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    • Malai Kofta

    by Maria on August 27, 2007

    Malai Kofta

    Hope you all remember about my attempt to make Malai Kofta sometime back and how it ended up with cheese balls. Finally I succeeded in resisting my temptation and I made malai kofta. I got this recipe from one of the cookery shows in a TV channel. I had tried another version of malai kofta almost a year back, which was a disaster. So i was a bit skeptical about making this, but this is a really good recipe, especially with veg pulav or roti.

    Here is the recipe for malai kofta:

    You can see the recipe for koftas here.

    For the gravy

    1. Onion – 2 medium
    2. Tomato puree – made from 2,3 tomatoes
    3. Gingergarlic paste – 1 tablespoon
    4. Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon
      Coriander powder – 1 tablespoon
      Chilli powder – 1 tablespoon
      Garam masala – 2 teaspoon
    5. Cream – 1 cup

    Cook sliced onions in 2 cups water. Once it is cooked, drain the water completely and grind the onions into a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan and saute onion paste. After 5 minutes add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2,3 minutes. Add all masala powders and stir for 5 minutes or until the oil starts forming a layer on top. Add tomato puree and once the puree is mixed well in the gravy add the cream. After 5 minutes, remove from gas. Spread prepared koftas in a plate and pour the gravy over it.

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    About Maria Jose Martin

    MariasMenu is a popular food blog written by Maria Jose with its no nonsense simple, tasty and delicious recipes – all tried and tested by readers, family and friends alike. Read more about Maria and her venture.

    • http://thebuddingcook.blogspot.com/ TBC

      That is a beautiful pic!The dish is looking really good.
      Why do you cook the onions in water first? Just curious…

    • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

      Thanks TBC… btw the reason for cooking onions in water, i dont know the exact reason, i have seen it in other recipes such as paneer butter masala, butter chicken and all. Let me try to find out the exact reason and i will let you know :)

    • http://tastypalettes.blogspot.com Suganya

      The colour of the gravy is striking golden. Beautiful pic.

    • http://tastypalettes.blogspot.com Suganya

      As far as cooking onions in water, there are 2 reasons. 1. It requires less oil.
      2. Sauteing onions longer may make them bitter.

    • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

      Thanks Suganya for the feedback as well as for the explanation :). Btw your blog is really good, so many nice pictures.

    • hello

      i accessed ur menu thro’ annita’s page and she says u r cousins. I have seen u during ur childhood years when u used to visit nirmalagiri where ur tessychechi lived.

      it is also a coincidence that i hit ur page the same day her payasam show was aired. may be that’s why i cld easily recognise u. where r u now? heard u completed ur MBA and was working abroad. how r u related to annita? anyway both of u r outshining each other with ur wonderful recipes and the mouthwatering pics. kudos 2 the chefs.

    • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

      Thanks hello for visiting my blog. Btw how do u know Tesschechy? are you her student?

      Annita and myself are second cousins. Am married now and settled in Bahrain. Thanks a lot for your sweet words :)

    • Paro

      I tried this recipe to great sucess but not without mishaps. The first few cheese balls started to break off so I thought of adding a little more of the corn flour. It worked but then it meant that the balls needed more time to sit with the sauce so the sauce can seep inside. I ended up simmering the sauce with the cheese balls for some minutes. It turned out really tasty!

      Thanks for sharing it!

    • Teresa

      hi maria.. i am a daily visitor of your blog from india. your blog is so nice .. Could you please tell me which mixer grinder are you using to prepare indian dishes esp. chutneys and all…

    • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

      Teresa, thanks a lot for visiting my blog daily :)

      I use Kenstar brand mixer grinder for Indian dishes. I’ve heard preethi is also a good Indian mixer grinder.

    • http://Google.com Suchi

      Hi Maria,

      Thanks for the lovely recipe.I tried it and everybody at home liked it.However my cheese balls were crumbling so i added a little bread.I wanted to know what else can i do to prevent the cheese balls from crumbling.

      Thanks,
      Suchi

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Suchi

        Thanks for trying it. If the cheese balls are crumbling, you could try adding a little more cornflour or if you used a small potato, try making it with a big one. Hope this helps.

    • http://www.splitpearsonality.blogspot.com Zaara

      Another winner – what a lovely recipe. I had to try this after succeeding in making the paneer balls. The boiling onions step is a new one for me, my poor kids ran out of the kitchen because of the odor – but I think this definetely adds to the authenticity of the gravy taste – it has a “restaurant quality flavor” to it. Thanks for sharing. Since I am so lazy to update my blog, I don’t know when I will get to trackback to this but would love to add it to my recipe collection.

