for making the Koftas. The gravy is often made thick with too much poppy seeds & sometimes coconut too.

HelloSing

jyotirmoy,

Thank you. It is unfortunate that a traveller to India (as I shall soon be) may never experience the delights of a meal cooked on a heated stone slab all the way from Chitkul in Kinnaur (wherever that is ).

At least I can try your recipes at home.

I find however, that when cooking a dish from another land, there always seems to be a missing ingredient. Not just a missing spice or the like... something less tangible. Something different in the air? the water? Who knows? Perhaps it is something in the utensils.

jyotirmoy

Yes I agree with you. For example when ever I cook Indian dishes at the homes of our friends in Europe I make error in judging the quantity of onions as the sting is different than the Indian variety that I am used to. I only doubt whether you can buy poppy seeds where you live. It is available in England I know.

Chitkul is a border village in an area called Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. Kinnaur is very beautiful & the view of Kinnaur Kailash peak is awsome from here. The mountains here are of black granite. A full moon night is a great experience the shiny black mountain faces appears to glow.

natasha chanda acharya

woah! you seem to be really into it.
I enjoy all you recipies. Your passion for it really comes thru.
still guilty of not cooking t muton posto - that ws you, right?
will report back as soon as I do.

LindaK

Jyotirmoy: I am going to try making this recipe (along with homemade paneer) tomorrow. Just checking: Only a 1/4 tsp. of gramflour in the koftas?

jyotirmoy

Lindak,
The gram flour is used as a binding material. It is not added for taste & quantity depends a bit on the water content of the Paneer. So first add 1/4 tsp only make one Kofta & fry it. If the Kofta tends to break up you may need to add a bit more of Gram flour. If you are using home made Paneer tie the Paneer in a piece of muslin & hang it for a couple of hours to drain the water. I hang curds also for certatin types of Quormas.

Yes natasha it was me who wrote about the Posto Mutton. Look at the Pulao & Biriyani recipes as well as medieval cooking posted by me you may like to try these as well.

LindaK

I made this last night and it was delicious, even though I did forget to pour the cream on at the end of the recipe. I made half a recipe and ended up with only two koftas. I served it with tandoori chicken, rice, and pumpkin curry (the first recipe in the 'recipe for the day' thread, made with acorn squash). Yummy! The gravy for the koftas was delicious and I think it would be great for other items such as chicken or vegetables. I made my own paneer and ginger and garlic paste. Thanks for the great recipe, jyotirmoy!

jyotirmoy

Lindak,
Glad to know that malai kofta turned out delicious.
Regards.