    • http://www.splitpearsonality.blogspot.com Zaara

      Aaaahhh -my post is up ;-)

    • lou aunty

      Hi Maria1 I am SOOOOOOOOOOO proud of you! You are an excellent cook,( which you don’t need me to tell you!), but I have been inspired, after all these years,to try some authentic Indian cooking, thanks to you! I send recipes on to jim as well. I am going to try the Malai Kofta, as I like it very much in restaurants here in the U.S. I will let you know how it yurns out. Love you, lou aunty xo

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Lou aunty,

        I am very much excited to see your comment here. Thanks a lot for your sweet & encouraging words :). Hope Jim & wife are doing great!

        I hope you will like the malai kofta, please do let me know how it turns out.

        Happy cooking :)

        Love
        Maria

    • sheena

      Hi Maria,

      Iam daily visitor of your blog from india, Chennai. Really good colelction of receipes i found out here. This is my first time in my life sending message to a blog. You are doing really a wonderful job.

      want to know become member of this blog..whats the procedures.please let me know

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Sheena

        Thank you dear for posting the comment here :) Glad to know that you like this space.

        Regarding becoming a member, I’ve added your email id in the subscription list. You will be getting a mail about the same. You will need to click a link listed in that mail to activate your subscription.

        Also if you are there in Facebook, you can join this page.

        http://www.facebook.com/pages/wwwmariasmenucom/189169034249

        Please do try out the recipes too when you are free. I would like to know your feedback :)

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Linitha

      Hey maria,
      I am a frequent visitor of your blog and the most tastiest thing I have tried is your malai kofta. Thanks for such an easy and beautiful recipe.

      Just a suggestion , if you sprinkle some crushed kasuri methi it will give you a very good flavour :)

      waiting for your new recipes, linitha

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Linitha,

        Thanks a lot Linitha for your feedback and encouragement :)

        I usually like the flavor of kasuri methi but haven’t tried in this recipe. Will do that, thanks for the suggestion.

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Anna

      Hi,

      The pic is very good..Water is literally dripping out. I want to try Malai Kofta. But am confused about the cream part? What kind of cream you should buy and also can curd substitute the cream?
      Looking forward to your quick reply so that i can try it out soon and pamper myself(hopefully)

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Anna,

        Thank you so much :)

        I’ve used fresh cream and also whipping cream once for this recipe. You can use either one of that.

        I havent tried it yet with yogurt, so am not very sure about that.

        Hope this helps..

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Namrata

      Hey this recipe is great I choose this one out of VahreVah and Sanjeev Kapoor one. Thanks a lot for sharing couldn’t stop myself from leaving a feedback.. Great work. :)

    • Maria Eaton

      Hi Maria

      Can this recipe be frozen? I’m wondering if I could make a big batch of the cheese balls, or the curry as a whole and pop in the freezer for “cooks night off” times.

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Maria,

        I havent frozen any curries yet, so I’m not very sure.

        However I guess you can freeze it. While making gravy for freezing, dont add cream. Add cream later on when you are serving it.

        I suggest you try making a small qty initially and freeze it first, then if its ok, go ahead with a big batch.

        Cheers
        Maria

    • sara

      hi Maria……
      i dont know how to make kofta… wht u have given is gravy recipe plz let me know how to make kofta’s i really want to cook dis dish………
      take care

    • Kish

      I searched online for a great Kofta recipe and yours look great so I tried it out. I had to make some substitutes for some ingredients because I could not find some of the ones listed. I used a Queso Blanco cheese for the paneer. It worked out well. The first balls started to fall apart so I dipped them in the heavy cream and lightly rolled them in the corn flour. They turned out very nice. I could not find Turmeric or Coriander powder, but I found a curry powder with both in it. I have no idea what garlicginger paste is so I guessed and used minced garlic and some ginger powder and mixed them together guessing how much I may need. Everything went well but when I added the spices it seemed very dry and I did not understand where any oil would come up. It seemed so dry I just added the tomatoes next. Finishing the dish it was very good and the color looked great, it seemed the only thing was it did not have that cream taste to it. It was a bit overpowered by one of the spices…maybe I put too much or maybe it was my guessing on the garlicginger paste??? Anyways it was wonderful and I cant wait to make it again……any hints would be welcome how to tone the powdery spice taste.

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Kish,

        Thanks a lot for trying the recipe from here. I’m glad that you were happy with the end product :)

        Koftas fall apart while frying because of the following reasons:

        1. the oil is not hot enough. You can do a test run with one of the koftas and see whether its hot, it should be hot but not smoking hot.
        2. The proportion of potato & paneer is not correct. If the koftas are not bound well, then it might fall apart.

        About the overpowering taste of spice, I think its because of the ready made curry powder. I havent used it till now, but some of my friends who used it said it has an overpowering taste.

        Also for the ginger garlic paste, you can use freshly grated ginger & garlic. When we cook the gravy once the masalas are fried well, the oil starts oozing out of it and forms a thin layer. If you felt that no oil was coming, next time when you prepare try adding a bit of oil to the spice powder before adding it to the curry.

        Hope this helps…

        Once again thank you so much for trying this recipe.

        Wish you & your family a wonderful new year!

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Persefoni Urbankova

       I’ve made this recipe a month ago. I’m with my family right now and want to make this for them and I have to tell you, I’ve been looking all over the internet for half an hour now to find your recipe. Cause it was THAT good! :) (stupid me didn’t bookmarked the page!) It was an absolute bless! : )

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Thank you :) Great to know that you liked this recipe & I’m glad you were able to find the recipe. Hope its bookmarked now :) Btw, did your family like it?

        Cheers
        Maria

    • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

      Thanks for the comment :) Best wishes for your exam!

      Cheers
      Maria

    • Catfood9

      Hello.  I was wondering if instead of making your own tomato puree for this recipe, could you just use store bought puree?  And if so, how much puree would you use?

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Catfood,

        I guess you can use ready made tomato puree. However the ready made ones tend to be more stronger in taste than homemade ones. So may be you can use around 2-3 tbsp.

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Radhika

      Hi Maria!

      tks a tonne 4 this recipe..it came out really well :)

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Thanks a lot dear :)

    • Bhuvna P

      This is my first time that I am looking at your recipe.  I find it very easy and simple. I have taken the print out of the recipe and will make and comment back to you.
      Thank you,
      Bhuvana

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Bhuvna,

        Thanks for visiting MM! Hope you got a chance to try out the recipe & liked it too..

        Wish you a wonderful new year!

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Poornima

      Maria, I just discovered your blog yesterday and I have fallen in love with it already :). I saw malai kofta in the most popular recipe list and it looked so good and simple that I decided to try it today. I cannot believe how good it came out with so little effort. In fact, I must tell you that I did not even get to eat it…I had a piece of paneer ball after it was done and I had a bit of gravy to taste test. I had halved the recipe as I am a real beginner when it comes to cooking and am usually apprehensive about new recipes. I had friends for lunch and they finished up everything and I was cursing myself for making so little. I plan to make it again during the weekend.

      Your site is awesome and your instructions are really good and easy to understand, even for beginners like me. I am now madly recommending your site to all my friends. I am a vegetarian so I cannot try all recipes but I intend to try every single one that I can. Thank you so much for the fantastic work.

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Poornima,

        Thanks a ton dear for your delightful comment :) I’m so glad to know that you find this site helpful. Btw, sorry for the delayed reply. I was away on holiday, hence the delay.

        Hope you made some more malai kofta just for yourself ;)

        Happy cooking! Thanks a bunch for recommending the site to your friends also, appreciate it very much.

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Priya John

      Maria,

      I am Priya, joined your fabulous world of recipes few months back. Sorry for the delay in acknowledging your efforts. Hats off to you for starting such a good platform for food lovers like us…:)

      I have tried couple of recipes from you and it has come out very well. Now it has become a habit for me to visit your site for recipes whenever I start cooking.

      Keep up the good work and all the best !!

      Reg,
      Priya 

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Priya,

        It’s a pleasure to know that you find this site useful. Thanks a bunch for your lovely comment. No need for the sorry n all dear. I really appreciate that you’ve taken time to share your feedback here :)

        Hope you keep trying the recipes and like them too..

        Happy cooking!

        Cheers
        Maria

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Priya,

        It’s a pleasure to know that you find this site useful. Thanks a bunch for your lovely comment. No need for the sorry n all dear. I really appreciate that you’ve taken time to share your feedback here :)

        Hope you keep trying the recipes and like them too..

        Happy cooking!

        Cheers
        Maria

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Priya,

        It’s a pleasure to know that you find this site useful. Thanks a bunch for your lovely comment. No need for the sorry n all dear. I really appreciate that you’ve taken time to share your feedback here :)

        Hope you keep trying the recipes and like them too..

        Happy cooking!

        Cheers
        Maria

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Priya,

        It’s a pleasure to know that you find this site useful. Thanks a bunch for your lovely comment. No need for the sorry n all dear. I really appreciate that you’ve taken time to share your feedback here :)

        Hope you keep trying the recipes and like them too..

        Happy cooking!

        Cheers
        Maria

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Priya,

        It’s a pleasure to know that you find this site useful. Thanks a bunch for your lovely comment. No need for the sorry n all dear. I really appreciate that you’ve taken time to share your feedback here :)

        Hope you keep trying the recipes and like them too..

        Happy cooking!

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Soni

      Hi Maria,

      I have tried lot of recepies from this blog…n all of them comes out really well..

      thanks for sharing such delicious recepies…

      I have a ques…as I prepare the recepies with puree..most of them taste as I have added sugar..plz help me with this…

      Thanks
      soni

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Soni,

        Great to know that the recipes from this site works well for you, thanks :)

        Do you use ready made purees or home made ones? It depends on the tomatoes used for making the puree… so next time try adding a lesser qty of puree than the qty specified in the recipe.

        Cheers
        Maria

    • luv2cook

      Maria
         yup, even i tried this!! toooo gud! thanks dear!

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        You are welcome dear :)

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